heradventureblog

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Like Defiance, HERadventure Takes Live Action and Video Games to New Levels

The highly-anticipated new action series Defiance aired this week on the SyFy channel.  In case you missed it, it's the story of a futuristic Earth where aliens have crash-landed and literally transformed the planet as well as the population.

  Defiance also has a video game that corresponds with the show?  You may think this is nothing new as many sci-fi, fantasy, and action shows/movies have corresponding games or that the games themselves spawned the shows/movies.  In general, the on-screen stories are different from the game stories... related, yes... but rarely the same.  For the first time ever the Defiance video game parallels the weekly action in the show.  Both have been designed so you can watch the show without playing the game or play the game without watching the show, however the creators explain that you will get a deeper connection and enhanced experience when you play and watch both. HERadventure takes that concept a step further...

  In our story, the film and the game are one... and you (the viewer/player) are one with HER.  Where the film leaves off is where the real story begins...when you become HER...merging with her and entering the digital world where you must play the game to help HER and find out how the entire adventure ends.  

  HERadventure is where live action goes virtual and then back again for a unique and full interactive experience.

  Will you help HER?  Join the experience NOW!

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Discussion: Are Fully-Clothed Female Superheroes Less Bad-Ass?

What images come to mind when you think of a male superhero? Tall... muscular... ruggedly handsome Spandex from neck to ankle... mask, boots, and a cape Body armor and a helmet, perhaps

What images come to mind when you think of a female superhero? Beautiful... big-bosomed Bikinis... tiny skirts... bustiers... stiletto boots... Crown or tiara... mask and a cape camo-booty shorts or tight pants and a tank top If her shirt has sleeves, it has a deep v-neck or the buttons/zippers undone enough to show more than ample cleavage.

There is a clear difference.  

Some enthusiasts may argue that there are plenty of female superheros out there that wear more than that.   Agreed, Storm's outfit has way more coverage than Wonder Woman but it can't be denied that the majority of these heroines are drawn sexy first, powerful second.

The question is why? Don't female superheros deserve the same amount of body protection as their male counterparts? Would Wonder Woman be less bad-ass if she were average-looking with an A-cup bust?

What do these images teach young girls about strong women?   That you can't be powerful unless you're smokin' hot?

Artist, Mike Lundsford took on this challenge in a series of drawings of female superheros in less-than-sexy-but-protective-and-functional uniforms.

The argument was also made with interesting male/female hero comparisons in the article "Men Look Different, Women Look Like Submissive Supermodels" on Gaming As Women.

In HERadventure, HER, ZIRA, and all of the Glovebearers are in full-coverage costumes.

What do YOU think? Are fully-clothed female superheros less bad-ass?

Post your responses: Facebook Google Plus

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"Showing the power of women working in unity..."

Meet ZIRA!

Introducing ZIRA, commander of the Glovebearers and HER's big sister, played by Betty Hart. Betty shares with us why being a part of HERadventure is important to her as well as why this fim is important to women everywhere.

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Our Own Epic Adventure: The HERadventure Team's Experience at SXSW

As first time attendees at South by South West (SXSW) the experience was both exhilarating and exhausting.

HaJ (left) Ayo (right)

Two months prior, Ayoka Chenzira (Ayo) and I had this crazy idea of demoing our new interactive sci-fi fantasy movie, HERadventure, at SXSW in Austin, Texas. SXSW is arguably the premiere destinations for innovation in entertainment and technology. HERadventure is an interactive movie that combines live action filmmaking with virtual games. What better place to demo and get feedback than SXSW?

Everyone told us we were crazy to think that we would be able to find a place to stay let alone a place to showcase HERadventure. Attendees plan and book tickets a year in advance. However, everyday for two months the entire team worked intensely around the clock to make what Valentine of Synergy Business Development likes to call the “magic” happen. Not only did we find housing, and a venue but were backed by Spelman College where Ayo is the founding director of the Digital Moving Image Salon and became official participants of SXSW.

The day came for us to touch down in Austin, Texas. We arrived two days before the festival started, to give our selves time to flesh out any last minute kinks before we were set to demo HERadventure. This plan seemed to work in our favor, as the city was not yet flooded with people. Locals kept warning us about how many people would be in town covering the streets of Austin. Seeing this city un-crowded allowed us to appreciate the beauty and rhythm of this self-proclaimed music capital of the world. Come to think of it, everyone in Austin seemed like they were carrying a tune in their head.

On the first day, we ran into social media guru Michael Street and urban socialista Mary Pryor at Whole Foods. I guess a gathering of people of color was unusual here for minutes into our conversation an older white woman came up to us super excited expressing that she had never seen anything like “this” before. She admired Mary’s Afri-centric head wrap and complimented how beautiful everyone was while continue to stare in awe at the brown people before her. She then returned to finish drinking wine with her male friend who was about 20ft away. Even after returning to her table she kept staring at us. This woman’s perspective seemed to be a reflection of our presence at SXSW. Out of thousands of attendees you could probably count the number of people of color on one hand and have fingers left over. Ayo and I were apart of a smaller number of people of color who were presenting a project. One could argue a number of reasons as to why that was but it certainly isn’t because people of color aren’t innovative.

(left to right: Denver Louis, Mary Pryor, Nicole Valentine, HaJ, Michael Street, Ayo)

We were set to demo HERadventure the first day of the festival March 8th, which was also International Women’s Day. Ayo and I created HERadventure in part to be an engaging way for people to understand some of the social issues that affect women and girls ages 18-25. Our main character, HER, embarks on a journey where these issues unfold. Along the way she is forced to overcome her own sense of powerlessness.

We showed the opening linear film sequence and then had an audience member play the game portions. The audience was a nice mix of tech folks and non-techies who were just looking for new and interesting ideas. Most people shared that they had never seen a project like HERadventure and were excited about seeing the full length. A high school teacher confirmed the success of our intention noting that the project would resonate with her students. We also showed HERadventure at various parties and events. Most admitted that they had never seen anything like it and instantly shared with their community. SXSW mission accomplished!

The following day Ayo and I spoke on the the Blacks in Technology (BiT) panel, Elevate the Game: Maverick Women Recode the Future, along with Pamela Jennings, CEO of Noble Wire, Sabrina Harvey, CEO of Art of Genius Tech Education & Women Interactive, and Nicole Valentine, President of Synergy Business Development. Meaningful conversations came about as it related to the importance of women and people of color advancing in the field of technology, specifically gaming and coding. However, if the funding and information is only being distributed to largely one group of people then the experiences developed from new technologies will not reflect diversity of ideas and perspectives. Remember the YouTube video of the Black guy pointing out that the HP face recognition didn’t seem to recognize his darker completion? This is why initiatives like Black Girls who Code founded by Kimberly Bryant are so crucial.

(left to right: Ayo, HaJ, Pamela Jennings, Sabrina Harvey, Nicole Valentine)

BiT has taken a tremendous step in the right direction with creating panels and programming to provide information from people of color in technology and entertainment at SXSW. We can only hope that initiatives alike will continue to be embraced, supported and expand into an integrated experience for everyone.

A friend of mine said to me that the Internet does not see race, it just calculates information according to zeroes and ones. I would argue that NOT seeing race is a problem. Or, being so in shock like the woman at Whole Foods because you’re not used to seeing a group of people of a different race IS a problem.

For us, (Ayo and I), we are developing projects and working in ways that highlight those spaces where online interactive engagement leads to a better understanding of real world issues.

Presenting HERadventure our interactive, sci-fi movie starring a reluctant, female, alien, superhero who also happens to be a woman of color allowed us to continue pushing (or rather opening up) the envelope to empower those who seem to have gotten lost in the zero and ones. We hope that you will join us or at least get on board to see something really cool and JOIN HER!

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Connecting and empowering women is our passion and it is shared across cyberspace.  We love discovering movements that educate and uplift.  Black Girls Are From the Future not only caught our eye because of it's catchy name but how it was born and how it spread like wildfire giving women everywhere a voice...

“When I think about being a Black girl from the future, my mind goes to the contradiction that many Black girls and women encounter which is that we are often simultaneously hyper visible and invisible at the same time. This can be a very difficult mode of engagement in the world, because you know that you exist even if people see you and choose not to recognize you.”  ~Reina Jarmon, creator of Black Girls Are From The Future

Click HERE to read more...

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Our SHEro:  Claressa Shields

An amazing young woman breaking barriers with more than her fists!

No Endorsements, No Problem: Boxing Gold Medalist Claressa Shields Keeps Fighting

Then 17-year-old Claressa Shields defeated a Russian opponent twice her age to win gold in the London Olympics. Back home in Michigan,  she juggles homework, dating—and a strict training schedule.

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Meet HER!

The heroine of our story, HER, the reluctant warrior-in-training that will save us all from The Dark Force, is played by one of our creators, HaJ!  

Get to know a little more about the film from her perspective as a creator AND an actress.

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Our interview with tech and social media guru, Anjuan Simmons

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Changing The Game: Empowerment In Video Games Over Violence

The video game industry has come under fire for what many view as playing a relentless role in gun deaths. Studies have linked possible behavior patterns such as violence, aggression, misogyny and other social development issues to violent war games.

This is one of the reasons we created HERadventure.  We wanted to highlight social issues in a more entertaining and engaging way at the same time empower women and girls in a virtual environment that will then translate into the real world.

If violent war games can have a negative affect on our society, imagine what empowering social messages in virtual environments can do to make the world a better place.

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Meet the Creators: HaJ

HERadventure is the brainchild of Ayoka Chenzira Ph D. (Ayomentary Productions) and Ayoka’s daughter and longtime collaborator, HaJ (Urban Chameleon Media)

Meet HaJ!

HaJ is an Emmy nominated film, video and interactive media producer. She has developed her craft working at Sony Picture's Red Wagon on the development team that produced Jarhead, Stuart Little and academy nominated film Memoirs of a Geisha.

HaJ is the creator and founder of Tickles.TV and Urban Chameleon Media, which creates interactive content for multimedia platforms for and about the multifaceted experiences of people of color. Her work has been show cased at the Pan African Film Festival, Women in Film and Television, Bronze Lens, WOCAF, BWFN, National Black Programming Consortium and the Alliance Theater. HaJ’s interactive stage-show, FUNNEL CAKE FLOWER & THE URBAN CHAMELEONS, will premier at the Atlanta Fringe Festival June 6-9th.

Read more about HaJ on HERadventure.com and follow @ticklestv and @urbanchameleons on twitter.

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HERadventure Gets Noticed at SXSW 2013

HERadventure was demoed at this year’s SXSW and received rave reviews putting creators, Ayoka and HaJ, on Madame Noire top 15 Tech and Branding Gurus list.

Ayoka and HaJ, also spoke on the Blacks in Technology panel; Elevate the Game: Maverick Women Recode the Future, along with Pamela Jennings,CEO of Noble Wire, Sabrina Harvey, CEO of Art of Genius Tech Education & Women Interactive, and Nicole Valentine, President of Synergy Business Development.

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Meet the Creators: Ayoka Chenzira, PhD

HERadventure is the brainchild of Ayoka Chenzira Ph D. (Ayomentary Productions) and Ayoka’s daughter and longtime collaborator, HaJ (Urban Chameleon Media)

Meet Ayoka Chenzira! 

Ayoka Chenzira (Ayo)  is an award-winning filmmaker and interactive digital media artist who is a recognized pioneer in African American independent cinema. She is considered as the first female African American animator and one of the first African American women to write, produce and direct a 35mm feature film, Alma's Rainbow. Ayoka received the Sony Innovator Award and Apple Distinguished Educator Award for her early work converging film, video and computer animation in storytelling and digital technologies. She is currently developing the novels of New York Times Best-selling author, Pearl Cleage for the screen. This past November, Ayoka was invited to present her work at TEDx PEACHTREE and at the Bronze Lens Film Festival. In 2013, Ayoka was selected as a POW! honoree.

Read more about Ayoka on HERadventure.com and her on twitter @ayomentary

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The most ancient planet in the multiverse is dying.  A Dark Force is slowly consuming the Life Force of Xamtha, once home to a highly advanced and thriving civilization of women leaders and noble warriors. Mysterious in its origin, ruthless in its destruction, even the elite Xamthan Glovebearers headed by Commander ZIRA are powerless against it.

Out of the chaos emerges a reluctant hero, ZIRA’s younger sister, HER, an untested warrior-in-training. But a reluctant hero is still a hero. When Zira is blamed for a mission gone wrong and flees Xamtha, HER follows and unexpectedly ends up on an entirely new planet…Earth, where she finds... YOU.

It is up to YOU and HER Find Zira Restore civility and balance to our worlds.