Immersive Documentary: Pushing the Boundaries of the Documentary Viewing Experience
Join us for a talk by Jilann Spitzmiller and Lauren Cason of Meow Wolf, a Santa Fe-based arts and entertainment group that creates unique immersive art experiences. Spitzmiller will discuss the documentary Meow Wolf: Origin Story and one of its most successful screenings: an immersive extravaganza orchestrated by Little Cinema and Brooklyn’s House of Yes that featured a remixed version of the film along with improv and live performance. Cason will discuss Meow Wolf’s projects in the XR space, including a Microsoft pop-up where they took volumetric captures of participants, and “The Navigator”, their award-winning mixed-reality Magic Leap experience that integrated AR and a large scale mech sculpture.
Jilann Spitzmiller is an award-winning documentary storyteller whose latest film, Meow Wolf: Origin Story premiered at SXSW, played in over 600 theatres and can now be seen on major airlines, iTunes, and many other platforms. She is a 3-time ITVS funding recipient, a past Sundance Documentary fellow, and has mentored at events such as NALIP Producer’s Lab, Oregon Doc Camp, and AFIDOCS.
Lauren Cason is the Creative Director of Interactive at Meow Wolf. She got her start in technology as an intern making squishy virtual objects at the MIT Game Lab. Since then, she’s gone on to work with companies including Apple and Ustwo, and was recently selected as a Forbes 30 under 30. Her work spans XR immersive theatre, prototyping teams, emotion-driven games, and experimental storytelling.