Ep 7: “SIGGRAPH Asia 2022” | Hyungseok Kim XR Chair

Welcome back to the Digital Doha Podcast, our Qatar-based interview series exploring the cutting-edge of emerging media happening in Doha and the greater Middle East. Hosted by Spencer Striker, PhD Digital Media Professor at Northwestern Qatar, and creator of the award-winning History Adventures digital learning series.  

For the seventh episode, we continue our exclusive coverage of SIGGRAPH Asia 2022, the world’s leading conference on computer graphics and interactive media, which took place in Daegu, South Korea, December 6-9. Celebrating the theme ‘Colorful World’, the finest minds redefining the future of cutting-edge technologies gathered to inspire an audience of thousands from around the world.

Today’s guest, Hyungseok Kim, is Program Chair of SIGGRAPH Asia’s XR Track. XR was a juried exhibition within the SIGGRAPH Asia Experience Hall that showcased novel VR, AR, MR prototype systems and/or innovative content with off-the-shelf consumer products and software such as Unity or Unreal Engine. Designers and engineers explained and showcased the concepts behind these novel technologies.

Extended Reality (XR) refers to all environments that combine real and virtual elements generated by computer technology. It includes representative forms such as Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR). XR is a superset which includes the entire spectrum from “the complete real” to “the complete virtual” in the reality–virtuality continuum.

Hyungseok Kim (“Prof Kim”) is a leading researcher and developer in computer graphics and virtual reality. He researches real-time interaction in virtual environments, multi-resolution modeling of shape and texture, and multi-modal interaction mechanisms. He teaches at Konkuk University on topics including: Computer Graphics, Multimedia Programming, Game Programming, and Linear Algebra.

We hope you enjoy our special event coverage of SIGGRAPH Asia 2022, and our conversation with Hyungseok Kim, Program Chair of XR, and one of the world’s leading authorities on the vanguard of Extended Reality research.

• Hosted by: Spencer Striker, PhD

• Special Guest: Hyungseok Kim

• NU-Q Research & Production Assistants: Shaikha Alkubaisi; Ayah Mohamedain; Samson Mbogo; Laiba Mubashar; Xingyu Qin; and Tasmia Belal. 

• Emerging Media Research Team: Venus Jin, PhD; Greg Bergida, PhD; John Pavlik, PhD, Justin Gengler, PhD; Farina Amir; and Christopher Fwalanga

• Artwork: Fernanda Jimenez

• Music and Sound Effects: Courtesy of Epidemic Music

Official links for SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 & Special Guest, Dan Sarto

• https://sa2022.siggraph.org/en/

  • SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 Official Website

• https://sa2022.siggraph.org/en/full-program/?filter1=sstype124&date=all

  • XR, Full Program

Official website and social media links for the Digital Doha Podcast

• https://www.qatarpodcasts.com/digital-doha

• https://www.facebook.com/DigitalDoha

• https://www.instagram.com/digitaldoha

• https://twitter.com/doha_digital

The Digital Doha Podcast is supported by funding from the Qatar National Research Foundation, Grant ID #: NPRP12S-0227-190165

Ep 6: “SIGGRAPH Asia 2022” feat. Dan Sarto | Computer Animation Chair

Welcome back to the Digital Doha Podcast, our Qatar-based interview series exploring the cutting-edge of emerging media happening in Doha and the greater Middle East. Hosted by Spencer Striker, PhD Digital Media Professor at Northwestern Qatar, and creator of the award-winning History Adventures digital learning series.  

For the sixth episode, we are excited to bring you exclusive coverage of SIGGRAPH Asia 2022, the world’s leading conference on computer graphics and interactive media, which took place in Daegu, South Korea, December 6-9. Celebrating the theme ‘Colorful World’, the finest minds redefining the future of cutting-edge technologies gathered to inspire an audience of thousands from around the world.

Today’s guest, Dan Sarto, is Program Chair of SIGGRAPH Asia’s Computer Animation Festival. From short films to scientific visualizations to AI-enhanced deepfakes, this year’s festival showcased an expansive and compelling program, including entertaining and thought-provoking world-class CG animation. 

Dan Sarto is a world-renowned expert on computer animation and founder of the Animation World Network - AWN.com - one of the largest, most respected sources for animation news on the Internet. Now in his 21st year, Dan and AWN have stayed true to their passion to provide a cohesive assembly of the best animation, visual effects and related resources that exist today, in an interactive and enjoyable environment.

We hope you enjoy our special event coverage of SIGGRAPH Asia 2022, and our conversation with Dan Sarto, Computer Animation Chair, and one of the world’s leading authorities on the cutting edge of emerging media techniques in computer animation. 

• Hosted by: Spencer Striker, PhD

• Special Guest: Dan Sarto

• NU-Q Research & Production Assistants: Shaikha Alkubaisi; Ayah Mohamedain; Samson Mbogo; Laiba Mubashar; Xingyu Qin; and Tasmia Belal. 

• Emerging Media Research Team: Venus Jin, PhD; Greg Bergida, PhD; John Pavlik, PhD, Justin Gengler, PhD; Farina Amir; and Christopher Fwalanga

• Artwork: Fernanda Jimenez

• Music and Sound Effects: Courtesy of Epidemic Music

Official links for SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 & Special Guest, Dan Sarto

• https://sa2022.siggraph.org/en/

  • SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 Official Website

• https://youtu.be/GcwMaL5RXPw

  • Dr. Striker’s favorite film of the festival: Crush On by SHU-YU CHU

• https://sa2022.siggraph.org/en/full-program/?filter1=sstype106&date=all

  • Computer Animation, Full Program

• https://www.awn.com/users/dan-sarto 

  • Dan Sarto | Animation World Network

Official website and social media links for the Digital Doha Podcast

• https://www.qatarpodcasts.com/digital-doha

• https://www.facebook.com/DigitalDoha

• https://www.instagram.com/digitaldoha

• https://twitter.com/doha_digital

The Digital Doha Podcast is supported by funding from the Qatar National Research Foundation, Grant ID #: NPRP12S-0227-190165

Ep 5: “VR Encyclopedia” feat. Julia Leeb

Welcome back to the Digital Doha Podcast, our new series bringing you informative conversations with local experts exploring the cutting-edge of emerging media happening in the dynamic international capital of Doha. Hosted by Spencer Striker, PhD Digital Media prof at Northwestern Qatar, and co-hosted by Natasha Das, Media Info & Tech student at NU-Q. 

Presenting our amazing fifth guest of the season, pioneering VR journalist, Julia Leeb. Julia was born in Munich, Germany. She studied international relations and diplomacy in Madrid, Arabic in Alexandria, and television and digital media in Munich. She works as a war photojournalist and filmmaker, and is the author of North Korea: Anonymous Country. Leeb's long-term projects have been published internationally and document political upheaval in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Iran. She also produces virtual reality and 360-degree content about remote regions like Transnistria, in Moldova, and the Nuba Mountains, in Sudan.

Julia Leeb is one of the first German journalists to use 360°/VR to document life in crisis areas. Her 360°/VR movies have been screened at VR film festivals around the world. Click the button below to learn more about her work. Using Virtual Reality, among other mediums, Julia brings viewers into a moment to witness conflict and the impacts of political unrest.We hope you enjoy our conversation with one of Doha’s leading innovators in the cutting-edge space of emerging media, immersive journalism, and AR/VR Design.

Hosted by: Spencer Striker, PhD

Co-hosted by: Natasha Das

Special Guest: Julia Leeb

Producer: Shaikha Alkubaisi

Sound Design & Editing: Ayah Mohamedain

Social Media Manager: Samson Mbogo

Project Management: Laiba Mubashar

Emerging Media Research Team: Venus Jin, PhD; Greg Bergida, PhD; John Pavlik, PhD, Justin Gengler, PhD; Farina Amir; and Christopher Fwalanga

Artwork: Fernanda Jimenez

Music and Sound Effects: Courtesy of Epidemic Music

Official links for Special Guest, Julia Leeb

http://www.julialeeb.com/

https://www.amazon.de/Julia-Leeb/e/B00LPCT9LI/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1

Official website and social media links for the Digital Doha Podcast

https://www.qatarpodcasts.com/digital-doha

https://www.facebook.com/DigitalDoha

https://www.instagram.com/digitaldoha

https://twitter.com/doha_digital

The Digital Doha Podcast is supported by funding from the Qatar National Research Foundation, Grant ID #: NPRP12S-0227-190165

Ep 4: “Chaos Antidote” feat. Hadeer Omar

Welcome back to the Digital Doha Podcast, our new series bringing you informative conversations with local experts exploring the cutting-edge of emerging media happening in the dynamic international capital of Doha. Hosted by Spencer Striker, PhD Digital Media prof at Northwestern Qatar, and co-hosted by Shaikha Alkubaisi, Media Info & Tech student at NU-Q. 

Presenting our amazing fourth guest of the season, Hadeer Omar—an Egyptian time-based media artist, designer, and educator. Omar holds an MFA in Design and BFA in Graphic Design. Her work explores cultural identity and memories, the self, and narratives artfully through immersive XR media and technologies, graphics, photography, and video art installations. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor at VCUarts in Qatar, and an artist in residence at Doha Fire Station program in Qatar.

Her work has been showcased in Egypt, Qatar, San Francisco, Austria, Bulgaria, Dubai, and Berlin. “3arabizi keyboard” project was given an honorary mention at the STARTS Prize – Grand prize of the European Commission honoring Innovation in Technology, Industry, and Society Stimulated by the Arts (2017), Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria. The project was showcased at Drive: Volkswagen Group Forum in Berlin, Germany (2017). She served as one of the co-chairs for Tasmeem Doha Art and Design Conference 2019. We hope you enjoy our conversation with one of Doha’s leading innovators in the cutting-edge space of emerging media, immersive XR, and AR/VR Design.

Hosted by: Spencer Striker, PhD

Co-hosted by: Shaikha Alkubaisi

Special Guest: Hadeer Omar

Producer: Shaikha Alkubaisi

Sound Design & Editing: Ayah Mohamedain

Social Media Manager: Samson Mbogo

Project Management: Laiba Mubashar

Emerging Media Research Team: Venus Jin, PhD; Greg Bergida, PhD; John Pavlik, PhD, Justin Gengler, PhD; Farina Amir; and Christopher Fwalanga

Artwork: Fernanda Jimenez

Music and Sound Effects: Courtesy of Epidemic Music

Official links for Special Guest, Hadeer Omar

http://www.hadeeromar.com

https://www.instagram.com/hadeersomar

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hadeer-omar-625b2a83

Official website and social media links for the Digital Doha Podcast

https://www.qatarpodcasts.com/digital-doha

https://www.facebook.com/DigitalDoha

https://www.instagram.com/digitaldoha

https://twitter.com/doha_digital

The Digital Doha Podcast is supported by funding from the Qatar National Research Foundation, Grant ID #: NPRP12S-0227-190165

Ep 3: “Synesthesia” feat. Mariam Rafehi

Welcome back to the Digital Doha Podcast, our new series focused on bringing listeners informative conversations with local experts exploring the cutting-edge of emerging media happening in the dynamic international capital of Doha. Hosted by Spencer Striker, PhD Digital Media prof at Northwestern Qatar, and co-hosted by Natasha Das, Media Info & Tech student at NU-Q. 

We’re thrilled to present our third guest of the season, Mariam Rafehi—an interdisciplinary artist and designer, who has lived half her life in Europe and half in the Middle East. Growing up in Berlin, she was looking for Narnia in her closet and a white rabbit in a hurry. In her work, she creates alternative worlds and brings them to life through artifacts or immersive virtual reality (VR). In VR, Mariam can transport an audience to unthinkable experiences, such as flying or shrinking in size.

After receiving her bachelor’s in media and communications, her work developed into transmedia storytelling. During her MFA, she became interested in immersive world-building and sense-stimulation. Some of her recent work deals with sense-stimulation through a synesthesia experience in VR by coupling 3D spatial audio with reactive colorful patterns. As an artist and designer, she has exhibited in the US, Germany, Russia, and Qatar.We hope you enjoy our conversation with one of Doha’s leading innovators in the cutting-edge space of immersive world-building, sense-stimulation, and synesthesia experience in VR.

Hosted by: Spencer Striker, PhD

Co-hosted by: Natasha Das

Special Guest: Mariam Rafehi

Producer: Shaikha Alkubaisi

Sound Design & Editing: Ayah Mohamedain

Social Media Manager: Samson Mbogo

Project Management: Laiba Mubashar

Emerging Media Research: Greg Bergida, PhD, Farina Amir, and Christopher Fwalanga

Emerging Media Research: Venus Jin, PhD, John Pavlik, PhD, and Justin Gengler, PhD

Artwork: Fernanda Jimenez

Music and Sound Effects: Courtesy of Epidemic Music

Official links for Special Guest, Mariam Rafehi

https://www.mrafehi.com/about

https://www.instagram.com/im.me.mi

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariam-rafehi-pmp

Official website and social media links for the Digital Doha Podcast

https://www.qatarpodcasts.com/digital-doha

https://www.facebook.com/DigitalDoha

https://www.instagram.com/digitaldoha

https://twitter.com/doha_digital

The Digital Doha Podcast is supported by funding from the Qatar National Research Foundation, Grant ID #: NPRP12S-0227-190165

Ep 2: “No Words” feat. Mariam Al-Dhubhani

Welcome back to the Digital Doha Podcast, our new series focused on bringing listeners informative conversations with local experts exploring the cutting-edge of emerging media happening in the dynamic international capital of Doha. Hosted by Spencer Striker, PhD Digital Media prof at Northwestern Qatar, and co-hosted by Natasha Das, Media Info & Tech student at NU-Q. 

We’re thrilled to present our second guest of the season, Mariam Al-Dhubhani, one of the most dynamic, up-and-coming filmmakers in Doha, whose directorial debut “Just Another Memory” won Best Documentary at the 2018 Ajyal Film Festival. In 2020, Mariam was named Most Promising Filmmaker by @TorontoArabFilm. The NU-Q alum was recognized for her short film “In the Middle,” about the daily hardships of life as a Yemeni soldier.

Mariam Al-Dhubhani is a Yemeni-Russian award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and curator. She first pursued her passion for media during the 2011 Arab uprisings and co-founded her first media production. Al-Dhubhani’s films have been screened globally in festivals such as Carthage, Interfilm, and Oaxaca. She is a pioneer of the creative use of Virtual Reality for highlighting stories from Yemen. We hope you enjoy our conversation with one of Doha’s leading innovators in the emerging space of interactive and digital storytelling, as well as AR/VR Design. 

Hosted by: Spencer Striker, PhD

Co-hosted by: Natasha Das

Special Guest: Mariam Al-Dhubhani

Producer: Shaikha Alkubaisi

Sound Design & Editing: Ayah Mohamedain

Social Media: Samson Mbogo, Mishaal Shirazi, and Eden Wagari

Project Management: Arya Mainali and Laiba Mubashar

Research Team: Greg Bergida, PhD, Farina Amir, and Christopher Fwalanga

Art by: Faiz Javed and Fernanda Jimenez

Special Thanks: Venus Jin, PhD, John Pavlik, PhD, Justin Gengler, PhD

Music and Sound Effects: Courtesy of Epidemic Music

Official links for Special Guest, Mariam Al-Dhubhani

https://filmfreeway.com/MariamAl-Dhubhani

https://www.facebook.com/mariam.a.aldubhani

https://twitter.com/mariamdhubhani

https://www.instagram.com/maria.a.noman/

Official website and social media links for the Digital Doha Podcast

https://www.qatarpodcasts.com/digital-doha

https://www.facebook.com/DigitalDoha

https://www.instagram.com/digitaldoha

https://twitter.com/doha_digital

The Digital Doha Podcast is supported by funding from the Qatar National Research Foundation, Grant ID #: NPRP12S-0227-190165

Ep 1: “Frame Switch” feat. Eric Espig

Welcome to the Digital Doha Podcast, our brand new series focused on bringing listeners topical segments and informative conversations with local experts exploring the cutting-edge of emerging media happening in the dynamic international capital that is Doha. Hosted by Spencer Striker, Digital Media prof at Northwestern Qatar, and co-hosted by Natasha Das, Media Info & Tech student at NU-Q. 

We’re thrilled to present our first guest of the season, Eric Espig, managing director of the Digital Advancement and Media Applications Lab at Northwestern Qatar, which is a digital innovation lab that pioneers media research and interactive storytelling. 

He has over two decades experience in the creative industry, starting out as an artist and musician, and now working in digital media. Most recently, Eric was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Foundation grant to complete a "journalism empathy" tool that is a VR product called Frame Switch, launched in 2020. We hope you enjoy our conversation with one of Doha’s leading innovators in the emerging space of AR/VR Design. 

Hosted by: Spencer Striker, PhD

Co-hosted by: Natasha Das

Special Guest: Eric Espig

Producer: Shaikha Alkubaisi

Editor: Ayah Mohamedain

Social Media Lead: Samson Mbogo

Music and Sound Effects: Courtesy of Epidemic Music

Official links for Special Guest, Eric Espig

https://vgagallery.org/frame-switch

https://www.qatar.northwestern.edu/directory/profiles/espig-eric.html

https://twitter.com/e5pi6

https://www.instagram.com/espig/?hl=en

Official website and social media links for the Digital Doha Podcast

https://www.qatarpodcasts.com/digital-doha

https://www.facebook.com/DigitalDoha

https://www.instagram.com/digitaldoha

https://twitter.com/doha_digital

The Digital Doha Podcast is supported by funding from the Qatar National Research Foundation, Grant ID #: NPRP12S-0227-190165