{"id":52243,"date":"2025-06-04T09:32:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T13:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/?post_type=cu_story&#038;p=52243"},"modified":"2025-07-04T09:46:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T13:46:13","slug":"making-home-a-carleton-made-virtual-reality-film","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/story\/making-home-a-carleton-made-virtual-reality-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Home: A Carleton-Made Virtual Reality Film"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-max  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n        \n                    \n                    \n            \n    <div class=\"cu-wideimage relative flex items-center justify-center mx-auto px-8 overflow-hidden md:px-16 rounded-xl not-prose  my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 bg-opacity-50 bg-cover bg-cu-black-50 py-24 md:py-28 lg:py-36 xl:py-48\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/06\/Manjeet-Birk-2-cropped-1600x700.jpg); background-position: 33% 54%;\">\n\n                    <div class=\"absolute top-0 w-full h-screen\" style=\"background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.600);\"><\/div>\n        \n        <div class=\"relative z-[2] max-w-4xl w-full flex flex-col items-center gap-2 cu-wideimage-image cu-zero-first-last\">\n            <header class=\"mx-auto mb-6 text-center text-white cu-pageheader cu-component-updated cu-pageheader--center md:mb-12\">\n\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold mb-2 text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] cu-pageheader--center text-center mx-auto after:left-px\">\n                        Making Home: A Carleton-Made Virtual Reality Film\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                            <\/header>\n        <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n\n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p><em class=\"myprefix-text-italic\">By Emily Putnam<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em class=\"myprefix-text-italic\">Home<\/em>, conceptualized by interdisciplinary scholar <a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fist\/people\/manjeet-birk\/\">Dr. Manjeet Birk<\/a>, is an immersive 360-degree virtual reality (VR) film that tells the story of an intergenerational journey of travelling to find one\u2019s physical, spiritual and emotional home across diasporic lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Designed specifically for&nbsp;Birk\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fist\/critical-race-studies\/\">CRST 4001 &#8211; Contemporary Critical Race Stories<\/a> course,&nbsp;<em>Home<\/em>&nbsp;fills a gap in immersive learning by offering a fresh perspective &#8211; one that moves beyond trauma-based narratives to explore the universal experience of belonging. It immerses students into the often-complex relationship we have with \u201chome,\u201d wherever that may be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"cu-section cu-section--white w-screen ml-offset-center px-4 md:px-6 lg:px-12\"><div class=\"cu-max-w-child-5xl space-y-6 md:space-y-10   cu-prose-first-last\"><figure class=\"cu-figure not-prose  max-w-full\"><div class=\"not-prose overflow-hidden bg-white shadow-lg max-w-full rounded-none\"><div class=\"relative none overflow-hidden w-full pb-[56.25%] border border-cu-black-100\"><iframe id=\"kmsembed-1_4tbrt9lt\" title=\"Videos Embed\" src=\"https:\/\/mediaspace.carleton.ca\/embed\/secure\/iframe\/entryId\/1_4tbrt9lt\/uiConfId\/36153741\/st\/0\" class=\"cu-embed-iframe\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" sandbox=\"allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn the course, we talk about how stories are complicated and incomplete. We also talk about the revolutionary potential of radical vulnerability. <em>Home<\/em> illustrates and expands these concepts for my students. It allows them to share a moment with me that is vulnerable, real and complicated,\u201d says Birk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Members of the Carleton community looking to see the film and\/or faculty interested in teaching with this resource can <a href=\"https:\/\/can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteachingandlearningservicestls.cmail20.com%2Ft%2Ft-l-sujlkhl-tiakijyul-k%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CEmilyMPutnam%40cunet.carleton.ca%7Cb2280b41b66d4835b70f08dd9c8e42ab%7C6ad91895de06485ebc51fce126cc8530%7C0%7C0%7C638838857005669995%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=TsRu3NJQgpp%2B60gzvCZ7GuvrOP7h0ZE2yq4p8Btrb8I%3D&amp;reserved=0\">reach out to the team at the Experiential Learning Hub<\/a>&nbsp;for a viewing and consultation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"inspired-by-students\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Inspired by Students<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>She says her students inspired its creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m really invested in my students using spaces around campus. I think it\u2019s an important political act for my students to be able to access the varied resources available on campus, particularly as racialized and Indigenous students as well as students enrolled in Critical Race Studies classes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Birk became interested in pursuing the project after learning about <a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/2023\/empowering-education-carletons-experiential-learning-hub-and-xr-technology\/\">Carleton\u2019s investment in the Experiential Learning Hub (ELH)<\/a> through the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/futureofteaching\/\">Transforming University Education<\/a>&nbsp;report and academic plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe technology in the ELH<ins>,<\/ins> as well as the <a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/creation-suites\/\">Creation Suites<\/a> are something I wanted my students to have access to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen I started to view some of the videos that would overlap with my teaching content, I was struck by how many of them focused on damage centered narratives. They emphasized a \u2018walk a mile in my shoes\u2019 approach to teach comprehension over another\u2019s experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compelled to reveal another narrative, Birk created her own short film to tell her story as a first-generation Canadian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was incredibly powerful to be in India to shoot this film. There is something about my relationship with India as the child of Indian immigrants. As you may have noticed, this is a story about our intergenerational relationship to this place.&nbsp; It\u2019s not only my story but also deeply intertwined with my parents&#8217; story and my child\u2019s story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/Manjeet-Birk-7-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Manjeet Brik sitting on a bench in the quad.\" class=\"wp-image-52247\" style=\"width:784px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/Manjeet-Birk-7-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/Manjeet-Birk-7-512x341.jpg 512w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/Manjeet-Birk-7-320x213.jpg 320w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/Manjeet-Birk-7-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/Manjeet-Birk-7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/Manjeet-Birk-7-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/Manjeet-Birk-7-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/Manjeet-Birk-7-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by Ainslie Coghill.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cObviously, these stories are moving and changing pieces. They are not static but fluid and change as both our stories change and these places change, too. So, in many ways the setting is the film\u2019s message.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She hopes storytelling through VR can help students view course concepts through a lens of empathy and agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen we try harder for each other, we are showing up for ourselves, too. I wanted students to be able to utilize the technology without there having to be a victim at the centre of the narrative. This is why I created <em>Home<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"innovation-through-collaboration\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Innovation through Collaboration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The project was brought to life through extensive collaboration with the <a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/tls\/\">Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) Digital Learning \u2013 New Media team<\/a>, who provided consulting, training, and production expertise to create the immersive six-and-a-half minute VR experience that was filmed by Birk on location in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Birk says she relied heavily on the team at TLS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI learnt so much from their technical expertise. I had the idea, and they provided all the tools I needed to actualize it. I feel incredibly lucky to have partners like TLS not only for a project like <em>Home<\/em> but in all my teaching and pedagogical queries at Carleton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gregallison.net\/\">Greg Allison<\/a>, a jack-of-all-trades and self-described vid-musi-tographer from TLS, did most of the technical work of translating the story into the virtual reality format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/greg-allison-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"Greg Allison outdoors with a 360-degree virtual reality camera.\" class=\"wp-image-52254\" style=\"width:697px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/greg-allison-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/greg-allison-512x384.jpeg 512w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/greg-allison-320x240.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/greg-allison-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/greg-allison-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/05\/greg-allison-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Greg Allison pictured with a 360 camera while developing other TLS 360 Immersive Films. Photo by Hasi&nbsp;Eldib.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Allison says he was eager to collaborate when Birk brought the idea to their department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAll the stars aligned on the project. She had a beautiful concept, a very clear vision of what she wanted, and she soaked in all our knowledge-sharing on filmmaking as it would apply to this project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAfter that, my role as a filmmaker was to take her message and her intentions and amplify them to shape the story into a cohesive short film using a variety of production techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He says 360 filmmaking was uncharted territory for the New Media Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat was a really interesting challenge, and it&#8217;s pretty exciting because as far as I know, this is the first fully in-house produced VR film at Carleton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Birk says this modern storytelling method offers a dynamic way to engage students and bring course content to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cVR storytelling is simply another tool in our pedagogical toolkit. We have many tools in there that we pull out in different scenarios, and I am thankful to have had the support to actualize this vision to create a new resource for my students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"classroom-reception\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Classroom Reception<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Since its release,&nbsp;<em>Home<\/em>&nbsp;has been widely embraced across disciplines, with four instructors already integrating it into their courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/iis\/people\/alexandra-arraiz-matute\/\">Dr. Alexandra Arraiz Matute<\/a>, an Assistant Professor in the <a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/iis\/\">Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies<\/a> at Carleton, says the students in her fourth-year undergraduate course in <a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/iis\/childhood-and-youth-studies\/\">Childhood &amp; Youth Studies<\/a> were equally captivated by the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt gave students a visual to process some of the ideas we were talking about in class, and a way to think about some of the ideas we had discussed in the first couple of weeks that can&#8217;t be replicated with text.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She says Birk\u2019s film was recommended to her after she expressed interest in incorporating the VR lab into her courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOnce I viewed it, I knew it fit perfectly within the ideas that my course explores. The folks at the hub are very accommodating and work with you to bring these experiences into your course.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arraiz Matute says the 360-degree film experience incited a visceral reaction in her students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think that feeling of empathy to others&#8217; experiences is an important beginning step to learn about ideas or concepts in ways that engage not only their minds but their bodies and spirits. It&#8217;s a kind of learning that is hard to replicate through lecture or even discussions, in my opinion.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cStudents remarked on the way they felt &#8216;stared at&#8217;<ins>,<\/ins> which was one of Dr. Birk&#8217;s points in attempting to capture the diasporic experience of not belonging &#8216;here nor there&#8217;.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/06\/Manjeet-Birk-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of Professor Manjeet Birk, smiling at the camera. She has dark curly hair and a blue dress with flowers.\" class=\"wp-image-52320\" style=\"width:666px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/06\/Manjeet-Birk-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/06\/Manjeet-Birk-512x341.jpg 512w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/06\/Manjeet-Birk-320x213.jpg 320w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/06\/Manjeet-Birk-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/06\/Manjeet-Birk-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/06\/Manjeet-Birk-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/06\/Manjeet-Birk-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/06\/Manjeet-Birk-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by Ainslie Coghill.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"moving-forward\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Moving Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Birk says she\u2019s grateful for the engagement with her film and hopes that her work continues to resonate with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn many ways, belonging, community and home are universal stories. I\u2019m glad <em>Home<\/em> has been able to create a pathway for us to have these conversations in our classrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And she\u2019s not done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m already working on my next story &#8211; that I hope will garner similar kinds of learning opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Emily Putnam Home, conceptualized by interdisciplinary scholar Dr. Manjeet Birk, is an immersive 360-degree virtual reality (VR) film that tells the story of an intergenerational journey of travelling to find one\u2019s physical, spiritual and emotional home across diasporic lands. Designed specifically for&nbsp;Birk\u2019s CRST 4001 &#8211; Contemporary Critical Race Stories course,&nbsp;Home&nbsp;fills a gap in immersive [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":52245,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[598,570,816],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-52243","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-film","cu_story_type-for-students","cu_story_type-general"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/52243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/134"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/52243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52432,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/52243\/revisions\/52432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=52243"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=52243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}