Kategorie: Talks

Universe Devising with Virtual Production

Abstract by Simon Jon Andreasen

As an audience, we love to be immersed in the universes of TV series’, whether they take place in a colorful and complex fantasy world as the one that unfolds in Game of Thrones, a relentlessly hard-hitting Italy as Gomorrah or in Twin Peaks‘ endless dream world. The impact of these worlds can have such a power that they stay with us long after the narratives end. One could even argue that the longer the narrative and complexity of television series is, the greater the significance the universe can be. In computer games, this becomes particularly apparent. In the games’ interactive fictions, action is deeply dependent on players’ choices while the character exists as a kind of avatar-like extension of the player. The importance of the world in computer games is so great that it has given name to the open world genre which contains some of the most popular games like Red Dead Redemption and Assassin’s Creed. The production of worlds is thus not limited to the narrative, but is present in every work produced, the stage of which, as in a theater, makes itself available for action across and across media and formats.

But how do you create a universe? In this presentation, Simon Jon Andreasen talks about his artistic development’s work at the National Filmschool of Denmark. A work that takes place in collaboration with Jakob Wille at the Royal Academy, set designer Sigi Oli Palmason and author Cecilie Eken. In the presentation, Simon introduces Universe Devising, which is a new development model for creating the fictional universes of the future through the use of the games’ digital world building and devising / improvisation techniques from the performing arts.

> Tuesday, June 29th, 15:45 – 16:45h  > Programm

> deutsche Version

Universe Devising with Virtual Production (D)

Abstract von Simon Jon AndreasEn

Als Zuschauer lieben wir es, in die Universen von TV-Serien einzutauchen, egal ob sie in einer bunten und komplexen Fantasiewelt wie in Game of Thrones, einem schonungslos harten Italien wie Gomorrah oder in der endlosen Traumwelt von Twin Peaks spielen. Die Wirkung dieser Welten kann eine solche Kraft haben, dass sie noch lange nach dem Ende der Erzählungen bei uns bleiben. Man könnte sogar argumentieren, dass die Bedeutung des Universums umso größer sein kann, je länger die Erzählung und Komplexität der Fernsehserie ist. Bei Computerspielen wird dies besonders deutlich. In den interaktiven Fiktionen der Spiele ist die Handlung stark von den Entscheidungen des Spielers abhängig, während die Spielfigur als eine Art Avatar-ähnliche Erweiterung des Spielers existiert. Die Bedeutung der Welt in Computerspielen ist so groß, dass sie dem Open-World-Genre einen Namen gegeben hat, welches einige der populärsten Spiele wie Red Dead Redemption und Assassin’s Creed beinhaltet. Die Produktion von Welten beschränkt sich also nicht auf die Erzählung, sondern ist in jedem produzierten Werk präsent, dessen Bühne sich wie in einem Theater medien- und formatübergreifend zur Verfügung stellt.

Doch wie erschafft man ein Universum? In dieser Präsentation spricht Simon Jon Andreasen über die Arbeit seiner künstlerischen Forschung an der National Filmschool of Denmark. Eine Arbeit, die in Zusammenarbeit mit Jakob Wille von der Königlichen Akademie, dem Bühnenbildner Sigi Oli Palmason und der Autorin Cecilie Eken stattfindet. In der Präsentation stellt Simon Universe Devising vor, ein neues Entwicklungsmodell für die Erschaffung fiktionaler Universen der Zukunft durch den Einsatz von digitalem Weltenbau aus Games und Devising / Improvisationstechniken aus der darstellenden Kunst.

> Dienstag, 29. Juni, 15:45 – 16:45h  > Programm

> English version


 

Virtual Production and Digital Humans – Current Research and Future Challenges

A presentation by Volker Helzle

This talk will provide insights into the research work at the Animation Institute of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Research, software development, teaching, and project-related experiences with virtual production processes and digital actors will be discussed. The two areas are not necessarily connected and yet show comparably dynamic developments in the last 18 months.

What demands will the future place on the coming generation of media professionals? The lecture tries to make an (immersive) prognosis for this.

Dienstag, 29. Juni, 11:45 – 12:30h  > Programm

> deutsche Version


 

Volker Helzle (EN)

Volker Helzle worked for Eyematic Interfaces in California from 2000-2003, where his team pioneered facial motion capture and contributed significantly to the development of Eyematic Facestation. He has led Research & Development at the Animation Institute of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg since 2003 and received an honorary professorship from the Filmakademie in 2013. In recent years, he has conducted research on several EU-funded projects such as Dreamspace and SAUCE. In the process, he also developed virtual production tools such as VPET.

Sylke René Meyer (EN)

Sylke René Meyer is a Professor, and Associate Director of the MFA program in Creative Writing and Literary Arts at California State University in Los Angeles. She is also the Director of the Institute for Interactive Arts, Research and Technology.
In addition to her work as a media theorist, she is a writer, director, performance artist, and co-founder of the performance group Studio 206 in Berlin (2007), expanded in LA (2019), and the performance group Family Room Collective in Los Angeles, 2018.
Her practice is informed by and engages with film and media history, theory, and criticism, and encompasses feature and documentary filmmaking, as well as writing and collaborative experimentation across theater, new media and digital platforms.

Her work has garnered numerous awards such as an Emmy Award, and Best Film Awards at major festivals such as Seattle, Chicago, and Montreal. Sylke René Meyer is the editor of the recently published collection „Interactive Storytelling for the Screen“.

> ZFICTION.21 Talk: Low Tech and Lo-Fi: Resisting a Discourse of Mastery

Sarah Atkinson (EN)

Sarah joined King’s College London in 2015 as Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures working across the Department of Digital Humanities and the Department Culture, Media & Creative Industries (CMCI). She was appointed Head of CMCI from 2017-2020.
Sarah was Principal Lecturer in Film & Media (2006-2015) and Assistant Head of School of Art, Design and Media (2012-2015) at the University of Brighton, having held previous positions at the University of Central Lancashire and the University of Salford.
Sarah has a BA Honours, First Class in Media with Cultural Studies (1998) and a practice-based PhD in Interactive Cinema (2009).
Her research and teaching includes Expanded Cinema, Live Cinema Economy, and VR. She is co-editor of Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies and co-author of the Future of Film Report.

> ZFICTION.21 Talk: Virtual Production: grass-roots, green shoots and global flows

> Deutsche Version


 

Andreas Dahn (EN)

In 2000, Andreas Dahn entered the film business through internships in modeling and visual effects (VFX). After four years of work experience as a VFX artist, he was admitted to study directing at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in 2005 with the award-winning short film The Maid from Hilltop Manor. Alongside his studies, he continued to work as a VFX artist in Germany and India. His graduation film E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Der Sandmann won awards in Milano and Hungary, was broadcast on German television and is on sale on DVD. After graduation, Andreas created effects for Game of Thrones, Grand Budapest Hotel and several Marvel films. He received grants from UCLA, EFA and in 2019 from the Ernst Göhner Foundation, which allowed him to realize the short film Haus in der Ferne (House in the Distance) at the Immersive Arts Space, ZHdK. For this he combined new technologies such as photogrammetry and virtual reality with the motion capture process.

 

> ZFICTION.21 Talk: Exploring the creative possibilities of realtime technologies – joint presentation with Mirko Lempert

 

> ZFICTION.21 Exhibition: Home in the Distance VR – Camera work in virtual space

 


 

Mirko Lempert (D)

Mirko Lempert hat einen MA in Filmproduktion und ist Assistenzprofessor für visuelle Medien an der Stockholmer Universität der Künste. Mirkos Arbeit konzentriert sich vor allem auf Kommunikationsstrategien in komplexen Produktionsprozessen und Prävisualisierung in VR. Er ist Mitbegründer der Stockholmer Firma Monocular.

> ZFICTION.21 Talk:
Drehen in Echtzeit mit Virtual Reality – gemeinsam mit Andreas Dahn

> ZFICTION.21 Ausstellung:
CineDESK

> Link:
Collaborative Filmmaking in Virtual Reality

> English Version

Rasmus Kloster Bro (EN)

Rasmus Kloster Bro is a Danish film director. He researches and teaches at the National Film School of Denmark. His work includes features films, VR projects, commercials and radio dramas. His thriller CUTTERHEAD was centered on acting and the physical experience, which he took as the starting point of the narration and used video sketching previsualization methods to achieve funding for the film. His research work „Materials of the Cinematic Language“ explores forms of image-based writing through „Video Sketching“ and „Theater Devising“.

> ZFICTION.21 Talk: Form before words: Cinematic Story development with Video Sketching

> Link: Interview zu Cutterhead auf cineuropa.org

> Deutsche Version

Simon Jon Andreasen (D)

Simon Jon Andreasen ist Leiter der Animationsregie-Ausbildung der Dänischen Filmschule (im Bereich Animation und Spiele) und der Akademie von Dadiu (The Danish Academy of Digital Interactive Entertainment), sitzt in einer Reihe von Vorständen und Beiräten für z.B. ITU, die Scripwriting-Schule für Kinderliteratur, Multiplatform Storytelling VIA und eine Reihe von kulturellen Institutionen und privaten Unternehmen. Simon ist Autodidakt und hat mehrere Radioshows, Dokumentationen, TV-Serien und Computerspiele für nationale und internationale Medienunternehmen inszeniert. Außerdem war Simon Head of Digital beim Verlag People’s Press und arbeitete mit bei der digitalen Strategie des Verlagshauses Gyldendal.

In den letzten Jahren hat Simon im künstlerischen Forschungsprojekt „Storyworld 2.0“ erforscht, wie man mithilfe von Virtual Production transmediale Welten schaffen kann.

> ZFICTION.21 Talk:
Universe Devising with Virtual Production

> English Version

Christian Iseli (EN)

Christian Iseli studied history, German and English at the University of Bern. He then worked as a director of documentary films and worked in the areas of editing and camera on feature films and documentaries. At the ZHdK he leads the newly launched Immersive Arts Space and was responsible for the research focus on film at the Institute for the Performing Arts and Film until 2020.

> ZFICTION.21 Talk:
The Promise: Storytelling meets Virtual Production – joint-presentation together with Michael Schaerer

> Deutsche Version

Miriam Loertscher (EN)

Miriam Loertscher is head of the Film Research Unit at the Institute for the Performing Arts and Film, ZHdK. She studied media-, social- and neuropsychology at the University of Bern and film studies at the University of Zurich. From 2012 to the beginning of 2018, she was Head of Communications for Fantoche, the International Animation Film Festival in Baden/Switzerland. Since 2014 she has been working at the Institute for the Performing Arts and Film with a research focus on film perception, digitization and acting research. In 2019 she received her PhD from the University of Bern on the change of film perception in the course of digitalization.

> ZFICTION.21 Talk: Virtually Real: filming in virtual spaces, joint presentation with Norbert Kottmann

> Deutsche Version