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Worldbuilding Professional Portfolio Main Menu Designer Laura works as a designer with spatial design, sound, interactive UI/UX, animation, film, and production. Facilitator Worldbuilders need to collaboratively work in teams, helping lead the project toward aims and create an environment for productive interactions. Research + Theory Research and theory are integral aspects of the worldbuilding process. Qualifying Exam Portfolio A brief guide to this portfolio project, with more focused media links.

Worldbuilding Design Portfolio

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Worldbuilding is a design philosophy for envisioning solutions to real world problems, incorporating holistic real world research in crafting fictional worlds with transmedia outputs. A single worldbuild can produce multiple linked transmedia outputs: including but not limited to films, VR and AR experiences, animation, games, workshops, patented artifacts, and even curriculums. Worldbuilders are polymaths who draw on their skills as collaborators, researchers, interdisciplinarians, problem finders, divergent thinkers, and designers, and they are characterized by their openness and respect for diverging viewpoints. As such, a worldbuilder can be evaluated for their different areas of expertise, as well as their experience and commitment to the range of skills that facilitate an effective worldbuilding project. Rather than viewing such candidates' proficiency in one primary skill based role, worldbuilders can be appreciated for their ability to work across mediums and disciplines to design unity and vision within a world.

Laura Cechanowicz is Los Angeles based designer, and facilitator, working with research and theory. She works across mediums, including animation, film and VR, production design, and sound design. Thematically and formally her work explores embodiment and memory through identity and neuroscience, the intersections of art and science, and the ways people record and transcribe personal histories. Laura's theory and practice research focuses on the human body, investigating four themes: conversations between bodies, the body in time, the body in space, and the body interacting with objects. Her passion is participatory art as social practice, and she views teaching as an integral part of this work.

Laura earned her BA from the University of Michigan with Film & Video, Psychology and German majors, her MA in Film Studies from the University of Iowa, and her MFA in Animation from USC. She is a USC iMAP PhD student and a member of the USC World Building Institute.

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1. Worldbuilding Design Portfolio

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Designer
Facilitator
Research + Theory
0557
Glass Heart Excerpt
Dance
They Had Horses
St. Ulmo's Fire
Specter, 2010 How does an image form? Specter utilizes exquisite corpse techniques to explore the process of perception in the human mind. Inspired by John Cage, the animators first created a visual and aural score to represent the movements of the film. They then 'performed' the score visually through animation using a multi-plane setup, cut-outs, clay, and other under the camera animation techniques. The process was spontaneous, but directed by the score. Similarly, the animators performed sounds designed to sync with the aural graphic score.
Leviathan
Rollover
Miralab Game
In The Shell of the Old, password: shell
The Secrets of Nitrogenase
They Moved Mountains
Dry City
Silent Secrets: The Body Language of the Confessor
Hopscotch
"Paint Punches" Interactive Installation Documentation
A Letter To You Documentation This video presents documentation of my installation "A Letter to You," as well as the full footage of the installation - which is a loop. This is an autobiographical installation investigating my memory of my grandma before she died from cancer. It explores the intense pain and beauty of life and death, including the process of healing through immersive experience in water and sound. The piece was initially designed to fit the architecture of the original installation space, but as it is shown in other spaces, I am interested in seeing it develop in the context of other architectural elements. It can now create arches, opening doors of possibility, where there once stood walls.
The Body Remembers
YADDDA, YADDA, YADA
El Coyote "El Coyote" is a Film based on true a story of a human smuggler also know as a coyote. He describes his process and the mechanics of slipping between the Mexico and U.S. border. He shares the brief moments he’s has with the people he’s trying to cross over seeking for a better life.
Director Javier Barboza interviewed a human smuggler, also known as “Coyotes”. The coyote agreed on the interview if he concealed his identity, by using the media of animation and casting actor Jose Callela as the voice over for the narration, from the original testimony.
El Coyote code name G-lok smuggled undocumented immigrants from various regions of Latin America between Tijuana, Mexico and San Ysidro to the United States. Within five years, G-lok had crossed over six hundred people.The original interview was done in 2010.
Directed By Javier Barboza
javbarboza.wix.com/javierbarboza
Music by Conjunto XI
conjuntoxi.com
Sound Design by Kari Rae Seekins
kariraeseekins.com/Home.html

2016-The Chicano International Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA
2016- Highland park Independent Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA
2016-Wagner College International Film Festival, New York , NY
2016-Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, Santa Fe, NM
2016-Hot Spring Documentary Film Festival, Hot Spring, AR
2016-- DC short film festival, Washington DC
2016- Big River Film festival , Savannah Georgia
2016- Adobe First Frame USC, Los Angeles, CA
2015- The Atlantic, Editor Video pick , Online streaming, New York , NY
2015-Vimeo Staff Pick, online streaming, New York , NY
2015- Pocho Video Cultura, online Streaming, Los Angeles, CA
2015- San Francisco Documentary Film Festival, San Francisco, CA
2015 - 42nd Annie Awards Nomination Best Student Film
2015- 30th Imagen Awards Nomination Best Student Film
2015- San Francisco Documentary Festival
2015- New Port Beach Film Festival
2015-12th Kecskemet Animation Film Festival - Hungary
2012- Princess Grace Award Film Grant-U.S.A.
The Infinite
Cat Call
Dreaming Los Angeles - LA Animators An exquisite corpse by LA animators led by Amy Lee Ketchum as part of her September 2014 Artist in Residence at the Echo Park Film Center. Artists include: Jeffrey Fletcher, Ryan Gillis, Javier Barboza, Laura Cechanowicz, Dana Wilson, Yang Liu, Louis Morton, Eric Pato, Brandon Lake, Jovanna Tosello, Miguel Jiron, and Joshua Ketchum with music by A Magic Whistle and sound design by Laura Cechanowicz.

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Sam Harvey Sam Harvey Great Work I'm Also Looking forward to start my new architecture project
Contents of this reply:
1. Worldbuilding Design Portfolio Worldbuilding is a design philosophy for envisioning solutions to real world problems, incorporating holistic real world research in crafting fictional worlds with transmedia outputs. A single worldbuild can produce multiple linked transmedia outputs: including but not limited to films, VR and AR experiences, animation, games, workshops, patented artifacts, and even curriculums. Worldbuilders are polymaths who draw on their skills as collaborators, researchers, interdisciplinarians, problem finders, divergent thinkers, and designers, and they are characterized by their openness and respect for diverging viewpoints. As such, a worldbuilder can be evaluated for their different areas of expertise, as well as their experience and commitment to the range of skills that facilitate an effective worldbuilding project. Rather than viewing such candidates' proficiency in one primary skill based role, worldbuilders can be appreciated for their ability to work across mediums and disciplines to design unity and vision within a world.
  
  Laura Cechanowicz is Los Angeles based designer, and facilitator, working with research and theory. She works across mediums, including animation, film and VR, production design, and sound design. Thematically and formally her work explores embodiment and memory through identity and neuroscience, the intersections of art and science, and the ways people record and transcribe personal histories. Laura's theory and practice research focuses on the human body, investigating four themes: conversations between bodies, the body in time, the body in space, and the body interacting with objects. Her passion is participatory art as social practice, and she views teaching as an integral part of this work.
  
  Laura earned her BA from the University of Michigan with Film & Video, Psychology and German majors, her MA in Film Studies from the University of Iowa, and her MFA in Animation from USC. She is a USC iMAP PhD student and a member of the USC World Building Institute.
  
  Resume

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Laura Cechanowicz Resume