Columbia DSL - Newsletter

Mar 12, 2025

This edition of the Columbia DSL newsletter highlights bold experiments and breakthrough ideas that are reshaping how we tell stories. From projects that blend AI, XR, and participatory performance to prototyping sessions pushing the boundaries of narrative form, we’re exploring what happens when story, code, and design converge. As we look ahead to the Breakthroughs in Storytelling Awards and Summit, these projects and resources offer a glimpse into the innovations defining new possibilities for immersive storytelling.

BREAKTHROUGHS IN STORYTELLING
AWARDS + SUMMIT - save the dates

10th Edition of the Breakthrough in Storytelling Awards
The Breakthroughs in Storytelling Awards recognizes signal achievements across the broad spectrum of media that rely on digital technologies, including film, video, journalism, advertising, marketing, games, art, fiction, theater, virtual reality, augmented reality, and experimental narratives.

Breakthroughs in Storytelling Awards - online
Sunday, April 13th, 6:00pm to 8:00pm Eastern Time

RSVP

3rd Edition of the Breakthrough in Storytelling Summit
We're thrilled to invite you to the third edition of the Breakthroughs in Storytelling Summit, an annual gathering that shines a spotlight on works pushing at the edges of narrative possibilities.

Designed to bridge theory and practice, the summit offers a series of talks, collaborative exercises, case studies, and hands-on rapid prototyping sessions. This blend of formats is designed to spark creativity, foster collaboration, and provide practical insights into applying innovative storytelling techniques.

Breakthroughs in Storytelling Summit - in person
Monday, April 14th, 6:30pm to 9pm
Film at Lincoln Center - Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center

RSVP

TEST/BREAK - an evening of open prototyping

Test/Break an evening of prototyping with Columbia DSL

Test/Break is a monthly prototyping series by Columbia DSL. Join us as we delve into an array of projects in different stages of development. Test/Break offers a platform for creatives to explore groundbreaking forms and functions of storytelling. We focus on projects that push the boundaries of narrative possibilities, leveraging emerging tech like AI, AR, VR, and IoT as well as web-pervasive technologies. It's a unique opportunity for virtual creators, fostering collaboration and experimenting with participatory methods of interaction. After each prototyping session, we open the floor for engaging conversations that unveil the secrets of creative practice. Don't miss out on this exciting journey of innovation and storytelling!

We'll be testing/breaking two different projects.

Monday, March 17th, 7pm to 9pm
Film at Lincoln Center - Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center

RSVP

COLUMBIA DSL STUDENT EXHIBITION CATALOG

Last semester, Columbia DSL, in collaboration with Film at Lincoln Center, hosted an exhibition showcasing student work at the intersection of Generative AI, Machine Learning, XR, VR, AR, IoT, and browser-based technologies. Today, we’re excited to release our first exhibition catalog, featuring 17 student projects that push at the edges of storytelling, design, and play.

Featuring projects from the New Media Art and Digital Storytelling III: Immersive Production courses, the showcase invited audiences to engage with interactive installations, speculative artifacts, and Fluxus-inspired performances utilizing emerging technologies. Artifacts of Control transformed the space into a futuristic archaeological dig, unearthing speculative relics that critique contemporary surveillance systems. Meanwhile, DEMOCRACY IN FLUX blended robotics, AI, and performance with playful absurdity, examining the role of bureaucracy within democratic systems.

This exhibition marks an exciting step in expanding the dialogue around immersive media and digital storytelling. See the full catalog below.

READ

LINKS

Evolving Immersive: The 2025 Immersive Industry Report

Evolving Immersive: The 2025 Immersive Industry Report is a co-publication of the Gensler Research Institute and the Immersive Experience Institute. It includes extensive industry research, expert interviews, analyses and reporting, and surveys conducted between September 2024 and February 2025 of immersive practitioners, commissioners, craftspeople, and audiences. (Requires sharing an email to download)

Why collaboration should feel like a fun conspiracy

This week in New Creative Era with Josh and Yancey, we dive into the topic of collaboration. How have we found ourselves in collaborative projects? What went well? What didn’t? Tune in for a deep and wide-ranging conversation that covers everything from emotions to economics to breakups to logistics.

Models All the Way Down

“If you want to make a really big AI model — the kind that can generate images or do your homework, or build this website, or fake a moon landing — you start by finding a really big training set.

Images and words, harvested by the billions from the internet, material to build the world that your AI model will reflect back to you.

What this training set contains is extremely important. More than any other thing, it will influence what your model can do and how well it does it.

Yet few people in the world have spent the time to look at what these sets that feed their models contain.”