The immersive experience Lovebirds of the Twin Towers premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival as the storied fest marked 20 years, the creative team announced. Lovebirds tells the true story of Carmen and Arturo Griffith, two elevator operators who worked at the World Trade Center for more than 20 years. Viewers are brought back to a time when the Twin Towers dominated the NYC skyline through the use of VR. Using StoryFile's AI and conversational video, viewers are then able to speak directly with Carmen after watching the film, further deepening their connection with her.
Lovebirds was created by director Ari Palitz (Narrator Entertainment) and creative producer Tim Dillon, whose previous work includes The Last Goodbye in partnership with the USC Shoah Foundation, and The March created in conjunction with the Martin Luther King Jr. Estate and Time magazine. The team also has the support of the 9/11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Center.
The immersive experience at Tribeca leads viewers through Carmen and Arturo's love story which unfolds as we witness the couple's first kiss in an elevator at the Trade Center, and later how they survived the collapse of the buildings. In this visually compelling story, Lovebirds ushers you through a safe space and reminds us that love is more powerful than hate and that in the face of adversity and tragedy, we can unite as a people to overcome all odds.
"Lovebirds" delivers these themes while also delicately relaying Carmen & Arturo's experiences on 9/11 devoid of the sights and sounds of that horrific day.
"As a filmmaker and native New Yorker," said Director Ari Palitz, who has also been a director of the United Nation's VR projects and shown his work at Cannes, Sundance, Davos and the White House, "it's important for me to find a way to use technology to explore our collective memories. This film highlights the Twin Towers, the love that filled their halls and the love affair New Yorkers had with them, while also creating a platform for future generations to understand learn about the past and create their own, new connections with history."
Creative Producer Tim Dillon said, "Our ambition has been to recreate the Twin Towers faithfully as a digital place our audience can inhabit, along with Carmen's stories and memories. Additionally, we plan to extend the project with Part Two along with an expanded experiential exhibit, opening later this year."
Epic Games has supported the project via their MegaGrants program for use of Unreal Engine, the real-time 3D tool. Production companies and partners include: MediaMonks, who were involved with all aspects of the visual production including real-time 3D development in Unreal Engine, led by Creative Director Jake Black of Create. Further support came from MotR (Millions of Tiny Robots). Music by Mckenzie Stubbert and Sound Design by Headspace Studios. Special thanks to Sony Pictures Virtual Reality Group for their support.
Lovebirds runs for 8 minutes and is viewed in VR headset, then once complete, guests are invited to talk with Carmen's interactive in a StoryFile. Los Angeles-based StoryFile is the inventor of conversational video and has recently made headlines for creating interactive projects with Mother Fletcher and Mother Randle, the oldest surviving witnesses of the Tulsa Massacre, as well as StoryFiles with Star Trek's William Shatner and others.
Screenwork Credits
Director: Ari Palitz
Creative Producer: Tim Dillon
Creative Director: Jake Black
Executive Producer: Michael Frazier
Format: VR, Immersive, Experiential, Exhibit, Narrative, Documentary
Runtime: 8mins
Production Companies: Narrator Entertainment, Make Room
Production Country: USA
Ari Palitz, Director
With a diverse e background in multimedia, Feature Films, Documentary, Commercials, Television and Music Videos, Ari delved into the VR medium at its early inception as a producer on the United Nations award winning film Clouds Over Sidra. Ari would continue on to produce the rest of the United Nations VR series and co-direct My Mother's Wing, The Ground Beneath Her, which have premiered at major film festivals, including Cannes, Sundance and Tribeca, featured at the World Economic Forum in Davos, screened at the White House, and have exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art's inaugural program on immersive storytelling. With the advent of 6Dof VR, Ari went on to direct The Last Goodbye for USC Shoah Foundation and produce The March for the King Estate & Time Magazine. Palitz is currently the SVP of Creative and Studio at StoryFile.
Tim Dillon, Creative Producer
Tim Dillon is a Creative Producer with over two decades of experience exploring the frontiers of emerging technology, design, digital, experiential, immersive and mixed reality in all their evolving forms. From 2012 to 2019, Tim helmed the Immersive team at MPC as Head of VR & Immersive Content, leading a group focused on XR for Brands, Film, Entertainment, Music, Art and Social Causes. Tim has been instrumental in the development and production of many notable projects including The Last Goodbye (Tribeca 2017, Venice 2017, FoST), Justin Timerlake's Montana Holodome Experience (MoPop Seattle), LEGION Sessions (Comic-Con SD 2017), Heroes (Sundance 2017), Night Night (Dark Corner Co-prod), Kygo Carry Me (Sony Music PlayStation Launch), Chainsmokers Lost In Music Experience, just to name a few.
MediaMonks
MediaMonks is a global creative and production company that partners with clients across industries and markets to craft amazing work for leading businesses and brands. Its integrated production capabilities span the entire creative spectrum, covering anything you could possibly want from a production partner, and probably more. From creative campaigns and content to bespoke development and design, MediaMonks works above the line and below the fold at the intersection of creativity and technology. As part of S4Capital, MediaMonks operates across teams, time zones, and technologies with a team of more than 5,000, providing an end-to-end solution for brands.
StoryFile
toryFile LLC was founded in 2017 in Los Angeles by Heather Smith, Sam Gustman, Stephen Smith, and Ceci Chan. StoryFile using AI, AR, VR, and its proprietary innovative technology to create and inspire human connections across generations to connect the past, present, and future. StoryFile developed the world's first conversational video interactive platform that gives the storyteller the opportunity to tell their narrative and experiences in their own words. The spark of human connection that emanates from this technology is unprecedented, because never before has technology allowed for real time video interactions with pre-recorded interviews. StoryFile has achieved the previously thought-of impossible by taking 2D video and transforming it in a 3D experience for all stakeholders. StoryFile's technology platform is transforming how we record and tell our stories for generations to come, ensuring the future can forever interact with and learn from the past. What fuels the company is the very thing that keeps humanity motivated –creating connections that span lifetimes and geographies.
