S05E11: Debi Wong — Disruptive Tendencies

Technology. Innovation. Interactive. Disruptive. These are not terms generally associated with opera but for Debi Wong and her team at re:Naissance Opera, these words are at the core of what they do. But how does one go from studying classical music at Yale School of Music and Sibelius-Akatemia to creating operas in VR? For Debi, it's simply in her nature. A disruptor at her core, she's always pushed the envelope of tradition, asking “why” at every opportunity but it was the discovery of early Baroque opera and the spirit of innovation present in the early days of the art form that inform her work. In our conversation, Debi takes us on an insider's journey through her career, from the early days of discovering that music was something you could do for a living to how her love for video games informed her first VR project and she shares insights into how failing doesn't necessarily mean failure. Episode Links Website LinkedIn Instagram Host: Marina Antunes Opening & Closing Credits by: Michael Edlund Produced & Edited by: Joshua Peterman ©2023 Spark CG Society · All Rights Reserved. Thank you to our sponsors! TERABYTE: Creative BC. MEGABYTE: Animal Logic · Capilano University · Netflix. KILOBYTE: Atomic Cartoons · Doberman Pictures · DNEG · Image Engine · Industrial Light & Magic · Mainframe Studios · WildBrain Studios. BYTE: Animasia BC · CMPA BC · Digi BC · NOX VFX · Rotomaker · Scanline VFX · The Little Dev Shop · Vancouver Film School · Versatile Media · Walt Disney Animation Studios · Wētā FX. PARTNERS: ACM SIGGRAPH · SIGGRAPH Asia. ORGANIZERS: Spark CG Society · Vancouver ACM SIGGRAPH.