As a storyteller, filmmaker, and VR/360 creator, I am particularly interested in how to immerse audiences inside a narrative, how this immersion can affect and expand their experience and engagement with story, and what innovations can be made in terms of how we tell stories going forward. In this talk, I will share some of my immersive works – starting with some early material and culminating in my most recent VR/360 project for the United Nations Foundation. The VR/360 project, entitled “Under the Net”, documents the global malaria crisis as seen in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in western Tanzania. Through the perspective of an 11-year-old girl named Amisa, the documentary gives audiences a glimpse into what life is like as a refugee, exposes them to the grave dangers of malaria, and shows how mosquito bed nets can be a life- saving solution to preventing the disease. I will conclude the talk with a brief look at preliminary research I am conducting with Virginia Tech colleagues as we blend real-time live-action performance with synthetic virtual reality.

Speaker: Justin Perkinson