Emerging Media Arts students study in London

calendar icon22 Aug 2024    

Lincoln, Neb.--Thirteen students in the emerging media arts program traveled to London from May 18 to June 8 for the study abroad course, “Story Abroad in London,” led by Assistant Professor of Emerging Media Arts Ash Eliza Smith.

It was the third year for the course.

“Because we are an emerging media arts program, every year is different,” Smith said. “Technology and culture change at such a rapid pace that all three years of our trip, so far, have varied widely. The lines of what is immersive, spatial, XR, cinema, theater and storytelling shift, and we are able to question, critique and explore these edges in London. For our studio course, being in London is being in a large laboratory or arts incubator where the city is the classroom.”

This year’s theme for the course was “City, Country, Planet.”

“This came out of conversations with Lisa Gray from Black Meteor, [Carson Center Director] Megan Elliott and Stephanie Sherman [who directs the M.A. program in Narrative Environments at Central Saint Martins in London], where we were dreaming up a shared ecosystem and planetary media lab between London and Lincoln,” Smith said. “For this past summer’s iteration, City, Country, Planet focused on storytelling and extended reality and telling stories across scales—from micro to macro, thinking about the global and the local, rural and urban. It is also about how we sense stories, real-time performance, and data and how we can shape narratives in new and interesting ways.”

Their activities in London included a DogmaVR 360 film workshop at October Gallery; Darkfield binaural audio workshop; L-Acoustics workshop at Disguise Workshop; AI and writing workshops with Guy Gadney and Chris Hogg; an experience design workshop with Arlo Howard. They also attended the theatrical version of “Stranger Things” in the West End and met with some of the creators of Punch Drunk’s new show, “Viola’s Room.” They also attended the show “Vinyl Factory Reverb” and toured 180 Studios with worldbuilder Tony Patrick, among other activities.

Eddie Geiler, a senior emerging media arts major from Omaha, Nebraska, said this study abroad course fit his goals.

“I’ve always been drawn to new opportunities, and this iteration of Story Abroad fell perfectly in line with my interests and goals as an emerging media arts major,” he said. “The theme of City, Country, Planet drew me in because it felt like an opportunity to explore storytelling at different thematic and conceptual levels—I’m obsessed with trying to find not only new stories to tell, but also telling those stories with new artistic languages. Selfishly, as a person living with a disability, studying in London seemed like a great way to explore more of the world and see how a different country approached accessibility within their stories and in the way physical spaces are designed. From both a personal and artistic perspective, this trip felt like the perfect fit.”

Geiler said he entered and exited London “in total awe.”

“It felt a little surreal to be able to travel to a place and see so much art and meet so many artists, especially since it has a much larger arts scene than Nebraska,” he said. “I lived in Los Angeles for a few years, but London had sort of an unexplainable magic that left me awe-inspired. Going to ‘Viola’s Room’—an immersive Punch Drunk audio experience—was a definite highlight, as well as seeing ‘Perfect Show for Rachel,” a deeply personal play that both makes you wonder who we make art for and outright rejects the purpose of wondering that. Both of those have stuck with me, and I think about them almost daily.”

Peter Schmit, a senior emerging media arts major from Lincoln, said taking the course was a good opportunity for him.

“I’ve been influenced by a lot of British media and wanted to get out of my local bubble,” he said. “It was just a good opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and be exposed to the goings-on in a hotspot of creative innovation.”

Schmit said study abroad keeps students on their toes as they learn to navigate a new lifestyle.

“You’ll be overwhelmed with new information and opportunities, and you’ll make connections with classmates and professionals and come back with a new outlook on things,” he said. “Johnny Carson understood the importance of this stuff.”

Ella Benson, a senior emerging media arts major from Omaha, Nebraska, was excited at the chance to study abroad again.

“I actually studied abroad in Spain for my Spanish minor the summer before and really love the experience of learning in another culture,” she said. “Traveling has always been exciting for me, and when there is an opportunity to travel with my school and classmates, I had to take it. It definitely gets you out of your comfort zone and helps you learn more about yourself.”

The course gave her the opportunity to look at storytelling from a new perspective.

“It was a lot of thinking about telling a story in a different way,” Benson said. “Experimenting with technology, but also with the content.”

Benson enjoyed seeing “Viola’s Room,” an audio immersive theatre experience. She also appreciated the 72-hour film festival, which was the students’ main collaborative project.

“It was really cool to see what each team came up with in just 72 hours, limited equipment and a huge city,” she said.

She is grateful for the industry connections that she made.

“I hope to hold on to these connections and revisit them for a career,” Benson said.

Nick Langford, a junior emerging media arts major from Bennington, Nebraska, jumped at the chance to take the course.

“I have always loved traveling, and I grew up on lots of British television. ‘Doctor Who’ was a very big part of my childhood and a huge source of inspiration for me as I still very much love wacky sci-fi,” he said. “This study abroad made me realize that I will be living abroad someday. The world is so much bigger and more beautiful than we realize growing up, and I want to explore more of it.”

He said London was “incredible.”

“The amount of theater and art around is truly inspiring to me,” he said. “London is a city where doing art as a living seems very normal and achievable, and I will be moving there the first chance I get.”

Evie Rawlings, a sophomore emerging media arts major from Lincoln, appreciated the opportunity to study abroad.

“I was interested in traveling the world and learning more about the arts,” she said.

She also loved London.

“London was amazing,” Rawlings said. “I’m not a fan of big cities with the noise and pollution but London didn’t really have any of that. The highlights of the city were probably all the cool little shops and bakeries. We focused more on the city of London, which I appreciated, as it gave me room to explore a new place.”

Smith was pleased with the work the students completed, including their final films.

“Their final films and screening at Industrial Light and Magic were stellar, and I even cried at one point,” Smith said. “Even though we are mainly focused on XR, immersive and spatial storytelling for most of the trip, it is an excellent exercise to have students take much of that experimentation and translate it back into flat media. This year we focused on experimental documentary.”

The final project was a one- to three-minute short documentary exploring what students had learned with City, Country and Planet, and it had to be made in 72 hours.

“I was partnered with Kolby Hunt, and we covered the idea of surveillance through the lens of transportation on London’s subway system,” Geiler said. “Namely, how individual stories and experienced are transformed into recordings and data either through voluntary or involuntary surveillance. The process involved filming a lot of b-roll and interviews with locals, as well as creating 3D models of the subways and stations we traveled to.”

Smith plans to continue improving the course.

“We have some very cool things in the works, which are very much in the early stages, but I can say that we are working on creating a semester-long London program, which will hopefully also include an internship component,” Smith said. “I would tell students to not think twice about going. Some of the art and media we discuss on the pages and via video clips in Lincoln are able to be experienced in real time in London. The connections and networks that students are integrated into, they will have for life. Black Meteor and Megan Elliott have been integral with folding the students into their networks and opportunities in London.”

Geiler said the experience left him more ready to take on the world when he graduates, as he goes into his senior year.

“I am always going to remember the overwhelming joy of sharing this experience with my peers, and I can’t wait to go on more adventures and build new relationships,” he said. “I feel more prepared as an artist and human to forge my own path and accomplish my goals.”

To see the winning film from their 72-hour-film final project, visit https://go.unl.edu/storyabroadfilm.