Libertaria: The Virtual Opera

Hola Dr. Grob! Thanks for your honest review of this machinima opera. I thought I would answer your question: why she wanted to make this film in the first place.

In 2011 I started writing a story about a young geneticist that worked in a cutting edge facility that absorbed the energy from the ill and dying to make a new serum that rejuvenated the younger, healthy populace. In the short story, the scientist, orphaned at a young age, discovered that one of her test subjects was actually her mother. The short story evolved over time and instead o ffocusing on the scientists, the young girl was placed in the genetics factory herself, escaping it to discover her addict father runs the resistance against the factory.

Libertaria is a machinima opera for the Digital Age. Created with virtual characters in a computer-generated environment, Libertaria is easily disseminated through the internet and simple DVDs. An animated opera offers a lower cost than a full live production, although there has been acoustic versions of songs like Lonely Mother’s Cry.

In the end Libertaria is a groundbreaking opera experiment. Creating an opera for a fraction of a budget, an opera that requires no rehearsals to enjoy, appeals to the masses, and has a diverse cast of characters reflecting the global nature of our culture.

Production occurred entirely online over the course of two years and used Machinima for the animation process, which explains its purposefully crude form. Our team is not Pixar, and we worked together to make it look more like what you described as a cheap video game (which is what we were looking for!). My film school chops told me that there was no way to create a Toy Story on the budget we were working with so instead we ran with a comic book/retro video game look.

I agree that the storytelling needed improvement, and I hope to add in a few deleted scenes that will flesh out the tale more in the future. We had a few production issues (don’t we all) which means the film is missing a few scenes. Your comment about the storytelling is right on the money. In fact, halfway through the process I started the novel, which is admittedly much more detailed in scale. The reality is that this was a low budget (nearly free) animation opera experiment using social media,the Internet, and a talented cast and animation crew to create a work that would have been impossible in the past. My hope is that this inspires others to collaborate and create new forms of intermedia.

Thanks again for taking the time to review the film. It is only through honest critique that an artist can improve his or her craft. Today the film is being shown at the Holland Animation Film Festival and in New York, and I am curious to hear more from others that have seen the film.

Best and keep up the great reviews!
Sabrina Pena Young
Composer/Video Artist
http://sabrinapenayoung.blogspot.com/p/libertaria-virtual-opera.html