Department of Materials Science and Engineering Spring 2021 Seminar Series: Colum Slevin

Description

Colum Slevin, who oversees the experiences group for the Oculus VR content team, will give a talk entitled "Unimaginable Wonder (The Necessity of Storytelling)" as part of the Department of Materials Science & Engineering's Spring Seminar Series.

For Zoom link, please email dmse@jhu.edu.

Abstract:

Human beings have been using technology to express ideas and spin narratives for tens of thousands of years and storytelling is essential and fundamental to the human experience. I've been working in the field of storytelling in one form or another since the 1980s, with a particular emphasis on technology in the service of narrative. Most recently, I've spent the past five years working on the problem of telling stories in virtual reality and from the perspective of my day job, storytelling is the key to the survival, relevance, and growth of this new creative medium of VR. But, we have a lot to learn, some of which is captured by designer Katy Newton's question: As VR storytellers, we are charged with molding experience itself into story, and none of our storytelling tools have prepared us for fully for that. As we stumble our way into this new, mysterious medium, we ask outsleves, "How do we tel a story for the audience when the audience is present within it?" In an attempt to answer this question, I have gone back to the dawn of cinema to draw out the parallels and lessons we can learn from the evolution of that medium and its earliest pioneers. Join me in exploring the lessons and pitfalls of this convergent and exciting new medium.