In this “In Focus” talk, Nonny de la Peña, founder of Emblematic Group — and sometimes called the Godmother of VR — will reflect on her career at the forefront of immersive storytelling. From journalism to filmmaking to virtual reality experiences, Ms. de la Peña has sought to put the audience inside the story.
Inspired by the question, “What if you could experience a narrative with your entire body, not just your mind?” Ms. de la Peña combines traditional reporting with emerging virtual reality technology. The result is an evocative experience that gives us news in a modern way.
From experiencing the vanishing glaciers in Greenland from the cockpit of a virtual helicopter, to being hooded and taken into a holding cell in Gitmo, Ms. de la Peña uses the power of embodiment to construct experiences that feel real.
Now, Ms. De la Peña wants to put the tools of immersive storytelling into everyone’s hands through REACH, a platform that empowers anyone to create AR/VR stories straight from a browser.
This talk is brought to you jointly by The Milstein Program in Technology & Humanity and the Hamilton College Digital Arts Program.
