THE BOOK OF DISTANCE

Written and created by
Randall Okita

Produced by
David Oppenheim

Executive Producer
Anita Lee

Associate Producer
Kate Vollum

Project Managers
Oliva Amu
Jessica Parsons

Art Director
Sam Javanrouh

Lead Artist
Emma Burkeitt

Lead Programmer
Luke Ruminski

3D Artists
Jeremy Canton
Paul Constance

Concept Artist
Mohammed Karam

Programmers
Michael Sebele
Jord Farrell

Music & Sound Design
Menalon

Rigger
Twisted Mountain Animation

MoCap Technician
Aylwin Lo 

Featuring
Lloyd Okita

Story Consultants
David Bezmozgis
Kerri Sakamoto

UX Consultant
Stefan Grambart

Animation Consultant
Aleks Berland 

Animators
Moysis Antoniou
Prashanth Bhogaraju
Kerie Green
Liam McLaughlin

Graphic Design
Geoff Watson

Production Coordinators
Jennifer Bertling
Andrew Martin-Smith
Frances Nyarko-Mensah

Manager, Studio Operations
Mark Wilson

Production Supervisor
Marcus Matyas

Technical Coordinator
Kevin Riley

Studio Administrator
Patricia Bourgeois
Stefanie Brantner
Leslie Anne Poyntz

Unit Production Manager Japan Shoot
Jennifer Bertling

Technical Coordinator
Kevin Riley

Studio Administrator
Patricia Bourgeois
Stefanie Brantner
Leslie Anne Poyntz

Unit Production Manager Japan Shoot
Jennifer Bertling

Interpreters
Tomomi Kataoka
Catherine Sachi Kikuchi

Archival Researcher
Pamela Grimaud

Legal Counsel
Peter Kallianiotis

Publicist
Jennifer Mair

Marketing Managers
Gabrielle Harvey
Tammy Peddle
Laurianne Désormiers

Marketing Coordinators
Sophie Thouin
Stéphanie Quevillon
Eric Bondo

Social Media Strategists
Emilie Nguyen Ngoc
Hannah Martin

Community Managers
Alyssia Duval-Nguon
Melissa Sauvé

INFORMATION SYSTEMS & TECHNOLOGY

Sr DevOps & Infrastructure Specialist
Sergiu Raul Suciu

Head, Systems Infrastructure
Bruno Gervasi

R&D

Engineer, Development & Media
Frank Nadeau

TECHNICAL SERVICES

Technical Coordinator, Projects
Mira Mailhot

DIGITAL PLATFORMS

Director, R&D and Digital Platforms
Jimmy Fournier

Project Manager, Digital Products
Catherine Perreault

Technical Coordinator, Digital Products
Ana Appleyard

DEVELOPMENT PHASE

Project Manager, Development
Robert Sandberg

Art Lead, Development
Sam Javanrouh

3D Artists
Omran Faour
Jenny Bermas

Concept Artist, Development
Rupinder Bhogal

Graphic Artist, Development
Alexander Perkins

Storyboard Artist, Development
Pavel Loudine

Production Designer
Matthew Morgan

Lead Programmer, Development
Stephan Tanguay

Programmers, Development
Nicholas Fox Gieg
Matthew Fabb

Junior Programmers, Development
Marishka Kalathil Zachariah
Jord Farrell

Technical R&D
Jonathon Corbier
Tyler Sammy

Unity Developer, Development
Aylwin Lo

UX Consultant, Development
Pietro Gagliano

Demo Editor, Development
Mike Reisacher

Microsite Design, Development
Trevor Kerr

Production Coordinator, Development
Carly Kastner

Production Assistant, Development
Max Wolfond

Additional Music
“Sendo Kawaiya”
Performed by Otomaru
Written by Kikutaro Takahashi, Yuji Koseki
Published by Zen-on Music Company Limited
Courtesy of Nippon Columbia Co., LTD./NIPPONOPHONE

“Take It Easy”
Composed & produced by Giorgio Di Campo,
Licensed from FreeSound Music

Archival Footage Courtesy of
The Okita Family
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre
National Archives Catalogue at College Park (USA)
Newspapers.com
Library and Archives Canada / C-057249
City of Vancouver Archives
Rare Books & Special Collections, University of British Columbia Library or University Archives

Producers Would Like to Thank

Christina Lee Storm
Content Strategy

Jubin Dave
Animation Workflow Strategist

Demian Gordon

Motion Capture Society

Special Thanks

Yonezo Okita • Yeiko Okit • Lloyd Okita • Yvonne Yates • Grace An • Eloi Champagne • Dane Clark Michael Fukushima • Trevor Kerr • Kimberly Anne Laferrière • Joanne Lam • Lea Marin • Spencer Maybee Kiara Mikita • Maral Mohammadian •Kerry Okita • Pat O’Toole • Pauline Rosenbaum • Tania Thompson • Michelle Van Beusekom • Mark Van de Ven

• WINNER – BEST WORK JAPAN PRIZE | Digital Media Division (2020)
• WINNER – VIRTUAL & REMOTE | Best Narrative ExperienceThe Webby Awards (2021)
• WINNER – BEST IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE | Canadian Screen Awards (2021)
• WINNER – GOLDEN FIREBALL AWARD | Kaohsiung Film Festival – VR (2020)
• WINNER – BEST IMMERSIVE STORY | Sandbox Immersive Festival (2021)
• WINNER – VR STORY AWARD | Beyond the Frame Festival (2021)
• WINNER – HORIZON PRIZE | Festival du nouveau cinéma de Montréal (2020)
• WINNER – BEST ANIMATION | Vancouver International Film Festival – VIFF Immersed (2020)
• WINNER – ROCKIE AWARDS | Interactive: Youth (11-17)Banff World Media Festival (2021)
• WINNER – FWA OF THE DAY | The FWA Awards (2020)
• WINNER – BEST XP OF THE YEAR | XR Awards (2020)
• WINNER – PRODUCTION COMPANY OF THE YEAR | National Film Board of CanadaXR Awards (2020)
• WINNER – CREATOR OF THE YEAR | (Randall Okita)XR Awards (2020)
• WINNER – BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY OR VISUAL DESIGN | XR Awards (2020)
• WINNER – BEST STORYTELLING | XR Awards (2020)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | Sundance Film Festival – New Frontier, Park City, Utah, USA (2020)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | Tribeca Film Festival – Tribeca Immersive (2020)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival – DocX (2020)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | Tribeca Virtual Arcade @ Cannes XR (2020)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) – Beyond Reality 2020 edition
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | Venice International Film Festival – Venice VR Expanded (2020)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | New Images Festival – XR Competition (2020)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | Ottawa International Animation Festival – VR Competition (2020)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | IDFA Doc Lab – Spotlight (2020)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | London Film Week – VR Showcase (2020)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | Fipadoc – Smart (2020)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | Games for Change Festival – Immersive Arcade (2021)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | Powell Street Festival (2021)
• FINALIST | VR Experience of the YearVR Awards (2021)
• OFFICIAL SELECTION | Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival (2021)

Why did you decide to share your grandfather’s story?

What we know about our grandparents and family history often comes in bits and pieces. The Book of Distance is my attempt to recover all those things my grandfather didn’t say—including certain moments that may have been too painful for him to remember. I wanted to reimagine what he lived through, to recreate an experience that allows others to participate and to bear witness.


Why did you decide on virtual reality as a storytelling platform?

Virtual reality offers new possibilities for looking at and engaging with snippets of historical moments. When I started experimenting with VR, it became apparent that I could reimagine moments that I’ve thought about so many times in a completely different way. I could be present and participate in them. I was captivated by these possibilities, and the project evolved from there.

I also wanted to tackle one of the shortcomings of many VR experiences with a strong storytelling component: the fear that you’re somehow missing key parts of the story, either because you’re looking the wrong way or not paying enough attention to the right things.

My goal was to create an interactive space that felt both constructed and fictional, but with layers of realism—all while letting viewers know where they’re supposed to be. That way they can relax and enjoy the immersive environment as they participate in the story unfolding around them.


Aesthetics and mood are always a big part of VR experiences. Tell me about your stylistic choices.

I would describe it as minimalist magical theatre. I intentionally created the sets in the spirit of theatre and Japanese woodblock prints. This can be seen in just about everything—the lighting, the music, the transitions, and so on. There’s a lot of flat sets with things like 2D moving waves and clouds. These are all models that were hand-crafted by artists and then animated.

Unlike the highly rendered environments of most VR experiences, I wanted viewers to realize that we were hand-building a physical space built on active imagination.
 

The characters in the experience lack facial features and do not speak, yet they speak volumes. How did you achieve this?

This idea of magical theatre allowed us to limit details to the areas I felt were important for telling the story and for evoking the emotion of the journey. I wanted viewers to focus on the presence of the characters in that particular situation and moment in time rather than rely on their facial expressions or words for emotional clues. This approach allows the audience to connect with the characters in a different way.

I really like the idea of saying “this is a story that we’re telling you”—one that’s built on my own imperfect knowledge of my grandfather’s past and then filled in with best guesses. If you can do that and still have viewers engage with the story and characters on an emotional level, then that’s where the real magic happens.
 

You performed the motion capture for some of the characters in the experience. What was it like embodying your grandfather as a young man?

It was pretty mind-blowing. I know his gait, his walk, the injuries that he got on the farm and how they manifested when he got older. Being able to physically embody him was a beautiful, performative, connected experience.
 

Why did you decide to include your present-time self in the experience?

I think it’s important to show that I am participating in the construction of these ideas and imagining these memories of my grandfather’s story. But it’s also about the act of me trying to connect with this history and what happened—of trying to make sense of what my grandfather went through. Even the inaccuracy of my imagination and the artifice of what I’m putting the viewer through is important. These intersecting relationships are what make the experience so interesting.
 

If your grandfather were still alive today, how do you think he would react to this project?

I think he would just chuckle and not say anything. I think he would feel like he was getting too much attention. He’d probably just want to get out of the limelight and go do some gardening. But I think he’d also be pretty happy that we would be able to share it.

 
Your grandfather came to Canada filled with the promise of a better life. Do you think he regained any of this hope after being interned?

I think he did. He was somehow able to continue on. I never knew him to be angry. He was incredibly quiet but also incredibly sweet. I think he was very proud of what he was able to accomplish. I’d like to think that he saw things going in the right direction.


Any nice surprises come out of this project?

One of my favourite things to hear from people who have experienced The Book of Distance is the connections these memories bring up. I’m very proud of the piece and of being able to share it on behalf of my family, but I also love those kinds of echoes from people—when they talk about the old shoeboxes and albums they have. To me, that’s really what it’s about. This is one of many stories and if people can carry that afterwards, I think that’s pretty wonderful.

How did the NFB come to collaborate with Randall Okita on The Book of Distance?

In the summer of 2016, our NFB studio in Toronto invited a handful of artists to come in and experiment with some emerging VR tools. The NFB already knew Randall from his previous animated short film, The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer, as well as his other work in sculpture and installation. We thought it would be interesting for him to really interrogate VR as an artistic medium.


What was the genesis of the project?

The basic concept for The Book of Distance really came alive when Randall started going down the path of exploring his grandfather’s journey.

We set out to tell a story that we felt could add to the conversation around this dark period in Canadian history and the world we live in now. With Randall’s artistic background in film, sculpture, and performance, we felt he could look at VR as a mode of storytelling in an interesting way—particularly in terms of how the story could be experienced in a medium that privileges physicality and space. We knew he could bring this experience to life by borrowing from the other art forms he had worked with in the past.


What does the project bring to the virtual space?

Telling a good story in an interactive medium may sound simple—give the audience some choices—but it’s really difficult to balance the power of linear storytelling by an authorial voice and the power of giving the audience some agency in that telling.

Working with Randall was a great opportunity to try and hone the natural affordances and possibilities of telling stories in VR. The Book of Distance tells a strong linear story from the point of view of the director, but it does so in a way that also allows the audience to move through landscapes and physically engage with the story.

Randall managed to strike that balance remarkably well. Everything in the experience comes together in a very comfortable and enjoyable way—like it’s the most natural thing in the world to be seeing and interacting with these dramatic moments in the virtual space. Like any powerful work of art, we are given the space to project onto it. Randall asks us what it might be like if we could close the distance between our memories, and ultimately, what would it feel like if we didn’t have to live in this space in-between? That’s a really enticing proposition. Even though the story is about Randall’s own family past, we end up wondering about our own.


What does this project bring to the collective space?

There is a great loss in the silencing of a community and these reverberations have played out across generations. Giving Randall a platform to tell his story is an attempt to reclaim these lost stories and, hopefully, create more space for the right conversations to occur.