Immersive Missive
Hello! Hope you are all keeping well. We’ve got just a couple of new Immerse articles for you this month:
Dan Schindel takes a look at the rise of synthetic audio in documentary films.
And in Field Notes from CPH:DOX Richard Misek covers the INTER:ACTIVE symposium and exhibition.
What we’re reading and watching
Why are tech-centric, projection-based exhibits suddenly everywhere?
Anil Dash says NFTs were not supposed to end like this.
Speaking of, there’s a new Madonna/Beeple NFT collaboration. Not everyone is impressed.
Can you truly own anything in the metaverse? A law professor explains how blockchains and NFTs don’t protect virtual property.
Is this the hype peak of the metaverse? Or are we seeing something emerge that's been evolving for a long time?
The Museum of the Moving Image exhibition Deepfake: Unstable Evidence on Screen tries to help visitors equip themselves to discern real images from fake ones.
Projects we’re eyeballing
Dreamachine, a new installation in London, is a light show that you experience with your eyes closed. Trippy!
The Prick and the Sting is an immersive audio experience fusing narrative, binaural sound and original music by Raucous.
You can’t see it till 2023 but Wallace and Gromit is coming to VR. Hooray!
Columbia’s Digital Storytelling Lab announced its annual Digital Dozen. Lots of great projects to discover.
Coming up
Festivals and events
Join composer and librettist, Toshi Reagon, in conversation with writer and activist, Adrienne Maree Brown, both stewards of “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia E. Butler, as they discuss its influence on their artistic practice, May 17, online.
Tribeca Film Festival is June 8 to 19. Check out the Immersive line-up.
The Immersive Industry Homecoming Summit takes place June 26-27 at AREA15 Las Vegas with speakers from Punchdrunk, Niantic, and more.
UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is a celebration of creativity, taking place across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and online from March to October 2022.
Submission deadlines
Open City Documentary Festival deadline is upon us! Cross-platform and audio work accepted. Late deadline May 13.
Venice Gap-Financing Market has a category for immersive projects. Extended deadline May 15.
LFF Expanded deadline also fast approaching. Deadline May 16.
The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency Program deadline is May 17. Imagine 4 weeks on the shores of Lake Como with your own studio for working. Dreamy.
Electric South are running a series of augmented reality (AR) workshops in East Africa. Deadline to apply May 17.
Venice International Film Festival immersive project submissions deadline is May 31.
IDFA DocLab has an earlier than usual deadline for entries. Deadline June 18.
Extended Reality: Dok Neuland (part of Dok Leipzig) call for entries deadline is July 1.
Geneva International Film Festival call for immersive works is open. Deadline August 18.
Immerse is an initiative of MIT Open DocLab and Dot Connector Studio, and receives funding from Just Films | Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation. The Gotham Film & Media Institute is our fiscal sponsor. Learn more here. We are committed to exploring and showcasing emerging nonfiction projects that push the boundaries of media and tackle issues of social justice — and rely on friends like you to sustain ourselves and grow. Join us by making a gift today.
Publisher: Jessica Clark (Dot Connector Studio)
Editor: Abby Sun (MIT Open Doc Lab)
Associate Editor: Julie Fukunaga
Editorial Collective: Sarah Wolozin (MIT Open DocLab), Ingrid Kopp (Electric South), Kat Cizek (MIT Open DocLab)
Editorial Board:
Zeina Abi Assy, Mark Atkin (Crossover Labs) , Ruthie Doyle (Sundance Film Institute), Caspar Sonnen (IDFA DocLab), Julia Scott-Stevenson, Amelia Winger-Bearskin