I can't believe it's already been a few weeks since I started grad school. Feels like just yesterday I was enjoying the summer sun with anticipation building for this next chapter in my academic journey. Nervous? Absolutely. Excited? You bet. Now that I've got a few weeks under my belt, I wanted to share some of the ups, downs, and everything in between.
Relearning the Art of Writing: Weekly Essays and Zotero Adventures
One of the first hurdles I encountered was in my Design Research class. Imagine being told you have to churn out a 1,000-word essay every week. Every. Single. Week. At first, it felt like climbing Everest without oxygen. I mean, I hadn't written academically in ages! Thank goodness back in High School I had a teacher that was just as brutal or else I don't think I could have handled it.
But then I discovered Zotero. If you haven't used it, it's this fantastic tool for managing sources and citations. It was like finding a treasure map in the middle of a dense forest. Suddenly, keeping track of all those articles and references became so much easier. I went from spending hours trying to format my citations on my work cited page to suddenly just needing to click a button.
Reading academic papers quickly became a new skill I had to master. Skimming abstracts, identifying key arguments, and digesting complex theories turned into a sort of game. Plus, diving into topics like Design Research—which, fun fact, can be broken down into Researching For Design, About Design, and Through Design—was surprisingly fascinating. If you haven't read How to Read a Paper by S. Keshav I would highly recommend it!
Ontology, Epistemology, and Other Big Words
Now, let's talk about ontology and epistemology. Sounds daunting, right? Trust me, my head was spinning the first time these words were thrown around in class. But as I dug deeper, I started to appreciate how these philosophical concepts underpin so much of our research approach. Essentially ontology is what you consider to be the underlying truth to your beliefs and Epistemology is how do you determine what that truth is.
We also explored different research paradigms like Pragmatic Constructivism, Positivism, Interpretivism, and Critical Realism. Each one offers a unique lens through which to view the world, and figuring out where I fit within them has been an eye-opener. Personally, I think that I'm gonna fall either into Pragmatic Constructivism or Critical Realism.
The Great Intersection: Theatre, Bionic Contact Lenses, and Social Interaction
One of the most exciting projects I've worked on involved combining three seemingly unrelated topics: theatre, bionic contact lenses, and social interaction. The challenge was to explore each field individually and then find ways they could intersect.
First, I dove into each topic. Did you know there are theaters like Glitch Studios creating live AR experiences? Or that bionic contact lenses aren't just for making cool AR projects—they can also be used for medical monitoring?
Next, I looked for pairings:
Social Interaction + Bionic Contact Lenses: Imagine live captions during conversations displayed through AR. How cool would that be for breaking down language barriers?
Theatre + Bionic Contact Lenses: Envisioning a new way to experience performances with enhanced visual effects right in your eyes.
Finally, merging all three led to the idea of an AR virtual avatar that audience members could interact with before or after a show, deepening their connection to the performance.
A Detective in VR: Visualizing Research Under Pressure
To bring all these ideas together, I decided to create a VR application. The concept? A detective piecing together clues on how these three topics could save the theatre industry post-pandemic. Sounds ambitious, right? Well, I had a week to pull it off.
It was brutal. Long days, tons of writing, and a lot of going back to the drawing board. Thankfully, AI tools like Eleven Labs and ChatGPT were lifesavers, helping me generate content and troubleshoot problems faster than I could on my own.
Presenting the final product felt like crossing a marathon finish line. Exhausted but exhilarated, I shared my journey and the VR experience with my class through a PowerPoint presentation. The feedback was incredibly encouraging, making all those hours worth it. Below I've included a trailer for it that I put together to showcase the end product and the journey map of creating it!
Motion Capture Magic: From Horses to Game Engines
Switching gears, I also started my first motion capture class this semester. Learning that motion capture dates back to 1887 with Étienne-Jules Marey's studies of horse movement blew my mind. It's amazing how far we've come!
I did a deep dive into the motion capture techniques used in Beyond: Two Souls by Quantic Dream. That game holds a special place in my heart—it was one of the first to use cinematic storytelling that truly resonated with me.
Getting hands-on with MotionBuilder to clean up motion capture data and export it to game engines was another highlight. Plus, experiencing both full-body and tracker-less motion capture systems firsthand was just plain fun. And yes, I couldn't resist using this tech to enhance my ballroom guide app!
Exploring Extended Reality (XR): Merging Old Skills with New Learning
Even though I've had past experience with HoloLens projects at previous jobs, taking a formal class on XR has been a game-changer. Learning about Vuforia and integrating it into Unity opened up new possibilities.
I created a prototype AR application where users can scan a ballroom dance book and see dancers performing the moves right on the page. As someone passionate about dance, it felt amazing to merge my hobby with technology to help others learn in a more intuitive way.
Check out my post on the project here! https://skyewinters16.wixsite.com/skye-winters/past-projects/ballroom-guide
The Balancing Act: Work, School, and a Bit of Swing
Finding equilibrium between my GRA position, volunteering with AfroDuck, coursework, and hobbies like Ballroom, Lindy Hop and West Coast Swing has been... challenging. However, I am super glad that I so far have been able to keep up with all of it so hopefully that can continue into the future!
But meeting faculty members and discussing potential research areas in Extended Reality, Interactive Media, and Performing Arts has been invigorating. It's reassuring to find others who share my interests and can guide me along this journey.
AfroDuck Adventures: Menus, Bugs, and GDEX Prep
An another note, I've also been trying to squeeze in time to contribute to a game studio called AfroDuck on their upcoming project Zakumba: Astraia which has been tough but rewarding. In the past few weeks I revamped the pause menu system and have hopped on several calls to help with making design decisions for the game.
Currently, we're gearing up for the first public showing of the app in years at this year's GDEX in October. Addressing bugs and polishing features under a tight deadline reminds me a lot of that VR project—stressful but ultimately fulfilling.
Embracing the Present, Looking to the Future
So, here I am, a few weeks into grad school, feeling a mix of exhaustion and excitement. There's still so much to learn and explore, but for the first time in a while, I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.
If you've made it this far, thanks for joining me on this journey. I'm hopeful for what the future holds and grateful for the experiences I'm having right now. Here's to embracing the present and all the adventures that come with it!
Until next time,
Skye (They / Them)
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