Graduate Student Requirement: Kyle Ott
by Kyle Ott
- May 5
- in
When I was thinking about who was working in VR and the things they were doing in it I immediately thought of our very own Andrew Polino. Andrew graduated from Newhouse with a degree in broadcast journalism, but after taking this very class decided to branch off into VR. Andrew is currently working on "Eyewitness" a joint project between the Syracuse police department and Syracuse University. In keeping with typical interview procedure my questions to Andrew are in regular type and his replies are in italics.
How did you get started in 360/VR?
Probably the same way you did! VR was only a few months away from being introduced to the general public. I'd just come from a summer capstone in Washington, D.C. as a reporter for public radio, and I was emotionally and creatively burnt out. Then I signed on to Pacheco's class on a whim, and was hooked immediately. The thought of using new, evolving technology to tell stories in ways that hadn't been done before really got me excited about journalism again, and so off I went!
How did you get involved with the project?
The project was the brainchild of Professor Makana Chock. She wanted to use virtual reality as the centerpiece of a research study she planned to do on eyewitness accounts and memories, so she needed a student who knew how to make V.R. content to produce and direct. She pitched the project to the whole class. Between the journalistic value of the project and the chance to make my first professional V.R. piece, I was enthused about the idea right from the get-go. I'd bug Professor Chock every week for updates, until she formally gave me the job in December.
What are you hoping to achieve through this project?
There are a lot of things we're hoping to achieve through this project. Some of which, we'd rather not give away. For now though, I can tell you that we took inspiration from a lot of captured video of violent police confrontations and reports of eyewitness testimonies. What we want to do is recreate a simulation that will trigger emotional and mental responses that are as close to the real thing as possible. And the more people experience it as part of our research, the more we can learn about what people see and why.
What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
Having to learn everything from scratch. Even after Professor Chock hired me, I still had very limited experience with Unity and scene creation. And I'd never designed a cinematic "scene" for V.R. without using 360 video before. There was a lot I had to learn as I went: How to record, edit, and rig motion capture animation. How to mix soundscapes and sync dialogue with character animation... Basically how to take everything we started to learn in class and do it the long, hard, elaborate way.
What is the one thing you wished someone had told you about working in this field?
Be ready to troubleshoot. A lot. Especially when you're on the final stretch until deadline. That's the major downside in working in technical innovation. Whatever hardware or software you're using, something will go wrong. Just never forget, Google is your friend and so are the Unity forums. As perplexing as these problems are, for the most part, you're the one that can fix them.
What is one thing that you would tell someone else planning on getting into this field?
Two things: First, don't let the fact that something doesn't seem to be working or that maybe you don't know how to work it limit you. Make it your wildest ambition to figure it out. There are plenty of tools and materials available, use them. Less than a year ago, I had no clue how to do anything remotely V.R. related. Last week, I just launched my first professional V.R. project. Forget everything you know about an area of expertise or comfort zone, and look for hurdles to jump. The more you learn how to do, the more of your own ideas and stylistic touches will start to show in your V.R. work.
Second, pace yourself. Developing V.R. content is extremely challenging and wildly time-consuming. Especially if you're just starting out. For ever hour of the creative part of the process, be prepared to devote days to the technical side of things. Put the necessary time and energy into every piece, but don't forget to sleep and get out of the office once in a while.
How do you see this field growing and developing?
I see this field growing and developing in so many ways that if I tried to list them, this e-mail would be at least 18 times as long. To cut a long story short, V.R. is poised to become as ever-present and versatile in our lives as modern computers. Commercial, entertainment, educational, professional use...you name the field (medical? architecture? engineering?), and it will have practical use for V.R. and when combined with the internet, it will completely change the way we communicate and relate to each other.
As a journalist, I want to see a generation of consumers who are well-informed and emotionally invested in wherever, whatever, or whomever the news reports on, because they felt like a part of the story.
Andrew's project has just launched and those of you in the Syracuse who are interested in testing it can sign up for times to do so here.
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