Monsters alive at Hargreaves Mall

CREATURES and monsters are coming to life this Easter.

As part of the Hidden Creatures Gallery, children will be able to create their own characters and watch them animated in augmented reality at Hargreaves Mall.

Artistic director of Arena Theatre Company Christian Leavesley said the gallery is the perfect combination of technology and children’s imagination.

“It entails young people taking photographs of things they often have a memory with, or they have some experience of something that means something to them,” he said.

“Then we turn that idea, through photoshop and character animator, into a creature that then they can animate through what is essentially motion capture animation.”

“It feels like a cross between a magic trick and a movie, like CGI in a film.”

Mr Leavesley said the gallery is all about children expressing their creativity in a fun, unique way.

“What we mostly get in a really beautiful way is the kids telling us their experiences and their imaginative life associated with a particular place, say a tree or a statue,” he said.

Arena Theatre Co. premiered an interactive virtual reality performance in March, called Heart VR, which took participants inside a virtual heart and asked them to reflect on themes of self and identity.

Mr Leavesley said while the technology is everchanging and growing, imagination and creativity is the main focus.

“The technology will often give you a gateway to play, to curiosity, that allows people to join you in a place and then really experience those ideas without too much expectation,” he said.

“With Hidden Creatures, you get to experience the thoughts and perspectives of a child without asking them.

“The augmented reality gives them a platform to do it and it means that they also feel very excited to do it. It breaks down a lot of barriers.”