{"id":4794,"date":"2021-01-29T03:41:11","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T03:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/29\/why-sundances-interactive-new-frontier-works-are-right-for-this-covid-19-moment\/"},"modified":"2021-01-29T03:41:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T03:41:11","slug":"why-sundances-interactive-new-frontier-works-are-right-for-this-covid-19-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/29\/why-sundances-interactive-new-frontier-works-are-right-for-this-covid-19-moment\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Sundance’s interactive New Frontier works are right for this COVID-19 moment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why Sundance’s interactive New Frontier works are right for this COVID-19 moment<\/a><\/p>\n

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The plump, mustachioed and vest-wearing Frank Bourassa looks genial enough, especially when he materializes as a tiny cartoon figure in your living room. He\u2019s here, in augmented reality, to talk to us about money, seeking to raise questions about our own fiduciary responsibility \u2014 or lack thereof. <\/p>\n

But should we trust someone who claims he\u2019s the \u201cworld\u2019s greatest counterfeiter\u201d? Add in the fact that he\u2019s a cartoon, and maybe we should be on our guard \u2014 or at least pay closer attention. <\/p>\n

When it comes to examinations of the psychology of money there\u2019s a human tendency to tune out, to think we know it all and avoid thinking about our own limits. This is why the augmented reality vignettes of \u201cFortune!,\u201d designed to be watched on a smartphone or tablet, aim to superimpose themselves on our world, to disrupt it with humor. <\/p>\n

Directed by Brett Gaylor, \u201cFortune!,\u201d will be shown<\/a> as part of the interactive and experimental New Frontier program<\/a> at this year\u2019s virtual Sundance Film Festival, which runs Jan. 28 to Feb. 3. It\u2019s just one of the online festival\u2019s numerous offerings that aims to use new technology not necessarily to wow us but to communicate with us.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSecret Garden\u201d<\/a> is a work that can play in an art gallery or a web browser, as each can be equally enveloping if used correctly. The Stephanie Dinkins-helmed project captures oral histories of Black women throughout the decades, not only shedding a light on severely under-told narratives but reminding us that every life has a story to tell. Or see and hear \u201c7 Sounds,\u201d <\/a>an audio-video work that aims to get us out of our head and simply show us the meditative power of sound. <\/p>\n

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A still from \u201cSecret Garden,\u201d an online work that allows users to explore the oral histories of multiple decades of Black women. \u201cSercet Garden\u201d is showing as part of Sundance\u2019s New Frontier program.<\/div>\n
(Dinkins Studio)<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

While Sundance\u2019s New Frontier selections have over the last decade always sought to highlight overlooked stories and the ways in which augmented or virtual reality could make them more palatable, this year\u2019s online-focused slate also aims to show just how accessible they can be. Some presentations require a VR headset that must be tethered to a computer \u2014 tech that is still a luxury for many \u2014 but a number of offerings will be available on a phone or a web browser, with some even focusing on a social media platform. <\/p>\n

Taken together, this year\u2019s edition of Sundance\u2019s New Frontier should, if successful, provide COVID-19-era lessons that will stay with us even after the vaccines have done their job. Pre-pandemic and in-person, the most popular of the VR installations shown amid the typical Park City, Utah, event, can draw lengthy lines and waits. <\/p>\n

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But shifting to online this year \u2014 New Frontier access costs $25 and comes with an elaborate virtual space station to explore \u2014 allowed New Frontier to pivot and have a tighter focus. The emphasis on merging film, theater and interactivity with tech as accessible as a browser is a reminder that storytelling not only surrounds us but can meet us where we\u2019re at, at least if we\u2019re open to looking for it. <\/p>\n

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\n Entertainment & Arts<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

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How COVID-19 led an L.A. troupe to reject Zoom theater for play-at-home games <\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n Entertainment & Arts<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

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How COVID-19 led an L.A. troupe to reject Zoom theater for play-at-home games <\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Shine On Collective pivoted from immersive theater to puzzle-box experiences during the pandemic. It\u2019s one example of how gaming is a growing aspect of new theater works.<\/p>\n

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Going digital has even allowed Sundance\u2019s program to expand, at least in types of content if not in physical space. <\/p>\n

Some New Frontier events, such as the live VR show \u201cTinker,\u201d<\/a> border on immersive theater<\/a>, a genre Sundance has largely avoided because of its often low-capacity. But rules in virtual reality and online are constantly bending, allowing curator Shari Frilot to double-down on her mission to showcase diverse and left-of-center projects, all of which can demonstrate for filmmakers, media and students the storytelling possibilities that exist for projects that don\u2019t fit a standard mold.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe inequities in the movie business has kind of a feedback effect,\u201d Frilot says. \u201cYou have certain communities that are privileged and are able to touch the equipment. Then you have movies that are privileged because of who stands at the gateway of festivals or studios. That\u2019s the audience with very specific kinds of films that affect and feed who you are and who you think the world is. It has not served all of us very well. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd those it has not served, we weren\u2019t really served very well with those tools of storytelling,\u201d Frilot continues, referencing the pioneering multimedia-meets-journalism-meets VR work of Nonny de la Pe\u00f1a<\/a>, whose \u201cHunger in Los Angeles\u201d<\/a> was the first VR documentary to screen at Sundance in 2012 and required goggles to be developed at USC\u2019s Mixed Reality Lab before the film could be seen. \u201cWe had a more complicated and layered experience in stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Entertainment & Arts<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

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How the new virtual reality \u2018Star Wars\u2019 experience gets us closer to a theme park \u2018metaverse\u2019 <\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n Entertainment & Arts<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

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How the new virtual reality \u2018Star Wars\u2019 experience gets us closer to a theme park \u2018metaverse\u2019 <\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Disney built Galaxy\u2019s Edge as a living theme park land in which guests can role play. That vision is fully realized in an Oculus VR experience we can do at home. <\/p>\n

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A number of the New Frontier projects are uniquely tailored to 2021, not only reflecting our always-online lifestyle but even asking us to rethink our relationship with the devices in our home. This sort of intimacy is more difficult to achieve in a large, in-person festival such as Sundance. Take, for instance, \u201cBeyond the Breakdown,\u201d <\/a>which has participants connect with others via the internet to interact with an artificially intelligent character asking us to build a better, more collaborative future.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe idea of being able to go onto a browser with other people \u2014 it looks like a Zoom room \u2014 except one of those boxes is a human artificially intelligent team that\u2019s helping us do a world-building exercise to figure out what world we want,\u201d says Frilot. \u201cIt\u2019s quite emotional. You get very vulnerable in that.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Sundance has created an elaborate virtual space that is open to all attendees with New Frontier access to come and hang out online or in virtual reality.<\/div>\n
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\u201cRich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran,\u201d <\/a>was envisioned for a pre-pandemic world but turned out to be particularly well-suited to our current climate. Beyond exploring topical ideas such as the emotional effects of the digital lives we present across social media, the theatrical show directs users to Instagram to flesh out its narrative. Then there\u2019s \u201cTo Miss the Ending,\u201d<\/a> a VR work with a cynical bent, wondering if in the future our lasting memories \u2014 our souls \u2014 will live only online.<\/p>\n

To help make the exploration of these projects its own interactive experience, Frilot and her team crafted an elaborate space station. There, attendees can find info on the projects as well the ability to explore either via a computer or in VR communal spaces that invite us to hang with others. There\u2019s also a virtual theater, which will house limited screenings if we want to simulate the theater experience. For those not versed in wandering online worlds, think of something such as \u201cThe Sims\u201d but warmly inviting, with grand vistas of the stars and planets to take in.<\/p>\n

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Consider it a reminder, like all of the New Frontier works, that even as we miss the ability to gather in theaters for a film or a play, the power of online and virtual works is in their interactivity. And that, after all, gives us a sense of presence. <\/p>\n

Sundance\u2019s New Frontiers content may be viewed for free if you already have a festival pass, or you may buy a $25 \u201cexplorer\u2019s pass\u201d at festival.sundance.org<\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Published at Thu, 28 Jan 2021 20:51:41 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why Sundance’s interactive New Frontier works are right for this COVID-19 moment The plump, mustachioed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":4790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-augmented-virtual-reality"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/techclot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/BBYMIu.jpg?fit=840%2C473&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3orZX-1fk","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}