Project Manager: Deja Smith
Version Controller: Linh Ly
Lead Developer: Kacie Nguyen
The play is about an explorer fleeing its destroyed home planet, which has been destroyed by a violent meteor shower. The explorer then goes on an intergalactic journey, finding new planets and their inhabitants (dancers) along the way. Each virtual stage represents a different planet. The viewer is meant to experience the play from the perspective of the astronaut, as it travels from one planet to the next. Along the way, the viewer will encounter inhabitants of each new planet, some of whom are dancers. Ultimately, the play discusses the astronaut's attempts to communicate with the inhabitants of each planet, through dance. Team 3 found this appropriate, as dance is a universal language.
The Process
The Team responsible for this augmented reality’s design consisted of three individuals. Each contributed to the production of the overall project in equal ways. The team members were tasked with the responsibility of first, creating one virtual stage each, upon which the theater would be held. Each stage was intended to serve as a venue for each of the scenes of the play to take place. One might liken the division of content across digital stages to the splitting of actors and props across various stage sets in an actual theater play.
Once the stages were finalized, Group 3 went about selecting dancer footage for each scene of the play. The team members sifted through several hours of dancer footage, selecting six to ten minutes' worth of dancing clips to splice and import into the AR experience. Team members eventually incorporated several other elements, including lighting effects, music and other sound effects and various digital assets to create a complete digital atmosphere.
As shown below, each of the three virtual stages of Expedition to a New Life represents a different planetary environment--all of which are meant to be connected through the play's narrative.
The inspiration for this augmented reality theater experience is the concept of space exploration and discovery. Group 3 developed the idea as a way of illustrating how one space explorer’s journey from his home planet to several others, can reveal much about what it means to explore. The aim was for the audience to develop a sense of adventure and wonderment as they place themselves in the perspective of the astronaut, and travel across the virtual galaxy. Team 3 strived to create whimsical, surreal stages to simulate three very different, yet interconnected, alien worlds.
Audience Experience
Group 3 had a very specific vision in mind for its audience experience. Expedition to a New Life is meant to immerse the viewer in the space journey of an astronaut across an unknown galaxy. The intention is for the viewer to assume the role of the astronaut and imagine themselves as the explorer, as they take a virtual journey across three planets. To start, the audience begins on the fiery, destroyed home planet. This stage is meant to evoke a sense of curiosity but also a sense of unease, as the audience explores the fiery ruins of an alien city. Next, the audience is meant to follow the dancers towards the teleportation portal to end up on an entirely new planet. This planet and its squishy slime creatures are meant to reinforce the feeling of exploring the unknown (which, in this case, presents itself as an alien life form). By the time the viewer reaches the third and final stage, they are meant to feel victorious, as they reunite with a group of other astronauts. The large spaceship placed in this stage implies the potential for future exploration.
What is the Message?
The larger significance or message of this augmented reality play is that the exploration of new places, people, and cultures can be a wonderfully rewarding experience. This theme is illustrated through the viewer’s journey through space; Each planet the viewer experiences and each new environment represents the different people and cultures that we encounter throughout our lives. Just as the viewer’s experience is enriched by being exposed to three vastly different stages, an individual’s life is enriched by exposure to unique places and people.
The audience witnesses a shift from the known (the explorer's smoldering home planet) to the unknown (the two subsequent planets). By the time the viewer arrives at the final stage, the breathtaking firework show conveys a sense of celebration that indicates the success of the journey.
Red Velvet, On A Ride (Instrumental), ‘The Reve Festival 2022 - Birthday’
Still Woozy," Goodie Bag (Instrumental)", Goodie Bag, Single.,Still Woozy Productions Inc.,2017, Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRhp9syWOvQ&ab_channel=FunboxKaraoke
Imagine Dragons, "Radioactive (Instrumental)", Imagine Dragons, Night Visions, KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records., 2012, Youtube,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsL8iJ5hZpc&ab_channel=allthetimecars1
Seven Lions, SLANDER, & Dabin, "First Time (Instrumental)", First Time, Single., Ophelia., 2018, Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ4IkLr7-UE&ab_channel=TommyB
The work is based on You-Jin Kim's code-base "Dynamic Theater"
https://github.com/yujnkm/UCSB_3D
3D environment, scanned using LiDAR and modeled.
Digital Materials and repository: You-Jin Kim
Choreographer: Christina McCarthy
Music: Adam Schmieder
Dancers: Linn Molin, Eugene Jonathan Yan, Alice Lousen, Christopher Sellgren, Jovian Watson Mollner
© You-Jin Kim, All Rights Reserved.
Santa Barbara