Topics: Emerging Media, College of Fine Arts, Immersive Learning, College of Communication Information and Media
January 5, 2007
Ball State students will unveil the world premiere of "The Terri Dreams," a live event fusing recorded segments with real-time performances from remote locations, at 8 p.m. Jan. 12 in Sursa Performance Hall.
This is the first time this type of production has been staged at Ball State and students plan to create a DVD that includes special features and behind-the-scenes footage to send to festivals around the country once finished with the premiere.
"This is a huge engineering project that pushes current technology to carve out new territory by integrating technologies and ideas that weren't intended to work together and thereby create a new form of art," said John Fillwalk, director of Ball State's Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts and Animation (IDIAA). "The students working on this innovative project have really done their homework and exceeded all expectations. The students' project is truly a poster-child for immersive learning."
The live performance — which is free and open to the public — focuses on a man who has been given nothing and pursues the love of his life. The twist is that the woman exists only in his dreams.
The five dreams are shown through recorded performances — each produced by different directors using unique techniques to ensure distinct interpretations. For example, one dream is animated using rotoscoping, a process where film is edited frame by frame to create a cartoon effect.
"Rotoscoping is very time consuming and a major feat unto itself," said director Paul Symons, a Ball State senior majoring in telecommunications. "The four-and-a-half minute dream that we are animating required 500 hours to complete."
To segue into the dreams, performances by actors in remote locations will be transmitted onto a screen at Sursa Performance Hall, according to producer Nick Johnson, a Ball State senior majoring in music technology.
"The live performances bring continuity to the movie, but also present logistical challenges to the team," Johnson said. "We have to ensure the equipment works properly to have a smooth and continuous transition between live segments and the recorded material."
Johnson didn't know he would be able to experience something like this when he started as a freshman, and the entire project would not have been possible without the assistance of the faculty and staff of IDIAA and Ball State, he said.
"It is a big deal to have learned so much on how to get so many people to work together and manage a project on this scale," he said. "We really give credit to Ball State and the remarkable efforts on the faculty's behalf to make this happen — it's a real treat."
Symons agreed, noting the tremendous amount of time and effort the project required.
"This is a huge feat for all of the students involved because nothing like this has ever been done," Symons said.
The project is a collaborative effort involving academic departments across campus. Funding was provided by the IDIAA, one of four immersive learning institutes established by a $20 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to Ball State. The institute's centerpiece is a digital studio that immerses students in the production of intermedia art and 3-D animation and allows them to collaborate with artists and industry professionals.
By Jody Kress