Grasseaters Film Festival
Overview
Grasseaters is a film festival set inside a game I built in Unreal Engine 5. The world is open fields of swirling tall grass, soft and slow, with cities blinking in the distance. These cities are AI textures trained on my photos of Brooklyn, NY, creating a synthetic skyline that flickers in and out like a glitch or a dream.
The installation was shown at Flux Factory's Governors Island space in October 2023. Governors Island was the reference point where grass is surrounded by towers. Futuristic while calming.
The installation was shown at Flux Factory's Governors Island space in October 2023. Governors Island was the reference point where grass is surrounded by towers. Futuristic while calming.
Process
- Unreal Engine 5 for worldbuilding and sequencing
- Blender for character modeling
- UE5 Modeling Mode for in-engine assets
- AI-trained texture pipeline using Brooklyn photography to generate synthetic cityscapes
- Lighting and animation to set mood and rhythm of the world
- Integrated films as projection surfaces across the environment
- Custom installation design on a modded 2009 iMac with a stripped keyboard for guided navigation
Installation
Presented on a 2009 iMac with a reduced keyboard that left only the necessary keys, guiding interaction. Audience entered the world at their own pace; watching films, drifting through grassfields, or flying toward the flickering skyline.
