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1-28 of 28
- Since March 2020, Draxtor has been following researchers based in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, around Animal Crossing and Second Life to find out how COVID-19 is reshaping online interaction. In the film, protagonists from all over the world speak openly about their anxieties and everyday challenges during this global crises and about what virtual worlds and social games mean to them in the context of a pandemic. Mixed reality interviews and group discussions provide the basis for a sprawling narrative: a mosaic of impressions, shared by people from all walks of life, some well known figures from science, arts and culture, some just regular folks (like the research team itself), trying to make sense of a new age dominated by uncertainty and physical isolation.
- The feature documentary "Our Digital Selves: My Avatar is me!" tells the story of 13 global citizens and their avatars as they transcend their various disabilities through artistic expression and making a home for themselves in the VR Metaverse. As researchers Donna Davis and Tom Boellstorff finish up their 3-year study, the film provides a window into a world of seemingly unlimited possibilities for human interaction, irrespective of physical location, age, gender or ability."Our Digital Selves" weaves together physical and virtual cinematography as the protagonists' transformative backstories are re-enacted via Machinima.
- Profiles the creative people behind the avatars who move the largest virtual reality world Second Life forward with their passion and persistence that cuts across all generational, ethnic and physical divides.
- "We are taught early on that creativity is reserved for the 'creative types' and that they are special but it just not true: all of us can do this. That is what Second Life provides..."
- "I am in debt to SL for giving me an outlet. Yes, it may not be for people with a short attention span but it is perfect for creative people!"
- "The screen is my canvas on which I paint in a digital way" says Machinima maker Ole Etzel.
- "My avatar represents how I truly feel inside" says 86-year old Fran Seranade. And despite her Parkinson's condition she navigates her stunningly dressed digital alter ego with bravura through the immersive universe of Second Life.
- "If you are a member of the art world you cannot any longer ignore immersive virtual worlds!" says Rose Borchovski and adds: "In Second Life I have a much wider audience than in a museum!".
- "Second Life is, contrary to the public perception, not a place where lonely people ignore each other; it is a meeting of minds for creative folks!"
- "A child in Kenya can eat today because your avatar gave 100 Linden Dollars at this concert!"
- "The vision is in the player's hands: it is what you see and what you bring to the world!".
- "We have forgotten how to play, how to have fun!" says Canary Beck and elaborates on why the Metaverse is the place to do just that: "Second Life is like merging Photoshop with a Holodeck!"
- "The students using the replicated lab in Second Life had better retention of information than the students only using the physical lab!" Wendy Keeney-Kennicutt from Texas A&M University is excited.
- "Second Life changed my life", says the Italian designer and illustrator flokers: "It allowed me to become the artist I really am and turn my passion into a full-time job."
- "Second Life helped me discover what I am good at and what I would like to pursue" says 23-year old Edi Clarity.
- "Second Life is the perfect place for amputees to overcome emotional trauma by sharing stories and realizing they are not alone!"
- "In SL you can do whatever you want and that is the empowering thing. If more people knew that, more people would use it!"
- "I do not see a conflict between the virtual and the natural world!" says Indie Musician Oblee.
- "Second Life is so multifaceted that you can't really make a judgement as to whether somebody's activity is more serious than somebody else's!"
- "I just like making things and see how other people enjoy them!" summarizes virtual entrepreneur Nylon Pinkney her enthusiasm about her work in Second Life.
- "The anonymity in this virtual world gave me the bravery to be very very real. I was able to overcome a lot of issues by expressing myself creatively in Second Life!"
- "I was raised in the Native American tradition to never lose my awe of the world" says designer and storyteller Stark Osterham.
- Paris, France based Maylee Oh makes a living by designing female apparel for avatars who live in the virtual world of Second Life.
- Anthropologist Tom Boellstorff sees no difference between doing ethnographic research in Indonesia or among the residents of a digital universe like Second Life.
- "The backbone of the our university's presence in the virtual world is the art and the film. It keeps things alive at all times!" says Jayjay Zifanwe from the University of Western Australia in Perth.
- "Of course every museum should have something like this" says Pit Vinandy, referring to the virtual reality component at Fort Thüngen Museum and the City Museum of Luxembourg.
- The mainstream media likes to point out how "living online" destroys relationships in the "real" world but for one American-Scottish couple the virtual world of Second Life became a facilitator.
- "Our users create content all the time: this world is not bounded, it is not finite!" says Coyot Linden, describing the reason for the sustained success of Second Life amongst digital creatives: in this universe you have the freedom to be and do whatever you want. Project Bento which added over 100 new joints/bones to the standard SL skeleton was such an endeavor, spanning months of intense collaboration between Lindens, residents and the ever busy SL content making contractors - the Moles.