MIXibition Fall 2024

Join the ASU MIX Center for our Fall 2024 MIXibition! This will be a night to engage the ASU and Mesa communities with work from graduate students and faculty across various disciplines in the ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

Experience a night filled with FREE immersive exhibits and artwork, open for all to enjoy. The exhibit will be held inside the ASU Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center in Downtown Mesa, AZ running from 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Featured "MIXibitions" are:

105 - Enhanced Immersion Studio (EIS)

Led by Professor Sven Ortel

About: Central to the project is creating meaningful engagement using 3D projection mapping techniques on a physical sculpture object. This fall, that object is a 15ft tall regular dodecahedron! Three groups will present their work in the Enhanced Immersion Studio (EIS) for this installation.

The projects cover a wide range of techniques and approaches. Featured projects from graduate students will be:

• Digital Terrarium: The experience highlights nature's beauty, diversity, and complexity through art.
• A Reflection Of US: A visual storytelling experience inspired by the memories and emotions of people within the Mesa community.
• Meet Doh: A live interactive experience of meeting Doh. Brace yourself for Doh’s presence and hear what he says about you and probably your mom!

This installation is in collaboration with Immersive Aspects of Sound.

Floor 1 Lobby | 117 - Sound Stage 2 

Led by Professors Sven Ortel and Kristy Kang

About: This course focuses on media arts and sciences in the 20th and 21st centuries, discussing issues surrounding the evolution of media art research and creation practices, methods of criticism and analysis, transdisciplinary work and research, collaboration and current trends. Emphasizes the methodology, theory and history behind the experimental study of experience via experiential systems. Directed toward those interested in researching, designing, building or critiquing experiential media systems that are culturally or technoscientifically provocative and socially meaningful.

123 - Sound Stage 3 (Virtual Production Volume)

Led by Professor Ana Herruzo

About: This course offers an unprecedented journey into the world of drone light shows, combining the art of storytelling with the latest in drone technology. In collaboration with Nova Sky Stories, a pioneer company in aerial spectacles, students will delve into the mechanics of creating mesmerizing 3D animations, intricate lighting designs, and compelling narratives that elevate drone choreographies to new heights. From conceptualization to execution, this course covers the entire process of bringing a drone light show to life, emphasizing creativity, technical skills, and societal impact.

Floor 1 Lobby

Led by Professor Laura Cechanowicz

About: Students receive an introduction to collaborative and non-hierarchical processes of worldbuilding methodology. In this course, we engage in worldbuilding together as a methodology to create robust world systems for previsualization, ideation and narrative development in media production for entertainment and social justice. This methodology utilizes play, comedy, embodied knowledge production, the design of space, the investigation of the future and collaborative imagination to ignite the flames of creativity and imagination. Worldbuilding methodologies will provides students with tools to research and organize complex webs of data into domains, extract and observe emergent themes, make sense of them through storytelling, and learn structures for effective collaboration in groups toward innovative and ambitious goals.

208 - Dreamscape Learn Free-Roam Pod

Led by Professor Weidi Zhang

About: A spark. A mystery. A challenge.

Embark on an immersive journey to solve complex puzzles, unlock hidden secrets, and experience a world where your decisions shape reality. Bring your team and be the ones to uncover the origins of creation.

Will you rise to the challenge?

This installation is in collaboration with: Meteor Studio | Dreamscape | Immersive Media Design I | Immersive Aspects of Sound

108 - Lab

Led by Professors Biayna Bogosian and Shaoyu Su

This course introduces the fundamental concepts for designing cutting-edge Extended Reality (XR) experiences, focusing on cinematic, interactive media, and game-based methodologies. Students develop Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality projects using Unreal and Unity engines, exploring narrative and worldbuilding approaches for topics such as climate change issues and extreme environments, as well as memory and embodiment. Students work with emerging technologies including generative Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models, spatial audio and more.

105 - Enhanced Immersion Studio (EIS) | 208 - Dreamscape Learn Free-Roam Pod

Led by Professor Rodrigo Meirelles

About: The Immersive Aspects of Sound class at the Sidney Poitier New American Film School immerses students in the art and technology of storytelling through sound utilizing the unique resources of ASU’s Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center. Taught by Professor Rodrigo Meirelles, this innovative course focuses on spatial and immersive audio, teaching students how to design, produce, and implement soundscapes using both state-of-the-art tools and advanced workflows. From crafting sonic experiences in Dolby Atmos to creating spatialized assets for VR Dreamscape projects, and thoughtfully designing Spacemaps to dynamically fill a 55-speaker environment, students learn to treat sound as a multi-layered sonic canvas. These processes expose students to the entire pipeline of immersive sound creation, preparing them for the demands of a rapidly evolving industry.

For their final projects, students are expanding their work in interdisciplinary collaborations with Professor Sven Ortel’s Bridging Physical and Digital Realities class and Professor  Weidi Zhang’s Immersive Experience Design class. These projects challenge students to integrate spatial audio with visual storytelling and create compelling, immersive experiences.

• Dreamscape VR Experiences: Two groups are working on the “The Spark of Creation,” a collaborative VR project that explores elemental themes like Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth. Students are responsible for designing spatial audio assets for VR environments, aiming for creating a cohesive sonic narrative that complements the visual storytelling developed by Zhang’s class.
• EIS Installations: Three groups are crafting multi-layered sound and visual installations, projected onto a 15-foot dodecahedron. These installations combine immersive soundscapes and 3D projection mapping, in collaboration with Ortel’s class, to create engaging and thought-provoking stories.

206 - Dreamscape Learn Classroom Pod

About: Season Two of Act One’s VR field trip, "Weaving Our Story", takes participants on a 360° visual and audio journey through three local Indigenous Arizona artists’ work on the themes of weaving, storytelling, music, public art, and cultural heritage.

312 - Meteor Studio

About: Mesh Guilds are collections of XR enthusiast students, staff, and faculty, organized by role-oriented areas of production, e.g., 3D Modeling, Narrative Design, and Spatial Engine Integration. By studying and sharing within their guilds, students extend their education beyond traditional classrooms, fostering a sense of upskilling, community and collaboration around collective interests in professional settings.

Floor 1 Lobby - LED Videowall

Led by Xavier Nokes

About: Shown are three TouchDesigner projects developed by Xavier Nokes as part of the social media event “Genuary” in 2024, wherein artists are asked to create generative artwork given a daily prompt in the month of January. The prompts for the projects are “Pixel”, “Islamic inspired art”, and “ASCII” respectively.

106 - Community Room

About: Meet peers, interact with groundbreaking immersive media technology and see firsthand what life as a graduate student in this vibrant, tech-fueled ecosystem feels like.

324 - Classroom

Applied Project by Hsin-Yu

About: In this VR game, you will join River in exploring the planet Htrae, where nature and technology coexist. When the sound-control app malfunctions, River's heightened sensitivity to sound becomes overwhelming. As River seeks a way to repair the system, they uncover a conspiracy deeply intertwined with technology. Throughout the adventure, you’ll face choices that challenge you to consider whether to rely on technology or return to nature, reflecting on the impact of technology on the environment and its potential role in the lives of individuals with autism and sensory sensitivities.

ASU Events Promo Photo Credit: Laura Segall