Niall - Digital & Immersive Arts

[niall-ma]

Below is the level I created completely from scratch, we knew early into development that we wanted levels 3 & 4 to delve into the psychology of the characters. Tam's level represents his wildest fantasies and the negative way he views his wife and Nannies level focuses on her traversing a graveyard made up of every victim she has claimed previous to Tam. For the exit gate of this level, I hand-manipulated a screenshot of the actress who played Nannie in the original film in the Procreate software. This enabled me to distort her facial features as well as adding the open maw. The mannequins I used throughout the level were animated and would gently sway their arms back and forth which helped to capture the unsettling visuals I was aiming to capture. However, this did mean I had to position each one so that their limbs would glitch into one another.

[niall-ma]

[niall-ma]

We kept encountering an issue with the whole project crashing and then refusing to open back up again, eventually, we figured out that lighting within Unreal Engine works in a very particular way. Whenever the lighting overlaps with another light it causes severe strain on the computer's Graphics Processing Unit resulting in frequent crashes. I took it upon myself to figure out how best to optimise the lighting throughout the various levels. I figured out that you can switch the view mode to a ‘light complexity optimization view mode’ which highlights where the overlapping is at its worst and colours the lighting from Dark blue meaning the computer is handling the lighting well to White which is extremely overwhelming and will undoubtedly cause issues with the project if it remains unchanged.

[niall-ma]

Above is the completed Group Project, the project was inspired by a film we made as a group in our second year of our undergraduate degree studying film called Auld Nick - which is based on the 1970 Scottish poem Tam o' Shanter. On this project I was the director, and thus I was in charge of creating the initial idea, as well as consulting on all the creative decisions related to the project. The project took the core story elements from Auld Nick and turned them into a choice based game created in Unreal Engine, in which the player can choose to either play through a more abstract/horror themed level from Nannies perspective, or a more traditional/contemporary themed level from Tams perspective. The project aims to expand upon the pre-existing lore of Auld Nick while fleshing out the characters in a unique and interesting way

[niall-ma]

Individual Critical Context

During my research into the ongoing abortion debate occurring in America, I used a mixture of different sources. I began my research by looking into political commentary websites per recommendation from my lecturer, this allowed me to get a grounded more real-time report of the events happening. Currently, on Trump's 1st day as president, he has already removed reproductiverights.org which will drastically Impair women’s ability to seek reproductive care in states where it is legal as well as impairing individuals’ ability to inform and counsel each other about the reproductive care that is available in other states. Then I moved on to more academic essays and journals written around the subject of women's rights from the 1990’s up to 2024 which helped to contextualise the history of the ongoing struggle for equal rights present throughout American history for decades. Below I have included some graphs of statistics that also helped inform my research

[niall-ma]

An interactive film relies on the fragmentation of the narrative which is then pieced back together by the individual during their unique viewing experience, resulting in a unique branching narrative path. Below are some interactive films that have inspired me during the creation of this project. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, a choice based postmodernist piece with free will being its central theme. Bloody-minded, a live streamed film that would actively implement viewers comments and suggestions into the film world in real time. Before we Disappear is a film that utilises facial recognition technology to adapt its story line to the audience's reactions.

[niall-ma]

Above is my complete 360 Immersive film prototype, as you can see there are some changes from my original sketch. The first main change was removing the banned book covers decorating the black curtain surrounding the camera. I did multiple takes of the film and after reviewing the footage with the book covers included it felt like they cluttered the space and distracted from the edits which were supposed to be the central focus of the scene, so it ultimately made sense to remove them from the final cut. The second was removing the second actor opting to feature only one performance in the final film

[niall-ma]

I created these sketches in preparation for filming my project, which helped me visualise how it would work within the space. It was important for me to figure out the layout of the spacing so that I could position the curtains in a way that concealed the red and blue LED light panels. I also used these sketches to gather feedback from my lecturer during our last meeting before the Christmas break. The feedback I received was invaluable and helped me make significant improvements while developing the final project.

[niall-ma]

[niall-ma]

I wanted to use this post to update the progress of our group project. After having a discussion with Paul it became obvious that our original idea of creating an interactive film exhibit of artefacts from one of our previous projects wasn't going to show enough skill development to be a successful submission. So we decided to still keep the critical concept the same, that is exploring different ways that films can be recontextualised and experienced. So me and Liv met up and began to brainstorm a new plan (Unfortunately Kate and John were absent for this group session, however, they have since been updated and like the idea!)

I developed the idea for a choose-your-own-adventure game inspired by our previous project, Auld Nick. Players can choose to play as one of two pivotal characters from the film: Tam the Fool or Nannie the Witch. The perspective chosen will significantly impact the player's experience throughout the game. Tam’s path will follow a recreation of the film's core moments, ultimately leading to an encounter with the devil. Nannie’s perspective, on the other hand, offers a unique experience that wasn't explored in the film. Despite the different journeys, both paths converge in the same final confrontation. The core focus of this project was to find how each of our specific film making skills translated into the world of game creation.

Liv and I worked for about 6 hours working on a rough mock-up that we could use to pitch to Kate, John, and Paul. For some of the structural elements, we needed to create a spline in order to design curved walls. I watched a tutorial on YouTube to learn how to create and use a blueprint, but I ultimately struggled to create the spline. Although I was unsuccessful the experience helped me become more familiar with blueprints in Unreal.

[niall-ma]

I feel that it's important for me to make it clear that although I'm not American I supported many of the policies that Kamala Harris planned to implement had she become the new president of the United States. During my project I will draw from both sides of the debate, I will show the hopeless future that Trump has outlined for Project 2025 as well as draw on the hopeful ideas that Harris had for the future of America. I feel that starting my project with the harsh reality of what a Trump presidency means for the world but contrasting it with a more optimistic ending featuring Kamala's concession speech. Contrasting these polar opposites will help to further drive home the message that my VR film is aiming to portray,“women have the right to a choice”

[niall-ma]

As I mentioned before, my initial inspiration for my project in "Introduction to Immersive Media" was to explore the dynamic between the upper and working classes, a theme that has influenced my previous works. However, I've made a slight pivot in my focus. I still plan to create a VR immersive film, but the narrative has shifted to center on the 2024 president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump. Specifically, I will examine his policies aimed at undermining women's autonomy over their reproductive rights. When I discussed this change in direction with Paul, he encouraged me to research reproductive rights further, as well as to look into the details of Donald Trump's 2025 plan.

When looking at the coverage of the ongoing abortion debate in America there is a recurring statement that is “Roe v Wade”. Norma McCorvey - under the legal pseudonym “Jane Roe”. In 1969, became pregnant with her third child. McCorvey wanted an abortion but lived in Texas, where abortion was illegal except when necessary to save the mother's life. Her lawyers, Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee filed a lawsuit on her behalf in the U.S. federal court against her local district attorney, Henry Wade alleging that Texas’s abortion laws were unconstitutional.

Three Judges from the district Court for the Northern District of Texas heard the case and ruled in her favour. The parties appealed this ruling to the Supreme Court. In January 1973, the Supreme Court issued a 7–2 decision in McCorvey's favour stating that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides a fundamental "right to privacy", which protects a pregnant woman's right to an abortion. It also held that the right to abortion is not absolute and must be balanced against the government's interests in protecting women's health and prenatal life. Abortion has been accessible to women across America since 1973, however president elect Trump plans to overturn Roe v Wade as one of his first acts as president.

Project 2025, also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. is a political initiative published in April 2022 by the American conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. The project aims to promote conservative and right-wing policies to reshape the federal government of the United States and consolidate executive power, originally under the premise that Donald Trump wins the 2024 presidential election. The manifesto denouncing the “Great Awokening” a term that has been used by the far right to describe the rise in LGBTQIA+ and Women's reproductive rights, A rise in Climate activism and the rapid decline in Racist and Xenophobic ideologies present in American society. Below I've included an in-depth explanation of project 2025 by Sky news created prior to the final election results.

Another stipulation in project 2025 is the banning of certain literature being taught or accessed in school libraries. These banned books often challenge social norms such as having LGBTQ+ characters, witchcraft, sexually explicit content etc. As of September, 389 titles have been added to the banned books list. Please find a link to a document that clearly outlines all the currently banned books across multiple school districts.

Ban book list

[niall-ma]

Feeling inspired by the Unreal Engine training on Tuesday, I decided to download Unreal Engine at home to further develop my virtual production skills. I knew that I wanted to experiment more with the camera movement, so I decided to try and replicate the iconic shots from the Evil Dead of the spirits flying around the forest in first person.

Initially, it was challenging to position the keyframes correctly to achieve the desired camera movement. But after trial and error, I managed to finally create a small animation that I think captured the essence of the Evil Dead. Overall this was a great practice run. I can feel my skills in Unreal improving, and I'm excited to experiment with more shots in the future.

[niall-ma]

In today's lecture, we spent more time training and becoming more familiar with the Unreal Engine, specifically focusing on using cameras in virtual spaces. We learned how to place a camera in an environment, adjust the aspect ratio and lens, and record and export footage from Unreal into various editing software, such as After Effects or Premiere Pro.

This class was a huge eye opener for me, This class was a huge eye-opener for me; I had no idea that Unreal could be used to create virtual film sets. It truly opened my eyes to the possibility of directing productions not only in the physical world but also in the virtual world. I know that my film classmates and I were pleased to finally have a skill in Unreal that felt more aligned with our filmmaking interests.

[niall-ma]

Since starting the “Introduction to Immersive Media” module, I have had a clear vision for my individual project. I want to centre the main story elements around a political theme, combined with experimental visuals. As a film practitioner, these motifs frequently appear throughout my body of work. I also knew that I wanted the project to take the form of an interactive film that allows the audience to actively participate in the experience through the use of a VR headset. Once I had established the thematic and practical elements of the project, I needed to then focus on the visual aspects.

When seeking visual inspiration, I immediately thought of an experimental film I created in my third year studying film, titled ‘Run Rabbit.’ It explored the same theme of class divide between the working class and the upper class. However, this theme wasn't clearly portrayed—it was somewhat overshadowed by the other experimental elements present in the film. I'd like to base my project in the same visual universe as ‘Run Rabbit,’ while improving and developing the concept more for this new project.

The next step in my process was to identify instances where cinema and immersive experiences have intersected. One prominent example is ScreenX, a multi-projection immersive experience that offers the audience a 270-degree viewing angle. This is achieved by projecting images on three screens: the traditional front wall and an additional screen on each side of the space. The goal of ScreenX is to create a sense of immersion, allowing the audience to feel as though they are part of the film's world.

Last week, we all had the opportunity to pitch our group and individual ideas to the group and Paul. Everyone seemed enthusiastic about my individual project, which was reassuring since I wasn’t sure if my idea met the course expectations. We have a diverse range of projects being created this year, from sculptures to interactive games. Overall, I'm looking forward to further fleshing out and developing this idea as time goes on.

[niall-ma]

In this week's seminar, our class decided that next week we would discuss and pitch our group ideas to one another. To prepare, we agreed to meet today at Olivia's accommodation to finalize our concept and create a presentation to clearly convey our ideas.

During the meeting, we each took on different roles. I designed and created the presentation, John researched references and made some rough portrait sketches. Olivia focused on drawing and annotating a mock-up of the final product, while Kate worked on how we could record the installation for submission.

(Below are some images captured from the meeting, as well as some of the slides I created for the pitch.)

[niall-ma]

My module, "Introduction to Immersive Media," consists of two main sections: a Group Project and an Individual Project. In today’s seminar, we were divided into our groups for the group assignment. My team includes Olivia Lindsay, Kate Bramley, and John Chukwuemeka.

I’m thrilled with my teammates—Kate, Olivia, and I have collaborated on many successful projects during our undergraduate studies, so it felt natural for us to work together again. Collaborating alongside John is also very exciting as he brings a unique skill set to the table with his expertise in Fine Art and Portraiture.

After the seminar, we went to the master's suite in the library to brainstorm ideas. Ultimately, we decided to create a digital and immersive art installation that would incorporate elements from all of our skill sets. Our installation would be inspired by a film we created in our second year titled "Auld Nick." We then agreed to rewatch the film together and began sketching out rough ideas.