THE TREES DREAM OF FIRE

Interactive installation

"Do you dream of the end? Is it in the corner of your vision, in the back of your throat, behind the glow of your screens..?" THE TREES DREAM OF FIRE is an interactive media installation concerning digitized nature spirits, collective dreaming, and the apocalypse. Shielded from the burning landscapes in the distance, audience members approach the Sleeping Nymph and whisper their hopes, their dreams, their purpose into the Avatar's brain. In their slumber, the Nymph attempts to convince themselves of these vulnerable futures — and ignore everpresent visions of impending Destruction.

Research Director: Scott Fisher
Researchers: Kevin Yin, Tyler White, Sofia Rodriguez
Development Team: Xinyun Liu, Miru Jun, SoSun Park
Art Direction: Kevin Yin
UI: Lesley Moon, Tyler White
3D: Kevin Yin, Tony Liao, Caden Chung

Video by Sofia Rodriguez

Memory Space: Chinatown AR

Grand Prize Winner -- Niantic 8th Wall Time Capsule Challenge

MEMORY SPACE is an augmented reality experience involving the rephotography of archival photographs of LA’s original Chinatown - currently buried under Union Station. Working with the Chinese American Museum and the Huntington Library, users are transported back in time, uncovering the rich history and vibrant stories of Los Angeles' original Chinatown. Through the lens of immersive technology, the project reveals the unseen past, inviting users on an exploratory journey to engage with the history that surrounds them. By blending cutting-edge AR technology with historical narrative, this project stands as a testament to the transformative power of AR in storytelling and historical preservation.

Done in USC's School of Cinematic Arts Mobile Environmental Media Lab.

Leads: Curtis Fletcher, Erik Loyer
Researchers: Cameron Roper, Faiz Ansari, Kevin Yin, Landin Green, Pareena Padwal, Samir Ghosh, Sophie Shack

A PATH AHEAD

THE PATH AHEAD is a VR installation piece concerning the future of Los Angeles’ environmental and social landscape through the lens of Octavia Butler’s “Parable to Sower.” Virtual reality allows users to visualize and manipulate text in a tangible space, emphasizing the influence texts have on our past, present, and future. Based on these text-based choices, players speed through the decades to 2100, the projected “end of the line” for humanity - at which point they reach to one of ARUP’s four scenarios for Humanity - Post Anthropocene, Greentocracy, Extinction Express, or Humans Inc. Unity Project available here.