Boston University students, faculty members and film lovers experienced the risks and thrills of the virtual world through filmmaker Jason Spingarn-Koff’s documentary “Life 2.0” on Wednesday.
About 40 people gathered at the College of Communication to see Spingarn-Koff’s documentary and hear him speak as part of the COM Film and Television Department’s “Cinematheque,” a series of meetings and conversations with filmmakers and free screenings of their films.
Spingarn-Koff’s film explores people who, through avatars, live an alternate life in the virtual world by playing the computer game “Second Life.”
In the film, Spingarn-Koff undertakes a virtual existence in order to engage himself in the world of “Second Life” residents, whose real lives have been immensely affected by their lives in cyberspace.
“This is an important film for students to see, showing them how the Internet can be used amazingly creatively and, at the same time, dangerously, taking over your life,” Peary said.
Spingarn-Koff said the film shows some of the darker sides of the Internet.
“The film is supposed to get people thinking about these issues of how dangerous online worlds can be,” he said. “To some, real life and virtual life are mixed up.”
Gerald Peary, the programmer and curator for BU Cinematheque, said he scouts for movies such as “Life 2.0” at film festivals.
“I hope films such as “Life 2.0′ provide an alternative view to mainstream Hollywood,” Peary said. “It’s totally mind-blowing.”
The documentary, which took three years to film and edit, required traveling long distances in order to get into contact with the subjects of the film, Spingarn-Koff said.
He said that much of the footage also had to be re-shot to get the right camera angles for the film.
“Half of the film looks animated, but it’s not,” he said. “Everything you see is actual documented footage.”
After the screening, Spingarn-Koff answered questions about both his documentary and the filmmaking process.
One attendee asked what it was about “Second Life” that interested him.
“Virtual worlds have been around for a while,” he said. “At the time, “Second Life” had reached a critical mass. It was a world where millions of people were in. I liked how “Second Life” had a pure utopian image. Just the name is terrific.”
Another audience member asked if Spingarn-Koff ever found himself getting sucked into “Second Life” when he was filming.
“Yeah, enough to make me want to do the film,” he said. “At first I went into “Second Life” for fun. But then it had a really big impact on me. It became an obsession of mine to do the film.”
When an attendee asked him if the people in the documentary were worried about the film potentially damaging their reputations or portraying them negatively, Spingarn-Koff said it’s part of the movie-making process.
“There’s an unwritten contract between a filmmaker and his subjects to treat them fairly,” Spingarn-Koff replied. “I stand by this film. It’s very representative of the people in it.”
He said he anticipates different reactions to the film.
“There are people who see “Second Life” though and are like, “OK, this is “The Matrix,” I’m Neo. I’m gonna take this system down,'” he said.
The audience generally had positive responses to the documentary.
After the screening, one attendee admitted to the director, “I don’t watch a lot of movies but yours was really good.”
Attendee Marisa Shea, a sophomore from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell said she enjoyed the movie.
“It has become one of my favorite movies,” she said. “And I hate movies. I thought it was really good and smart.”
“It’s better than “Avatar’,” another moviegoer said. “And that’s scary to say.”
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