Breonna’s Garden
While I’ve been a part of hundreds of shoots, and have produced content that I’m extremely proud of, the work I did to support two different versions of Breonna’s Garden are among my favorite projects, and perhaps no project I’ve been a part of has landed such an emotional response.
The Garden was conceived of by creative force Lady PheØnix in collaboration with Breonna Taylor’s family, with support from a broad group of people including digital artist Sutu Eats Flies (who developed the first AR experience), Joanna Popper, and multiple people from Microsoft (special shout out to Alex Kipman, Chyna McRae, and Dr. Dalya Perez, whose contributions made Microsoft’s part possible. Many others contributed)
The first version of the Garden was an AR project, featuring Ju’Niyah, Breonna’s sister, and was received with great fanfare and deserved accolades.
The second version expanded on the original idea and moved the experience to social VR in Altspace. Developed by Big Rock Creative, the VR experience brings an extra special feature to the Garden: a look inside the room Breonna’s mother devoted to a celebration of Breonna’s life, filled with artwork and notes sent by folk around the world, hosted by Breonna’s Mother.
Here’s a discussion talking about the creation of the Garden with Lady PheØnix, Dr. Dalya Perez, Chyna McRae, and myself.
My role on both projects was as creative liaison focusing on volumetric video (which was captured at both Metastage in LA, and Microsoft’s stage in San Francisco). In many respects my role for both projects were closest to that of producer and consultant, helping to ensure we met the creative vision for the project.