Minimum Mass, an award-winning virtual reality (VR) narrative experience from a team led by Raqi Syed and Areito Echevarria in the University’s Te Kura Hoahoa—School of Design Innovation and Miramar Creative Centre, is receiving its New Zealand premiere as part of the strand’s XR Interactive.

Embodied, an experimental VR documentary created by a team from across the University, led by Associate Professor Miriam Ross in the Film programme of Te Wāhanga Aronui—Wellington Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, is screening as part of XR 180 & 360 VR in the strand.

The 20-minute Minimum Mass is the story of a couple who experience a series of miscarriages and come to believe their children are being born in another dimension. It is set in contemporary Rotorua and the speculative world of black holes.

Ms Syed is programme director of the University’s Master of Design Technology and Mr Echevarria is a senior lecturer in Design Visual Effects in the programme. Sunny Teich and John Aberdain, who also teach in the Master’s, as well as New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī alumnus Jimi Wilson, were other key creatives on the project.

Minimum Mass has gone from success to success, including appearances at CannesXR-Tribeca and the Venice Film Festival and awards at the Annecy and Viborg film festivals.

The team that created Embodied also included Associate Professor Paul Wolffram, Master of Fine Arts (Creative Practice) (MFA(CP)) Film programme director; Bernard Blackburn, senior technical officer of the Film programme; Associate Professor Dugal McKinnon and Dr Thomas Voyce (MFA(CP) Music/Sound programme director) from New Zealand School of Music; and Ms Syed.

Last week, Ms Syed, Mr Echevarria, and Associate Professor Ross took part in a roundtable discussion, Beyond Reality: XR, during the Doc Edge Forum industry event, where they spoke about the growth, applications, and boundaries being broken in the places beyond 2D.

XR Interactive and XR 180 & 360 VR
SkyCity Theatre Foyer, Auckland, 10 am–10 pm, 3–6 June
Te Auaha Gallery, Wellington, 10 am–10 pm, 21–27 June

There will be a screening event for Minimum Mass and Embodied at the Miramar Creative Centre, 133 Park Road, Miramar, from 6 pm on 18 June.