VR Multi user performance installation “We are at home”

Immersive storytelling research project: Development
VR multi-user performance installation.

We Are at Home - VR multi-user performance installation
Based on the poem The Hangman at Home by Carl Sandburg
Directed by: Michelle and Uri Kranot
Produced by: Late Love (DK) / Floreal films (FR)
Supported by Center for Animation, Visualization and Digital Storytelling, The Animation Workshop/VIA University College.

“What does the hangman think about when he goes home at night from work?”

User Experience:
VR multi-user, projection installation, live performance, free-roam, multi-media exhibition.

Purpose of development
We are deeply rooted within the educational as well as the professional aspects of the creative industries, nationally and internationally, while playing a key role in The Animation Workshop community. As part of our art practice and with the urgency to position and contextualize our work, we continue to actively engage and students, graduates, peers and colleagues in the creative realization of our professional work. The proposed research aims to take our existing VR and animation film project to the next level and develop it into a multi-user installation while providing framework and strengthening the immersive storytelling momentum at TAW. We feel that the most impactful aspect of our proposal is the level of professionalism and ultimately, the outreach that this project has. Through the further support of this project, TAW, CAV and FoU will enjoy a high level of visibility and documented results in the top industry and academic spheres. This project is an important cultural and technological milestone as well as a relevant, accessible resource for our knowledge base at VIA and TAW.

Project description: Documentation of research

“What does the hangman think about when he goes home at night from work?”
Inspired by the iconic Carl Sandburg poem (1922), this VR multi-user installation is an immersive experience exploring themes of acknowledgement and participation and the awkward intimacy that comes with being human. This unique animated interactive work is a bridge between the digital, performing arts, visual arts and the latest innovative technology. At its core is the connection between spectator, witness, and accomplice. The participatory experience invites you into five interwoven stories, capturing pivotal moments in people’s lives. We Are at Home - VR multi-user installation ultimately reveals that we are all more alike than different, while raising questions of responsibility.

Proposal: The experience begins with a call to action, as the players gather and are asked to light a match to ignite the narrative. This non-linear, layered story is both interactive and observational. Users can roam free (using Oculus Quest) and are given the choice to cross different thresholds, such as a door, a window, or a fireplace; each is a portal to a room where one of the five animated scenes unfolds. Eventually they have the opportunity to interact and ‘meet’ each other in VR, where they are invited to take part in the poetic climax of this thoughtful, often playful journey, together.



A co-production between Late Love Production (Denmark), Floréal Films (France), Miyu Productions (France) and the National Film Board of Canada.

Development of a VR multi-user performance installation.

This multi-media project has three distinct and singular outputs:
· We Are at Home – a multi-user VR installation for a larger venue and audience
(In development)
· The Hangman at Home – VR – a single-user immersive experience (XR Grand prix Venice Film Festival);
· The Hangman at Home – Animated short film.