4 minute read
Beginning Thursday, the RIVERRUN
fl icks RiverRun Virtual Theater sews up free fi lm screening
Beginning about textiles and apparel, but deeply Thurs- concerned about fashion’s impact on the day, the future of the planet.” River- The students, all of whom have since Run International graduated NCSU, saw fi rst-hand both Film Festival and the process by which the apparel line is HanesBrands will created, but also the e orts by Hanespresent the premiere Brands to incorporate water conservation, screening of the limited pesticide usage, science, and other
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Mark Burger documentary short Crop to Campus, socio-political factors in its methods of production. which will be avail- “A lot of people when they think of sus-
Contributor able to view at no tainability, they think it’s an item that’s cost for two weeks been recycled or reused,” observed Parker. at riverrunfi lm.com/ “I now know that there is an ethical and virtual-theater/. human aspect to it.”
The fi lm details the step-by-step of “We are really excited that RiverRun HanesBrands’s process in creating its Katy Powers takes a picture of Sydney Parker at Grant Farms will be the fi rst to show this fi lm,” said Comfort Wash apparel line, from a cotton Johnson. “RiverRun is a true gem and farm in North Carolina to a yarn-spinning “The idea was to let the students Award-winning documentary fi lm- widely admired. Sustainability means facility in Tennessee, and fi nally its state- immerse themselves in the experience maker and RiverRun veteran Rod Murphy, di erent things to di erent people, and of-the-art cut, sew, and dry facilities in El and let them share their perspectives via a native of Asheville, was tapped to we all still have a lot to learn. RiverRun is Salvador – as experienced by three 2019 social media,” explained Michael Johnson, direct Crop to Campus. “This was a great a great venue to help spark thought and seniors from the Wilson College of Textiles Hanes Activewear’s director of marketing. project primarily because of the open- conversation.” at North Carolina State University: Mamie “But we quickly realized, from their excite- ness of everyone involved, and no topics The RiverRun International Film FestiTigg (from Austin, Texas), Katy Powers ment and energy, that documenting the were o the table,” he said. “As seniors, val’s o cial website is www.riverrunfi lm. (from Charlotte), and Sydney Parker experience in a larger way could be a great the students came into the project at a com/. The o cial HanesBrands website is (from Lexington). story in itself.” crossroads where they are passionate www.hanes.com/. !
‘Heavy METL’:UNCSA’s immersive storytelling residency yields fi rst work
The Media and Emerging Technology Lab (METAL) at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) has concluded its inaugural Immersive Storytelling Residency with the completion of BonsAI, an immersive narrative experience inspired by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The sixth-month residency is the fi rst of its kind in the nation, combining the skills and talents of a technical artist, a software engineer, and a screenwriter to create a fully-realized virtual reality experience. METL, established in 2017 at the UNCSA School of Filmmaking, is dedicated to defi ning, refi ning, and shaping the evolution of how immersive story content is created, consumed, and told.
The storytelling residency was conceived by Ryan Schmaltz, who has been the director of METL at UNCSA since its inception. “As one of the few immersive labs in the county to be housed in a professional arts conservatory, METL is uniquely situated to train and serve as a resource for the next generation of creative innovators. The residency brings together people with complimentary skill sets, gives them room, to develop an idea using METL’s technology and resources, and provides guidance and mentorship by key industry experts.”
The creative participants of the program included software engineer Alex Moro, screenwriter/producer Trent Spivey (who graduated the School of Filmmaking in 2018), and technical artist Fernando Goyret.
BonsAI is a futuristic parable in which the virtual-reality (VR) participant “plays” the assistant to an esteemed scientist during the rise of a novel plant virus. The participant must formulate a solution to the crisis while remaining one step ahead of a corrupt conglomerate bent on sabotaging the project. That the narrative mirrors, to some extent, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, was not coincidental, according to Spivey.
“We were tasked with thinking about how we could use this immersive technology and platform to cultivate empathy and awareness, while still creating an entertaining and meaningful experience – all within (approximately) an eightto-12-minute time-frame,” he said. “We knew we wanted to draw on what people are experiencing right now, but we also wanted to inspire.”
UNCSA will submit BonsAI to VR fi lm festivals as well as such popular festivals as Sundance, Tribeca, and South by Southwest (SXSW) that have categories devoted to immersive media.
“Virtual reality a ects your mind in a different way,” Spivey observed. “You are not just watching something on a screen. You are in the scene. There’s a power in being immersed, in what it can do for the human spirit.”
The o cial UNCSA website is www. uncsa.edu/. ! See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies on Burgervideo.com. © 2020, Mark Burger.
Arts through it All.
In our most trying times, art and artists are here. As the world confronts chaos and despair, historic levels of uncertainty and unsure footing, art and artists are here. They fuel learning and support the economy. They matter and make a difference. They are necessary, especially now. Events and live art experiences have temporarily been taken away, but the arts are here through it all.
