Creativity onstage and the stories behind it.

• A New Dimension of Storytelling November 14, 2023

  

  When do folklore, mythology and fables become new?

  When Reimagined virtual reality animation series co-creators Julie Cavaliere and Michaela Ternasky-Holland use them as the inspiration for their work.

  

  Now viewers can immerse themselves in the world of a young witch, facing down her fears, in Nyssa. And travel, in 360, to the island world of four sibling deities, as they learn to deal with grief and channel their anger, in Mahal..

  While each of these stories is inspired by a lesser-known fable, myth or bit of folklore, that inspiration gets reworked into something brand-new.

  The result: highly-personal storytelling, in 360 worlds with thought-provoking messages and a different look and feel for each story in the series.

  The process of “reimagining”

  

  Julie, who is an award-winning actor, director, writer and President of Very Cavaliere Productions, wrote and directed the first episode, Nyssa, inspired by a fairytale by the Brothers Grimm. In making it her own through VR she presents a vastly different protagonist from the original story, as well as a message which resonates in the twenty-first century.

  

  Meanwhile, Michaela, an Emmy Award-winning XR director and experiential XR consultant, wrote and directed the Volume II story, Mahal. Michaela describes Mahal, based on Filipino myths, as a “love letter” to her parents and an homage to her Filipino culture. Michaela explains that, in creating the story, she and her team used some different camera moves than she’d seen in the VR space.

  While Nyssa is currently available, free, on Oculus Quest, Mahal will also be available on the Quest starting on November 17th. And a third episode is currently in development. (We can’t tell you much yet, as it’s embargoed, but what we’ve heard sounds amazing!)

  Julie and Michaela talked about their backgrounds, shared the story of Reimagined and discussed their creative process with Nyssa and Mahal.

  On this edition of Over Coffee® we cover:

  • How Michaela and Julie first became inspired to become storytellers and performers;

  • How the Reimagined VR series came about:

  • What Michaela and Julie remember best, from the early days of Reimagined;

  • Guidance they’d give to fellow creators considering a VR animation series project;

  • How Julie chose the Brothers Grimm fairy tale that inspired her to create Nyssa;

  • The reasons behind some of the character names in Nyssa;

  • How Michaela came to create the Volume II story, Mahal;

  • A look at the world of Mahal (and how it differs from the one we experience in Nyssa);

  • A mini-preview of Reimagined: Volume III;

  • The “beast” aspects of creating an animated VR series;

  • A closer look at Quill, the free painting software which the Reimagined team used to create the project.

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• “Whale Culture” in VR June 14, 2023

  

  A once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Three creative professionals who’d never met before. A passion for storytelling and education.

  And, a dream, of bringing a magical experience to life in VR, with the goal of creating a better world.

  These are the factors behind Found in the Fjords, a soon-to-be-released VR game which takes players into the Arctic Ocean–and into the culture of a sea creature which is more similar to humans than most of us realize.

  

  Creators Dr. Louise Edwards, Tiffany Duong and Aya Walraven met for the first time during an all-women science and art expedition to the Arctic fjords. Louise, who is both a geoscientist and a VR developer, had wanted to enter the U.N.’s “Metaverse for the SDGs” competition. But, she says, she hadn’t yet hit upon a project that she felt explored any of these initiatives…

  …and then, on her journey, she met Tiffany, who is an ocean storyteller and speaker/educator, and Aya, an emerging-technology and web-based media creator.

  Based on the inspiration of their shared experiences during the journey, Louise, Tiff and Aya began working, as a creative team, on Found in the Fjords.

  A world most of us never see

  Entering Found in the Fjords, players become Nora–a young orca traveling to the Arctic fjords for the first time, with her family. Along the way, they’ll experience both “whale culture” (as Tiff explains, customs with orca, like customs among humans, differ, depending on the regions in which they’re living) and a different perspective on an often-misunderstood animal.

  And the VR experience amounts to a call to action, in real life

  Louise says she and her team are currently seeking beta testers for “Found in the Fjords”, with the goal of releasing the game later this year.

  Already, though, they’re garnering some exciting honors.

  As of June 2023, Found in the Fjords has been selected as one of twenty semifinalists in the UN’s Metaverse for the SDGs competition, AND received two awards in New York’s “The Art of Movie Making” festival!

  Louise and Tiff shared the story of creating Found in the Fjords, explained what players can experience in the game and offered a preview of what’s next.

  On this edition of Over Coffee® we cover:

  • How Found in the Fjords came about;

  • How Tiff first came on board with the project;

  • One moment, during the journey, which especially inspired Louise and Tiff to create the game;

  • What players experience, in Found in the Fjords;

  • How the game educates participants about orcas–and what that knowledge means to us, as humans;

  • A closer look at “whale culture”;

  • The way in which each team member’s skill set complemented the others in creating the game;

  • How each grew through the experience of collaborating as a creative team;

  • Main creative obstacles which Louise and Tiff had to troubleshoot;

  • A “failure” that served as a lesson (and an encouragement!);

  • Where the team is, currently, as they look towards releasing the game;

  • Favorite resources;

  • What’s next for Louise, Tiff and Aya!

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• Music, Art, Air Pistons December 5, 2022

  

  One Love Machine Band creator Kolja Kugler is, first of all, an artist.

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  He’s also a roboticist–which he says he never expected to become.

  Kolja started out creating sculptures from scrap metal. But the project wound up having other ideas–and he found himself turning those sculptures into robots.

  And not just any robots. These are robot musicians who play real instruments!

  

  As members of Kolja’s One Love Machine Band, they’re a real crowd-pleaser. One Love Machine Band has wowed audiences all over Europe–including at the Maker Faire Rome and during Kolja’s TEDx Talk in his native Berlin.

  Kolja enjoys watching audience reactions, especially. A common response: delight.

  “Everybody became a child, suddenly, when they looked at that bass player, playing,” he says.

  

  Kolja explains that he started by building the band manager, whom he named “Sir Elton Junk”. Next came the bass player, the drummer and some unusual background harmony. He sees himself as “playing” with the scrap metal, to see what kinds of characters emerge as he builds.

  And he has some exciting visions for the future.

  Kolja shared the story of his robotic band, discussed his creative process and offered a look ahead at what may be next!

  On this edition of Over Coffee® we cover:

  • How Kolja first discovered his passion for creating sculpture;

  • One of the best creative lessons he learned from English arts group The Mutoid Waste Company;

  • The story of the One Love Machine Band;

  • The ways in which Kolja sees his robotic sculptures evolve as he builds them;

  • His favorite memories from the first time the One Love Machine Band performed in public;

  • A closer look at the “characters” of the musician robots;

  • What helped Kolja keep going when he ran into roadblocks;

  • What he considers the most fun involved in creating his playful art!;

  • His vision for the band, in the future;

  • Where the One Love Machine Band may be performing, in 2023.

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