FIVARS 2024 showcases Jet of Blood by Dr. Elizabeth Goins, Ph.D., at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). We had the opportunity to chat about the origins and development of this exciting new Virtual Reality work.
What led to the creation of this piece?
Jet of Blood was an experiment in structuring narrative to better understand the potential language for digital immersive experiences. Originally a surrealist play by Artaud from 1925, we decided to adapt it to explore how surrealist and theatre of cruelty techniques might work in an immersive experience.
True surrealism is more than trippy or strange. Instead, it attempts to convey meaning directly to the subconscious in an effort to explore truly meaningful aspects of our lives. This was done by juxtaposing objects and ideas out of context, sometimes through collage, and randomness. Jet of Blood uses three-dimensional collage through incorporation of stock models and animation. Also, influenced by films like Un Chien Andalou by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, we used maps and streaming levels to present disjointed ideas of space and time.
Theatre of Cruelty, an important movement in modern theatre, was created by Artaud to circumvent the restrictions of live theatre. He used the term “virtual reality” to describe his envisioning of stage and action, placing the spectator directly in the play to experience emotionally violent and direct experiences.
Jet of Blood VR tries to convey narrative with minimal text. The dialog is strictly from Artaud’s original script, and there are no cut scenes. Instead, all animation is diegetic, and much of the story is expressed through space, particle effects, and the juxtaposition of media, audio, models, and materials.
What was the production process for you and your team? What did you learn?
We are from academic environments with no funding so it took about three years to make Jet of Blood. Also, there was COVID, which slowed things down. None of us had tried to make a surreal experience before, so there was a lot of trial and error. Many ideas didn’t work in VR, but we didn’t know until we tried it. We also were working with faculty from the National Institute of the Deaf and so we worked on incorporating subtitles in different ways to increase accessibility of the work.
How did you become an immersive media content creator and why?
I started out with flat-screened games and was very skeptical of VR until, for one project, we had a student port it to VR. A LOT of things, like the UI I relied on, didn’t work in VR, but the immersion in the environment and the experience was overwhelming. Thus, I was hooked.
What is the VR/AR industry like in your region?
VR in academia in the US is on a roller coaster. There was a lot of interest in VR during COVID-19, which has died down now. However, there is still great interest in using it in classes and teaching students how to tell immersive stories.
What do you have planned for the future?
We are currently working on a short VR experience called Witch Trial. It’s about a woman who is promoted to a top position in a company and the misogyny she faces. It is also an experiment in storytelling with minimal dialog and no cutscenes. Instead, we are exploring film editing techniques for immersive storytelling.
What would you like to share with fellow content creators and the industry?
It is challenging for content creators to make a living in this area. I hope that those of us in academia can help by exploring ideas and problems to move the field forward.
Do you think VR festivals like FIVARS are important?
Yes, FIVARS really focuses on VR, and few festivals truly do that: so many canceled VR portions of their festivals this year, or they were only open to those in live venues like VR Chat. FIVARS includes all of us.
Jet of Blood plays at FIVARS 2024 Festival October 3rd through October 8th.
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