BEHIND THE LENS #389: Featuring Jiabao Li

On this episode of #BTLRadioShow we take a look at the incredible new VR project ONCE A GLACIER with writer/director JIABAO LI, and then you'll hear our exclusive interview with writer/director PAUL WEITZ talking MOVING ON. Fresh off the world premiere of her amazing animated VR project ONCE A GLACIER at SXSW, writer/director JIABAO LI is with us live talking all things VR and glacial. A fascinating and immersive work that explores the life of a glacier and a young girl whose life journey is to save the glacier, Jiabao talks about her journey into this immersive VR experience and its accompanying VR installation which debuted at SXSW. Discussing her own involvement with VR and her professorial work at the University of Texas, Jiabao talks about her love of glaciers and her approach to making the animated short film. A real technical challenge, you'll be as amazed as I was to hear her talk about the capturing of various sounds of glaciers and the dangers and care to be taken in obtaining the audio and then editing it to help tell the story of a glacier. (The soundscape of ONCE A GLACIER is amazing.) Diving into her research with glaciologists and indigenous peoples in Alaska where the footage was captured, among others, Jiabao also gives us some incredible insight into glaciers and how even the smells of a glacier are brought to life in the VR immersion and installation. A fascinating conversation! And then we're moving on to MOVING ON and my prerecorded exclusive interview with writer/director PAUL WEITZ who talks all about this story and bringing it to life after getting a call from Lily Tomlin with the mandate "write something for me and Jane [Fonda]." And when Lily Tomlin says write, you write! And write Paul does, and then direct, calling on his "Grandma" cinematographer Tobias Datum, and fellow artisans who delicious dark comedy starring Tomlin and Fonda, along with Malcolm McDowell and Richard Roundtree. http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com