My Work

My Work.

Mi Camino - An Animated Opera

Mi Camino ( My Journey) tells the heart wrenching stories of farmworkers impacted by Covid pandemic. I served as creative producer, composer/librettist, 3d environmental artist, animator and 3d character modeler ( Avatars). I also co - directed the film with film maker Tricia Creason - Valencia, who at the time worked at MACLA. The project was produced by Opera Cultura. The text in the opera is based on interviews I conducted of farmworkers.
The process included orchestrating the music and recording the singers in a recording studio. The next step was video recording the singers at Visual Endeavors in front of a green screen, where they lip synced to the audio recordings. The singers were then placed into the virtual world I had created. The virtual world depicted scenes from Gilroy and Half Moon Bay in California, where there are large farm working communities.
The film had its first screening in June of 2022 and is now being entered in film festivals around the world.

Photo Credit - Green screen photos take @Visual Endeavors by Tricia Creason - Valencia. Avatars were created by Héctor Armienta

Next Project - Latinx Immersive VR Experience

Currently developing an immersive theater ( opera) project that will be experienced in the virtual world. I'm developing the virtual reality application using Unreal Engine. Using the Oculus Quest 2, each audience member will be placed in the virtual world ( i.e. virtual reality). Their experience will be broadcasted live via the FACEBOOK platform. The software that I'll be using to create the virtual world will be Epic Game's Unreal Engine.
An actor, wearing a motion capture suit, will guide the audience member in the virtual reality space. The participant will see that actor as an AVATAR.
The experience will culminate into a performance of a new operatic piece I will create for this project that draws on the Latinx culture.
As to the theme of the project, the two possibilities are Day of the Dead with Altars or Aztec Temple. .