Memio: Externalizing Memory for Early-Onset Alzheimer's and Dementia Patients

Sze Yu “Awu” Chen

Awu is a current student at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. His thesis project, Ama’s Memento, helped document his grandmother’s life to be shared with other’s through Virtual Reality. With a team of animatiors, filmmakers, computer programmers, engineers, and game designers, Awu traveled to Taiwan to capture his grandmother’s childhood home with a special 360-degree camera. He and his team were able to turn that footage into a virtual museum dedicated to her life.

Awu was greatly interested in Memio. As a developer, he postulated that this type of technology could be available soon. He encouraged me to use my project as a way of preserving my grandmother’s legacy and passing it down to generations. By starting with stories that are as personal as possible, we paradoxically make the themes universal. Audiences can feel inspired and motivated to connect with their own grandmothers.

To make a great film, don’t build a story for yourself. Do it for others. How you want to create the project comes from yourself, but why you create it should always be for others.

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