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End-of-semester events announcement with bright text and colorful design

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The Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts will host multiple exciting end-of-semester events to showcase the work of Emerging Media Arts majors.  

  • Explore Capstone projects created by Emerging Media Arts seniors including VR experiences, animatronics, and games. 
  • Attend The Nebbys (short for Nebraska), our annual screening and awards celebrating the achievements, talents and course work of Emerging Media Arts majors. This screening showcases Capstone films and screen-based work submitted for consideration. 
  • Finally, step behind the scenes and meet EMA student creators during Open Studios to experience their in-progress and completed works from the Spring 2026 semester. 

All events are free and open to the public.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

All events will take place at the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts located at 1300 Q Street, Lincoln, Nebraska unless otherwise noted. 

Events

Capstone150dpi

April 30 | Capstone Showcase | 4 to 7 pm

Senior emerging media arts students will showcase their capstone projects to the public.
More info below.

 

 

Nebbys150dpi

April 30 | Screening at The Ross Media Arts Center | 313 N 13th St | 7:30 pm

Seating is limited, so please reserve your tickets in advance. https://go.unl.edu/nebbystix
Reception to follow across the street at the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts 1300 Q Street

 

OpenStudios150dpi

May 1 | 5 to 8 pm

Explore in-progress and Capstone projects by Emerging Media Arts students. 

Story Lab II - The Whispering Crane Night Market, Sheldon Museum of Art Parking Lot (451 N 12th Street, Lincoln, NE 68588) 
A transient bazaar where one can encounter a variety of mysterious lounges, theaters, galleries, cafés, installations, and other establishments, all situated withing seemingly ordinary box trucks. 

TIMED PERFORMANCES (subject to change)

Computation & Media Studio II VJ Performances (5:00 - 6:30 pm) 

Game Engines for Real-time Performance

  • 5:30 pm - Debby Takes a HIt
  • 6:15 pm - Do You Wanna Fight a Girl? 
  • 7:00 pm - Out of This World 

Spatial & Interactive Audio  (6:00 - 6:45 pm)

VJ Club (6:30 - 8:00 pm) 

 

 

Capstone Showcase

Nick Langford Capstone

Delmar Makes it Worse  

By Nick Langford and Calvin Doerr (advanced project)

Location: SW Storefront Gallery

Delmar Makes it Worse is a fabrication and film project that uses puppets and physical sets to prove that you can make anything with anything. You should be anything with anything, please make more things with your soul and your friends.  

Noah Trumble Capstone

Do Not Atune   

By Noah Trumble 

Location: Room 205

Do Not Attune encourages movement. When you step in front of the TV, you are met with a mirage of colors, video, and a reflection of yourself, engrained into the display. When you select and play a CD, your silhouette becomes brighter, interpolating with the colors flashing across the screen. 

But this does only half of the work in bringing the project to life. Move to the music and watch as your silhouette, the background, and the sound itself begin to take over the room. When movement stops and your focus sharpens, the piece responds in kind—tightening, settling, becoming more controlled alongside you  

Cazun, Sidwell, Vieau Capstone

The Final Draft

By Sam Vieau, Ana Cazun, Rain Sidwell

Location: Room 209

The Final Draft is a first-person perspective horror game where the player character is terrorized by an unseen force. As the player, you will be given the opportunity to explore the level and experience it in the day and nighttime as well as a fully interactable house that serves as the setting for the game. The project aims to be immersive in setting, sound, and experience, as well as providing an opportunity to give feedback to the development team via a ballot box. 

Peter Schmit Capstone

The Pan-Phonemic Garble Blaster

By Peter Schmit

Location: Second Floor Raceway (north side)  

A voice-scrambling audio effect for use in music production and demonstrated with an original piece of progressive metal music. Audiences will be able to try the effect themselves or stream the music in their own time. 

Mac O'Brien Capstone

RowVR

By Mac O'Brien

Location: Room 247

RowVR is a virtual reality rowing simulator that combines exercise with gameplay to put the player in the middle of a boat race. Data is sent from a Concept 2 ERG rowing machine to a virtual reality game dictating the player's speed, while a custom-made oar rig transmits rotational data to match up with the player's movements. These systems combine to create the most realistic VR rowing simulator to date. This capstone project not only teaches players how to row; it lets them experience a sport that they otherwise may not be able to explore. 

Nathan Smiley Capstone

Scrumbo the Animatronic Man

By Nathan Smiley

Location: Atrium

 

Scrumbo is an animatronic character just like the ones of the 80s that you can watch perform. The project uses 3D printed designs with PVC pipe reinforcements to construct an animatronic that is large and lightweight, and mimics the designs of classic animatronic characters.
 

Brown & Gram Capstone

Seabridge

By Haley Grams and Ansley Brown
with help from Devon Williams, Mirabella Kundhi, Charleigh Bradfield, and Liang Endacott

Location: Room 205

Seabridge is a narrative-driven mystery game where players take on the role of an investigator sent to a remote coastal town plagued by unexplained shipwrecks and eerie supernatural activity. As they uncover clues surrounding a missing ship and a growing number of disappearances, players must navigate tense relationships, make meaningful choices, and piece together a hidden conspiracy involving smuggling, local legends, and a haunting presence tied to the sea itself. Blending grounded investigation with psychological horror, Seabridge challenges players to decide what, and who, to trust as the line between the living and the dead begins to blur. 

Carlson, Hill, Richmond & Roesch Capstone

Squirrel Game

By Drew Carlson, Simone Hill, Liv Richmond, and Gabrielle Roesch

Location: North of Entrance

Squirrel Game is a cozy, narrative-driven RPG. It follows Fig, a young squirrel on a mission: to bake a delicious acorn pie for her grandma's welcome home party! But to get her paws on the ingredients, Fig will need to help her neighbors with their own dilemmas. Squirrel Game uses humor and charm to highlight the impact a single person can make on their community... and just how important community is.

Eva Kramer Capstone

Thread and Roses

By Eva Kramer

Location: Room 244 

Thread and Roses is a small fashion line exploring the history of women in the US textile and garment industries at the turn of the century. It uses fashion and technology to make outfits that move, glow, and transform. Thread and Roses aims to draw attention to the many women who have made our clothes historically and who continue to do so today. By using fashion and technology to draw parallels between the clothing industry of the 1900s-1910s and the clothing industry of today, this exhibit hopes to remind us the many ways in which the clothes we wear affect the people who create them. 

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