WHY VR IS THE NEXT GREAT ART FORM
Milica Zec Combines Life and Ingenuity to Elevate VR From Tech to Art
Milica Zec:
"VR Director and Producer."////////////////////////////////////////
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July 26, 2017
Art is a unique and powerful way to translate thoughts, emotions and experiences to an audience. It holds true for painting, music and film and it also translates to immersive experiences, whether narrative or experiential. Few creators working in this emerging medium create as intensely personal works as director and producer Milica Zec.
In our Wevr Transport conversation with Milica Zec, the acclaimed creator discusses life during wartime, manipulating human senses, the social possibilities of VR and more.
Milica was raised in war-torn Serbia. Her works address themes of conflict, identity and human struggle. Her VR debut was the acclaimed short "Giant," which she made in collaboration with director, producer and creative technologist Winslow Porter. The experience is based on true events, placing viewers inside a heart-wrenching drama of parents and a young child struggling to survive a war time bombing. Giant premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival to great acclaim.
"Almost everything in Virtual reality heightens your emotional experience, of course, if the experience is good."
Milica followed up to Giant with the experience Tree which was also done in collaboration with Winslow Porter. The innovative experience manipulates multiple senses including scent, touch and temperature to transform viewers into an actual rainforest tree as it grows from seedling to maturity. Tree premiered at both the Sundance and Tribeca film festivals. Currently she and Porter are working on the final installment of their VR trilogy, a yet untitled experience created with Academy Award nominated screenwriter Luke Davies.
"We want to show that in a way we are all here together on this planet. We can do something together. Something constructive about our lives and the whole planet."
We believe it is artists such as Milica, whose personally inspired visions will capitalize on the inherent emotions of the medium to push VR past technological gimmick into essential and resonant art form.