GREENWOOD RISING is a state-of-the-art history center located at the heart of Tulsa’s Greenwood District honoring the legacy of Black Wall Street before and after the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.
Experience design agency LOCAL PROJECTS—under the creative leadership of Jake Barton, L’Rai Arthur-Mensah, Phil Armstrong, and Hannibal B. Johnson—hired loyalkaspar to help bring to life their vision for the media programs through sophisticated live-action, and CG media production.
On the evening of May 31, 1921, in one of the darker chapters of American history, a white mob descended on the thriving Black community of Greenwood in Tulsa, OK, known as Black Wall Street. When the night and the smoke lifted the next morning, the death and devastation left survivors traumatized and homeless.
The exhibition blueprint called for 5 distinct media pieces, each presenting their own technical, historical and emotional challenges.
The Barbershop lets the visitor experience history in the most immersive of ways: by dropping them into a physical barbershop replica, ca. 1915.
The intent of the program was to immerse the visitor in the cultural context of the time by letting them experience the everyday banter of three barbers at work. We crafted specific personas and backstory to define their characters, each bringing a different life experience to the conversation.
Written by Ben Cruz, the barbershop script was meticulously researched by Ben and Victor Newman for historical and linguistic accuracy. We teamed up with director Quincy G. Ledbetter, who inspired our cast to deliver performances filled with humor and humility, economic ambition and (justified) skepticism of authority.
The final installation brings the barbers to life in a physical replica of the space that was at the heart of this dynamic community before hate and resentment tragically put an end to racial integration and upward mobility.
The holographic effect was achieved by mounting 3 vertical HD monitors behind a transparent, yet still reflective mirror. The deep blacks of the image seamlessly blend into the dark surrounding space, making the barbers come to life in front of your eyes!
To realize the most life-like representation with the highest resolution, we filmed the entire scene with separate 3 cameras, vertically mounted. The takes were combined, cleaned and color corrected in post production.
While The Barbershop is the emotional set-up, THE MASSACRE is the devastating climax of the experience.
Immediately after enjoying the liveliness and prosperity of Greenwood through the eyes of our protagonists, we tear it all down with an artistic interpretation of the event itself, built around the remaining audio testimonies of survivors.
As the emotional centerpiece of the museum, The Massacre is a sensory exploration of the tragedy, narrated by actual survivors accounts. Visually stunning and emotionally devastating, this haunting piece was scored and mixed by Greg Smith of Kick Music, who led the sonic development for all of the media programs.
We conducted extensive R&D, both digital and analog, to determine the best tools for crafting an experience that would be relatable, yet impressionistic.
We worked with Chris Webb from FX WRX to capture authentic textures and in-camera light and fire effects. Geoff Bailey directed The Massacre piece.
The INTRO FILM determines the tone for the rest of the experience. Set to Maya Angelou’s poem STILL I RISE, it speaks to the resilience of the Black community; RISING, against structural & individual racism that led to the tragedy of 1921 & that, tragically, continues to this day.
We teamed up with Tulsa native Trey Thaxton, designer & director, to create this evocative film. The goal was to create a link between the past and the present, so Trey used his deep connections to the Greenwood community to feature contemporary entrepreneurs who have built their lives and businesses on the shoulders of their ancestors.
Before entering the Barbershop, visitors are greeted by The Greenwood Spirit Facade, which tells the story of the LAND around Tulsa.
Covering the 100 year history of a single plot of land, this piece takes us on a journey from grazing buffalo, to the Trail of Tears, the Oil Boom and, finally, the building of Greenwood; a vibrant community that embodied the spirit of emancipation and Black economic prosperity.
Chris Fung directed the design and CG production for this piece. The live action was directed by Geoff Bailey.
