Heath Hanlin

Biography

Heath Hanlin is a wholesome boy from the Midwest who likes to make really weird animations and music. He has been working as a media artist and musician since 1989, when he found a Boss dual-delay pedal, a microphone and a dying cassette recorder in the basement of an abandoned house in Iowa City, Iowa.

His animations, virtual realities, interactive media, music, deadly noise and installations have been shown and performed in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Prague, Tokyo, Kobe and many other places that don’t sound as cool, like Lexington, Kentucky, and Denver. He teaches computer animation and audio production courses.

His areas of expertise include contemporary and historical techniques of VR from 1996 to today; animation, specifically industrial and experimental techniques and production methodologies; the history and context of VFX in film and television; and studio recording and sound design for VR, film, television and games.

Education

• M.F.A., The Ohio State University
• B.F.A., University of Iowa

Current Projects

“Felted” is a single user experience reproducing and modifying a piece of the Black River Valley in Upstate New York. Hanlin is working with Charles Hyuck, a geographer based in Los Angeles, on developing landscape and foliage capture technology that will allow automated drones to take high resolution scans of the valley and use that data to create navigable virtual space. “Felted” is designed to run on a personal computer using either Vive or Oculus headsets and will be available on the Steam store and other online venues. The team is two to three years away from completing “Felted.”

“Pairs” is a two-person experience exploring intimacy and experiences in non-human bodies. It requires two headsets and two separate personal computers. Current limitations on consumer computers will make “Pairs” difficult to distribute widely, so Hanlin is talking to several venues that have shown his recent animation piece, “Branches,” about exhibiting the work at film and media festivals. “Pairs” is a solo project expected to be completed at about the same time as “Felted.”

Hanlin is in the initial stages of studying production and fundraising feasibility for a series of VR kiosks illustrating climate change located in children’s science museums, leveraging the technology developed for “Felted.”

Screenings/Festivals/Exhibitions/Lectures/Panels/Grants (Reverse Chronological Order)

• Intangible Expedition, Beijing Museum of Visual Arts (2017), Beijing, China, Branches (2015)
• KC Film Fest, (March 2016) Kansas City, Branches (2015)
• Indie Memphis Film Festival, (February 2016), Memphis, Tennessee, Branches (2015) jury prize for best experimental film
• Mirror Mountain Film Festival, (December 2015) Ottawa, Canada, Branches (2015)
• The Other Venice Film Festival (October 2015) Los Angeles, California, Branches (2015)
• Syracuse International Film Festival (October 2015) Syracuse, New York, Branches (2015)
• Snake Alley Festival of Film (August 2015) Burlington, Iowa, Branches (2015)
• Columbia Gorge International Film Festival (August 2015) Washougal, Washington, Branches (2015)
• Desert Rocks Film Festival (August 2015), Hesperia, California, Branches (2015) Bronze Jury prize
• Mykonos Cinema (July 2015), Mykonos, Greece, Branches (2015),
• Branches screened for one week in front of Avengers Age of Ultron in this outdoor cinema in the Old Town
• Mykonos Biennale (July 2015) Mykonos, Greece, Branches (2015)
• Moviate Underground at Artsfest (May 2015) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Branches (2015)
• Athens International Festival of Film + Video (Ohio) (April 2015) Athens, Ohio, Branches (2015)
• AWCD Conference 2014, Dalian, China: “VFX between the Trons”, invited
• Beyond | In WNY 2010, Lucid Lunch, original score