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Independent Filmmaker Project

My Sky is Falling: Envision 2013 Recap

by Lance Weiler on April 18, 2013 in Transmedia

 In collaboration with storyteller Lance Weiler and Reboot Stories, HI is working to develop a framework for creating and evaluating data-driven stories. Our most recent project, a work of participatory theater entitled My Sky is Falling, premiered at Envision 2013 on April 11 in New York City. My Sky is Falling (MSiF) uses an immersive science fiction narrative to explore the social issues surrounding US foster care as experienced by former foster care child and writer/director, Lydia Joyner. The experience was well-received by conference attendees, which included documentary filmmakers, representatives from the United Nations, and members of the Independent Filmmaker Project, who hosted the event. Envision 2013 concluded with a keynote presentation by Lance Weiler and a discussion of participant’s engagement data by HI’s Creative Technologist, Clint Beharry. HI researchers and the MSiF tech team, including SVA Interaction Design student Minsun Mini Kim and Columbia Graduate Film student Paul Chen, worked throughout the day to record, analyze, and visualize engagement data from two separate groups of participants. This engagement data was collected using Q Sensors provided by the Affective Computing Group at the MIT Media Lab. The sensors measures movement, skin temperature, and electrodermal activity. This last measure can serve as an indicator of arousal, such as engagement with the environment, anxiety, or excitement.