游 园 惊 梦 Wandering in the Garden

Role

• Researcher

• 3D Modeller

• Animator

• Video Editor

Responsibility

• Conduct research on Kun Opera and Chinese garden

• Model environment and characters

• Keyframe actions and create timeline animation

• Edit 360° video

Motivation

Result

Research

Process

Future

💠 Motivation

Wandering In The Garden is a 360° theatre adapted from the famous Chinese Kunqu, The Peony Pavilion, which tells a love story of the heroine falling in love with a scholar in her dream.

As a big fan of traditional art, It's so heartbreaking for me to see the crews and theatres had to shut down business in the pandemic lockdowns. I would like to use my knowledge and skills in transmedia to explore a new expression of physical theatre so that audiences could enjoy plays online without travel limitations.

💠 Final Result

Watching 4K 360° opera on YouTube.

💠 Research

#1 Define the problem

Industry:

• Low income because of the pandemic.

• Good shows can’t be promoted to new or overseas audiences.

• Less fund to protect cultural heritages.

Audience:

• Limitations on watching live house because of Covid-19.

• Less possible to see international crews having world tours.

• No recordings of favourite show online.

#2 Inspiration

Theatre in nowadays is looking for more expressions to engage audiences.

Immersive theatre, compared to traditional theatre, this format brings stage down to audience seats.

The Great Gatsby

Trailer of Justice Online Kun Opera Cooperation

In China, traditional art is collaborating with game companies to bring opera to virtual world. Considering the Covid limits, in-game theatre allows online players to enjoy opera and also pays artists.

#3 Insights

Considering the restricted accessibility of in-person plays during the pandemic, a 360° immersive theatre will be an ideal medium to give audiences an opportunity to watch their favourite play at home.

360° immersive theatre can flexibly design virtual environment in order to

• provide historical and environmental context of the play

• embody audiences to the story world in VR viewing mode

• promote art to remote and overseas audiences during the pandemic

#4 Play Picking - The Peony Pavilion

“不到园林，怎知春色如许。“ If we did not come here, how should we know the spring is splendor like this.

This line is from the famous Chinese Kun Opera, The Peony Pavilion, chapter Wandering in the Garden. It tells a love story of the heroine falling in love with a handsome scholar in her vivid dream.

This opera highly matched the concept of immersive that If you did not come to the pavilion, how could you understand the story?

#5 Tasks

• Decide narrative.

• Model characters and environment.

• Animate characters.

• Edit film in 360°.

• Conduct user tests and iteration.

#1 Narrative Structure

The whole 360° journey will be in a linear narrative. Audiences will “play a role” in a visitor who has an unexpected discovery of a beautiful Chinese garden where the Kun Opera crew is giving a live show.

💠 Design Process

#2 Ideation

1️⃣ Chinese Garden

Classic Chinese Garden is famous for the communication between architecture and natural landscape. Referring to the layout of Suzhou gardens, I modelled one in Sketch Up and then exported to Unity to add water, sky, and plants.

#3 Modelling +Animation

2️⃣ Character Design

Kun Opera was born in Ming Dynasty, so the costumes and accessories are influenced by the clothing at that time. I modelled and sculpted the two main characters in Blender after researching the historical clothing and current opera costumes.

Heroine: Liniang

Servant: Chunxiang

3️⃣ Animation

The postures were keyframed animated in Blender according to Master Jiqing Zhang’s version of Wandering in the Garden.

#4 Audience Flow

This product targets audiences who love exploring different cultures.

To access the VR viewing mode, audiences can use Google Cardboard to experience the immersive opera. Otherwise, they can watch it on mobile phones and change viewing angles by dragging the screen.

💠 Future

• Collaborate with Opera artists to remake animation with Motion Capture.

• Optimize environment with precise models or real scenes.

• Add interactive elements in the tour to increase active viewing.