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Double Eye Blog - Week 1 - “Risk Taking & Remembering”

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Risk-taker. I hope to be defined as a risk-taker some day,
though I am probably one of the most careful, rule-following humans you may
encounter. I’ve been thinking about how my work may be defined some day,
because I’ve been thinking about death. I’m thinking about how I dedicate my
time and how it contributes to advancing our society. In the past two weeks
since our Bootcamp launched with its motivating talks, two of the most
culturally-inspiring people in my life passed away within days: Arnold
Wechsler, artist and subject of my documentary film “Double Portrait” and Bruce
Kingsley, film critic and art collector.



Arnold was a risk-taker. He always went against the grain
and was unafraid of how people viewed him. He lived his art. He made art everywhere
on anything (a napkin, a door, every sheet of paper he could find). It came
from every part of his body and soul. He was art. Bruce analyzed art. He observed
it and reflected on it deeply.  He spoke
about art, music, and performance eloquently and thoughtfully. He came to
Lincoln Center to see my VR film. That is my last memory of him. Breezing
through the doors with actor/partner Scott between consuming back-to-back films
at NYFF.



 I fall somewhere between the two of them – making and
observing. This week, I’m taking a deep dive into who I am before I jump with
both feet and a full heart into building my experience. Who am I? A content
maker, a developer, a creator, a visionary, and at times stepping back to be an
observer.  How do I describe what I do? I
make VR, I make 360, I make films (2D cinema), and now immersive installations.
Does that make me an artist? Does that make me worthy of creating in this
Medium and expressing my ideas about society and my delicate female voice?



A lot of people asked me what track I was on during our
Oculus Bootcamp at Facebook HQ. I had to pause and reflect for a moment -- 360
or Games? What path did I choose? I’ve been making 360 films for about two
years, so I identify with “filmmaker” and “360”.  I feel comfortable with 360 live action
production and post.



This brings me to my first risk taken this summer. I
selected the Games & Experiences track. My goals for interactive and
immersive storytelling keep leading me towards what I would call an
“experience.” And my current project that I’ll be developing, tentatively
titled “Cardboard City FUTURA” is an interactive multiplayer game.



Speaker after speaker warned us about developing for
multiplayer. But I cannot envision this game being anything but multiplayer;
it’s core principles are based on collaboration. I don’t consider myself an
expert in the games arena. So how do I step over from my identity of
filmmaker-self and become a game designer? I feel like I am bound to fail.



I don’t want to think of this as a competition for winners
and losers. I don’t really feel those kinds of competitions teach us anything.
If there’s anything I learned from Robin Hunicke’s inspiring Keynote, it is
that our mistakes are very valuable. So if I can use the next 9 weeks in this
program to make lots of mistakes, to challenge myself to gain knowledge about
designing a multiplayer game, to learn something new every week and to learn
more about myself in the process – these are probably all achievable. Can I
complete my game in 9 weeks? Certainly not. Can I set small goals that step me
towards a larger goal? Certainly.



 I love this industry and I want to keep pushing the Medium
of VR forward. I know I can do this with my multiplayer game for social good –
it’s such an atypical kind of experience, so it will naturally be on its own path.  It’s a game I need to make to attempt to
solve a real world problem that needs a new approach. Socio-economic inequality
and the way our communities communicate are issues that are important to me. Maybe
I will fail. I just hope my choices, my projects and my life will have as much
meaning as the men who have recently passed before me. Maybe I will fail in the
eyes of many; but if I can learn by taking these risks, then that’s
probably more valuable to my future in this arena than any perceived success.

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