Project Overview

1. Theme and Concept:
   • The project is inspired by the myth of “Piper Boy,” focusing on the theme of nightmares as a metaphor for inescapable global crises such as climate change, inflation, and societal challenges.
   • The narrative will center around a symbolic tunnel representing these crises, with a faint light at the end suggesting a distant hope.
2. Objective:
   • To create an immersive installation that encourages reflection on global issues while avoiding overt political commentary or judgment.

Design and Execution Plan

1. Interactive Immersive Installation:
   • The installation will simulate a tunnel experience using 3D modeling, where participants collectively decide which doors to open. Behind each door, curated scenes or videos will depict various global crises.
   • The audience’s choices will guide the progression, maintaining a balance between immersion and limited interactivity.
2. Technical Aspects:
   • Use 3D modeling software like 3D Max to design the tunnel and its branching paths.
   • Incorporate real-time decision-making by allowing participants to vote on door selection.
   • Ensure a 360-degree immersive visual experience.
3. Visual and Audio Elements:
   • High-resolution photographs of tunnels will be used for texture mapping.
   • Ambient sounds (e.g., door creaks, wind) will enhance realism.
   • Graffiti or modern elements will be avoided to maintain thematic consistency.

Logistics and Next Steps

1. Fieldwork:
   • Scheduled visit to a local tunnel on Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM to take photographs for modeling purposes.
   • Equipment includes a Canon EOS camera for high-quality images; sound recording equipment may be used later if needed.
2. Modeling and Development:
   • Begin 3D modeling based on collected images.
   • Design multiple tunnel paths with varying visual and thematic elements.
3. Team Collaboration:
   • Use shared documents for collaborative editing and referencing.
   • Ensure proper citation using Chicago-style referencing for all sources and visuals.
4. Tutorial Feedback:
   • Discuss the feasibility of interactivity with the tutor during the next session.
   • Explore ways to balance immersive storytelling with technical constraints.

Key Decisions

• The project will prioritize immersion over full interactivity due to practical constraints (e.g., group size, equipment availability).
• Avoid overtly political content; instead, present issues objectively to provoke thought without bias.
• Incorporate a subtle narrative structure (introduction, conflict, open-ended resolution) to align with storytelling conventions.

Individual Contributions：

Ruiqi:

We were somewhat lost temporarily, possibly because we don’t have a solid narrative or reference work yet. Today, we had our tutorial session where we felt off track but tried our best to get back on course. However, we made progress on the narrative and developed the narrative arc, which is exciting. Carly suggested finding someone to act as a storyteller at the installation’s start to provide an introduction, while Chao proposed using video narration. I believe it might be better to combine both, though it may require more work. Aha! (Carly’s imitation is so funny.)

 

Yiting:

In the third week of group discussion, we focused on the theme of nightmares and discussed what current events in the world we need to include in our nightmares. Looking at current events from different perspectives (e.g. insects, animals) can lead to reflection on global issues. During the discussion, I thought of the Edinburgh gale and the British avian influenza. Both events are worthy of our attention and study, as nature and humans coexist. In addition, the team agreed to go to the Rodney street tunnel in Edinburgh on 2025.02.10 to take photos and collect materials for modeling. After the group discussion, I collected four world current events, namely: Japan’s Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge caused controversy, South Korea’s Jeju Air crash, torrential rain hits the UK, and Human cases of avian influenza found in the UK. These four events were reported on BBC news and The Times.

 

Ruotong:

I conducted a research study on global real-time hot topics and collected and organized some major social events that have occurred worldwide in recent years:

• The COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the globe
• Global climate change leading to extreme weather ✅
• The U.S. presidential election and political turmoil ✅
• Instability in the Middle East: the Israel-Palestine war, the Syrian civil war ✅
• The escalation of the Ukraine conflict
• Wildfires in California, USA ✅
• A presidential coup in South Korea
• The resignation of the French Prime Minister

Among these major social events, I conducted an in-depth investigation into several that I believe could be relevant to our project.I think global climate change is a crucial issue that we should focus on and integrate into our project.

With global climate change, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have significantly increased. This not only threatens ecosystems and reduces natural resources but also has profound effects on human physical and even mental health, especially for vulnerable groups. Earlier this year, the wildfires in the Los Angeles area once again highlighted the deep impact of climate change on human life and the environment.

In this meeting, we revisited the real-time news section that I had researched. We decided to avoid politically sensitive topics and instead focus on incorporating global ecological issues that affect everyone into our project. Additionally, since the originally planned location was unavailable, we selected a new tunnel for the project. We then conducted a site survey and recorded IRs to assess the feasibility of the project’s implementation.

Zixuan:

During this group discussion, we refined our project and established a comprehensive framework. Our plan is to depict the Piper Boy being perpetually lost in a tunnel, attempting to escape but ultimately failing. Along his journey, he will continuously encounter doors blocking his way, and behind each door will be various real-life issues we currently face. Through this approach, we aim to bridge mythology with reality. Additionally, we plan to showcase these issues from different perspectives—those of humans, animals, and insects.

During our discussion on theme selection, we agreed to avoid direct political topics. Since the story takes place in a nightmare, it inherently carries a negative tone, and we do not want political themes to introduce additional negativity into the narrative.

Beyond thematic discussions, we also outlined our presentation approach. We plan to create an immersive experience by using 3D modeling and video to showcase our project, aiming to encourage audience reflection after viewing. We also explored the possibility of integrating audience choices into the project, allowing them to decide which door to enter. Additionally, we are considering whether to include interactive elements and plan to discuss this with our professor in the next tutorial.

Finally, we set a date for an on-site visit to a tunnel to collect materials, hoping to gather resources for basic 3D modeling.

Carly:

In this meeting, we reviewed the research conducted individually. There seemed to be some confusion regarding academic text writing, as the referencing and formatting were inconsistent. I took the time to explain how it generally works so we can present our research as effectively as possible. During the meeting, we also discussed the next steps, specifically different tunnel possibilities. As there is no access to the tunnel below McEwan Hall, we determined that the Rodney Street tunnel would be our best option. We also scheduled various meetings for the following week, including one to access the tunnel on Monday and two additional meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday to complete the first submission.

 

Feb 10, 2025