VR and Empathy Machine's

 What I really appreciated about Chris Milks Ted Talk was how he expanded upon the idea of film. he describes it as "the same now as it was then." But what Chris wanted to do was to use technology was to make stories that couldn't be made with current techniques. Each time he presents a new piece, people seem to have stronger and stronger emotional responses to it. I think this speaks to how powerful immersion is. The more immersive the piece is, the more invested the user becomes. I think this is what his goal was with the last project when he did clouds over Sidra. It was incredibly moving to see her entire environment. It was as real as it could be. He could have made a documentary on Sidra, but often times those can become movie-like. This project was the opposite of that. "You are sitting there with her... and because of that you feel her humanity in a deeper way." I think this piece captured that idea beautifully. It captures her world in such a way that emphasizes how different it is from our own. But we experience it as she does which helps us empathize with her. 


Screen Profile - YouTube


The project I looked at this week was Screen. It is an interesting piece of interactive literature that lets the user explore memory as a virtual experience. There is no virtual landscape, just text. The user can select loose words to interact with the text. When they do so, the text returns to their original spot or finds another one. The play aspect of it is very interesting. To be honest I don't quite get this one, but maybe that's why it interests me. I guess part of the interesting thing is that it is not the typical vr experience because it combines the text with the interactivity. 

Comments

  1. Dr. MApril 10, 2023 at 8:23 AM

    Clouds over Sidra is really powerful and such a great example of VR promoting empathy. Bashir's Dream is another good one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QiUX6bcnUw&t=132s&ab_channel=RYOT
    and I look forward to the Screen conversation!

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  2. CamApril 10, 2023 at 10:09 AM

    Hi, CJ! I also found Milk's TedTalk to be extremely fascinating! I know you and I are fellow cinephiles, so I was gravitated to the way he tied VR to filmmaking and project exhibitions! Screen seemed extremely interesting, as I can't even grasp how text on its own can be a VR project! I can't wait to hear more about it during the Tuesday discussion!

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