This week I came up with a Pitch Deck.
Project Proposal
I want to make a trailer/concept demo for “Closet”, an interactive exhibition about coming out stories. It will involve video making, animated 3D elements, and documentation for interactions on social media platforms. I also want to create a “Coming Out Handbook” for Chinese LGBTQ people.
Research
A report by the United Nations Development Programme in 2016 found no more than 15% of LGBT people in China come out to their close family members.
Young people are also looking for support from technologies, like this “How a Dating App Helped a Generation of Chinese Come Out of the Closet”.
Goals
I want to provide a tool kit for millions of Chinese LGBTQ people who want to break the silence and engage in effective communication with their closed ones.
I want to develop creative principles for mixed reality storytelling.
Pitch
I will use Blender, Unreal, and Unity to create a mixed reality showcase.
Sketch for the “Closet”
Inspirations
I run into Carla Gannis’ latest mixed reality exhibition and got inspired by her virtual gallery show:
I can make a wall of coming out stories.
Carla also built the real gallery in VR and made the show interactive in virtual space.
Update
I am learning how to do 3D modeling and animation in Blender.
I made a spinning donut this week!
Timeline
Feedback
Dan / Taylor
It’s 8:58pm, and Taylor is sitting at their computer, waiting, and waiting. Jude’s Closet is open at odd times — this week, it’s open from 9pm - 9pm the next day. Finally, the clock hits 9pm, and Taylor’s computer chimes, letting them know that Jude’s Closet is ready for them.
Taylor finally enters. They look around. The room is full of various different objects, images, outfits, memories. They pick a postcard up and twirl it around, and hear a voice — Jude’s voice — talking out loud about it. They look around and smile to see a room full of precious objects and memories.
A glowing teddy bear catches their eye; they pick it up. They hear a story from five years ago, narrated by Jude, that involves the postcard. They pick the postcard back up. Slowly, they begin to piece together a story…
Having spent an hour in sad, joyous, heartbreaking, happy memories, Taylor exits the closet. On their way out, Taylor notices a bulletin board full of photos and written comments from people around the world sharing their experiences. They decide to add a comment themselves..
Jen / Samantha
Jen feels pretty uncomfortable when she hears other people talking about their love life. People around her have had many relationships, some are even getting married, and Jen has just had a few dates that have gone pretty bad. She’s not interested in guys really, but to be honest, the thought of liking other girls is too complicated and just feels unrealistic to her, given that this kind of sexuality doesn’t seem to exist where she is from. What would her family in Taiwan think? She is so close with her mom, who is way too opinionated for Jen to feel like she could even entertain such a thought. She gets invited to a friend of a friend’s thesis showcase at this weird art/design/technology school and she heard they have wacky VR and AR projects there, something she’s been pretty interested in getting to try out, plus there’s supposed to be free pizza and cheap wine. She browses around the projects, and comes across a virtual closet about queer identity. Her family wouldn’t need to know if she tried it out, so why not? On seeing statistics about the small amount of people who have felt comfortable coming out in china, and hearing the testimonial of Jude struggling to come out to her parents while being so happy and in love with her girlfriend, Jen realizes that she is not alone, that maybe this isn’t so unrealistic to think about. She opens her mind to at least taking a first step.
Larry / Grant
Larry is curious to learn more about the LGBTQ community, he wants to gain more knowledge on the subject regarding how he should express himself and come to terms with his own sexuality. As Larry enters the experience he is immediately drawn into the story of others' experience, hearing their narratives and seeing their past history creates a strong impact and relatableness in his own life. As he sees other people’s experience and how they came out, Larry feels a sense of motivation and empowerment that he is not alone in his feelings and that he shares similar struggles of what Jude and what other people in China experienced.