Half Rez 10

“Half Rez is a blowout party celebrating the amazing motion artists, designers, producers, students, and studios that make Chicago and the Midwest the community it is.”
-halfrez.com

In the summer of 2023, I had the privilege of being invited by Black Book Studio to collaborate with a team of exceptional visual artists and sound designers in preparation for the tenth anniversary of Half Rez. This annual event is a vibrant celebration of Chicago's prolific motion design community, a network comprised of some of the most talented professionals in the industry.

Our collaborative efforts focused on creating animated vignettes for social media channels and designing environmental elements for the event's stage. Notably, this year's creative challenge involved the strategic incorporation of artificial intelligence and generative imagery — a development that has generated a mix of excitement and concern within the creative realm.

A role we all shared in the project was to harness AI in a way that highlighted its potential to creatively elevate rather than amplify its potential threat. This project pushed me to explore nearly every aspect of my professional abilities, all through the novel lens of Stable Diffusion. The outcomes proved to be anything but predictable. From the emergence of extra fingers and meandering irises to the challenges posed by erratic edge fidelity in the context of rotoscoping, working within this new creative framework was a departure from the familiar conventions I've grown accustomed to. There were none of the familiar mile markers I've learned to look for or voices dictating the "right way" to proceed. In retrospect, the most rewarding moments were those which utilized creative thinking and problem-solving skills; ideating visions to execute, engaging technically with the design of input data and evaluating a workflow that accounts for and adapts to the idiosyncrasies of generative imagery. Thankfully, the project's creative direction gracefully embraced the unpredictable and hyperactive nature of AI, cultivating a creative atmosphere forgiving of imperfection.

Logo Design and Creative Direction | Amador Valenzuela / Black Book Studio
Animation | Alison Kim, Chad Lynn, Morad Enayet, Rachel Oftedahl, Sara Kopke
Editing | Jerry Nelson / Attack Studios
Music & Sound Design | Impossible Acoustic, Motion Sound

Additional help
Anthony Vitagliano (Design input)
Chris Schmidt (CG technical direction)
Miqui C. Crespo (Social media, animation)

Half Rez Committee
Amador Valenzuela
Chris Schmidt
Gavin Morrissey
Josh Van Praag
Michael Kislovsky
Miqui Crespo
Siena Esposito