Falling Girl, 2008
by Scott Snibbe and Annie Loui

Falling Girl, 2008 computer, projector, digital video camera, retroreflective screen, custom software, animation

Falling Girl is an immersive interactive narrative installation that allows the viewer to participate in the story of a young girl falling from a skyscraper. During her miraculously slow descent, the girl reacts to the people and events in each window. Daylight fades, night falls and passes, and at dawn, when the falling girl finally lands on the sidewalk, she is an aged woman who bears no resemblance to the young girl who started her fall a few minutes before.

Cameras situated in the room and connected to computer incorporate images of viewers themselves that appear in the apartments that the falling girl passes. These are juxtaposed with the ever present central image of the girl in silhouette falling slowly along the skyscraper’s side as she gets older and older. In this way, viewers participate in this tale about the shortness of our lives and the petty concerns that often occupy us.

The project is a collaboration between interactive media artist Scott Snibbe and choreographer/filmmaker Annie Loui.

Falling Girl installed at Berkeley Art Museum, June 2008

Making of Falling GIrl

Credits

Directed by Scott Snibbe
Choreographed by Annie Loui

Dynamic media treatment by Scott Snibbe and Annie Loui

Crew

Noah Cunningham	Assistant director, cinematography, animation
Matt Haley	Storyboard artist
Ashley Rhodes	Costumes
Darcy Prevost	Props
Russel Morgan	Rigging (ZFX Flying Effects)
Lonnie Alcaraz	Lighting
Tamar Pacheco-Theard	Illustration
Victor Vasquez, Tom Holloman	Production assistance
Andrew Delman	Video logging
Stephanie Ghertner	Project management
Maribeth Rubin	Administration
Borden Liu, Scott Snibbe	Programming

Cast

Jennifer Restivo	falling girl
Evans Jarnfeldt	society man, office boss, husband at breakfast
Michael Doonan	party dancer, couple leaving, office worker
Mitch Lewis	party man with rose, office worker
Nylda Mark	another falling girl, couple leaving, party dancer
Karen Hendricks	society lady, falling girl 2, office worker, wife at breakfast
Rachael Grate	falling girl 3, office worker, party dancer

Produced with the generous support of UC Irvine,
The Beall Center for Art and Technology,
and the National Science Foundation's CreativeIT program.

print resolution images [1 2 3]
production photos

(c) 2008 Scott Snibbe