On March 20th, 2022, Nye was highlighted in honor of black females in VR and AR on Clubhouse by LaSha’ Herring and Stefan Youngblood. They spoke about Eulinden Studios as a company, Nye’s individual goals in Virtual Reality, and any future projects.
Mrs. Herring: Tonight we are fortunate to welcome Nye and Eulinden to the space. To the Blackmetaverse we are definitely glad that you have joined us. Now Nye is a multi-faceted artist she’s a 3D animator and she’s Co-founder of Eulinden Studios her work has been linked to Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. As we said before that we really want to highlight women in these spaces and who they partner with, and so what I would love is for the community to learn more about you guys. Can you give us a window into your background and that of the studio?
Nye: Thank you again for having me like you said before I am the Co-founder of Eulinden Studios. We are a family-owned Virginia-based Media Company that produces animated stories, web series, and create show Idents for Warner Bros’ Adult Swim. It all started when Adult Swim shared one of my animations on their Instagram stories in honor of female black artists during Juneteenth of 2020. They then reached out to me to offer an opportunity to create short animations called idents.
Basically, Idents are network identification videos used in marketing to remind viewers of the television station and social media to account they’re viewing. The most recent ID we created was a spot for the final season of Squidbillies. Squidbillies was one of the longest-running shows on Adult Swim. It ran for 13 seasons. We are still in amazement that we were able to play a role in such a historical moment. Considering that Tracy Morgan was cast to play the lead character “Early” during the final season.
For people who don’t know about VR, Can you break it down for everyone?
Well, VR is a computer-generated immersive environment that consists of 3D visual assets and a Dolby Atmos soundscape (i.e. 7.1.4 surround sound). We can build any environment using realistic or stylized components. This is currently the leading format for an enhanced viewer’s experience. It is best viewed with a VR Headset or Helmet, but the average consumer also can use an iPhone, iPad, or Android Tablet. With the rise of more consumer-friendly headsets (accessible to the public) there has been an increase in their popularity. There are many brands of helmets such as MetaQuest2, HTC Vive, or the Valve Index (which is one of the higher quality headsets)
What brings you to the VR space and how do you think it is going to affect the future of the creator economy?
So, I am a storyteller and an environmental artist. I love how VR allows the creator the ability to place the viewer in a first-person perspective. The viewer can become a part of a scene and interact within the environment. They can either be the lead character or an onlooker in the film. The options are limitless.
For instance in “Crow: The Legend [VR Animation (2018)] ” starring John Legend there was a scene where you as the viewer are able to fly with him, in a very elaborate space scene, full of massive planets, and singing asteroids. VR is especially making waves in terms of the music industry. I think it is amazing how we can now experience Virtual Production in real-time. For example, in 2020 the Weeknd produced a Fan interactive VR show on TikTok, where he performed songs from his album ‘After Hours’ as a digital avatar. It received over 8 million views on Youtube. I believe that the VR formant will increase in demand and ultimately form greater job opportunities for the creator.
Can you tell us about your most recent project and what the production experience was like, as well as the next steps or enhanced experiences?
My most recent project is called “In My Solitude”. It addresses mental health in our community and how we are misrepresented in the greater schema. It is a personification of how social anxieties and depression can weigh on a person. The main character is a massive SiFi, faceless creature. Which is a representation of an individual’s concerns and perceptions. It is very intimidating when you watch it through the VR headset. The character remains faceless, because I wanted to convey to the viewer that depression and anxiety truly exist in all communities. It can have many causes whether it be neurotransmitter imbalance, childhood trauma, or genetics.
Speaking on the importance of highlighting mental health, it is often seen as taboo in our community, and I wanted to stress the importance of forming a support system whether it’s your church, your family, friends, etc. Just don’t struggle in silence. On a lighter note, I work with an amazing team; we have Writers, Editors, Environmentalist/Designers. In our most recent project, we arranged and performed a cover of Billie Holiday’s Solitude in surround Sound, maintaining all the quirky nuances which add to the tone of the project and That has to be one of my favorite parts of this production.
Please share and tell us about any upcoming projects you may be working on that we should look out for.
We are working on several projects, including VR productions. One of our biggest goals this year is to shop an Animated series to a major network to remain nameless at this point. VR immersive sight and sound is finally trending and Eulinden Studios will be at the forefront.
Mr. Youngblood: Can you tell us about the origin of the name Eulinden.
Eugene: So, basically the name Eulinden is a combination of my first name Eugene and the Canadian province Newfoundland (pronounced noo·fuhnd·luhnd). I used the first two letters of my name, and the last portion of Newfoundland’s phonetic pronunciation luhnd, and the finally the letters E and N. Overtime, I changed “Euluhnden” into “Eulinden” as we are known today.
At What age do you think is the best to start coding creating animations.
Nye: I would have to say when ever you start using a computer. The younger the better… I started producing content with Eulinden at a very young age, and eventually we started to upload it on Instagram and Youtube, and the rest was history.
Mrs. Herring: How can you be found?
Nye: Our Website is www.eulindenstudios.com and you can follow me @offxnye on everything, and @eulinden_studios on Instagram. Also, please subscribe to our Youtube channel for more content Eulinden Studios.
Thank you again Blackmetaverse.io, I had so much fun!
Eulinden Studios 