Oclos
Siqi Cheng
Advisor: Theo Ellin Ballew
“Oclos” explores how immersive technologies and reimagined audience interaction can transform the traditional experience of music and dance performance, blurring the boundaries between viewer and performer, physical and virtual space.
Project Description
“Oclos” is an experimental audiovisual performance that reimagines the relationship between audience and performance. Blending music, dance, and cutting-edge virtual production techniques—including green screen, motion capture, and LED walls—the project invites audiences to engage with performance in a new, more immersive way. Rather than passively watching, viewers are encouraged to sense, respond, and feel connected to the unfolding story through visual and emotional cues. The narrative is inspired by the music of sound artist evala, and centers around a protagonist’s mysterious encounter with a glowing sphere. What begins as curiosity gradually shifts into fear and avoidance—until finally, the character surrenders and merges with the sphere. Through this surreal journey, the protagonist travels across layered, dreamlike spaces, chased and drawn by the enigmatic orb. By exploring new methods of presenting performance content and incorporating interactive elements, Echoes of Wonders questions how performances can be experienced in a hybrid digital-physical environment. It is both a sensory adventure and a poetic reflection on connection, transformation, and the blurred lines between self and other, stage and audience.
Technical Details
Unreal Engine, Green Screen Shooting, Motion Capture
Research/Context
his project draws inspiration from experimental audiovisual artists such as evala, whose spatial compositions and immersive soundscapes explore how sound can shape perception and movement. The narrative structure was built around his music, allowing sound to lead visual and choreographic decisions. I also looked into contemporary performance spaces and installations that blur the line between performer and viewer, such as teamLab’s interactive environments and Mixed Reality (MR) theater experiments.
Technically, I researched virtual production techniques including green screen, motion capture, and LED wall shooting. These tools allow for a layered spatial experience where physical performance can exist within digitally generated environments in real time. I experimented with Unreal Engine for world-building and camera control, and used motion capture to create realistic yet stylized movement that fits the surreal tone of the narrative.
By combining emotional storytelling with immersive technologies, I aimed to explore how performances can be reimagined—not just as spectacles to be consumed, but as shared, evolving spaces where meaning is co-created between performer, space, and audience.