Private Project

Belonging: SEASON ONE

Belonging is a series of journeys into the emotional lives of MetaHumans.

Ten 5-minute narrative episodes. Produced under the SAG•AFTRA micro-budget project agreement.

BACKGROUND: Isolated during quarantine, tech entrepreneur and actor, Eric Bear, craved connection and creative collaboration. He assembled a team of animators and filmmakers from around the world to explore what might be possible using performance capture and Epic Games’ MetaHumans for Unreal Engine.

They embarked on a fully-remote experiment aimed at answering the following questions:
• Can virtual people effectively express authentic emotions?
• Can audiences be touched, moved and inspired by performances captured using free software and off-the-shelf hardware?
• Can multiple artists direct, shoot and produce high-quality episodes from their home studios during a global pandemic?

10 scripts. 10 directors. 25 MetaHumans. 3 performance capture actors. 3 voice actors. 1 engine. Lots of love.

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NOTE: SPECIFIC EPISODES HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED TO TARGETED FESTIVALS. Genres span from Action and Adventure to Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance and Sci-Fi.

Access individual episodes for more details:

https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-night
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-water
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-here
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-duck
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-partners
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-trust
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-rosaline
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-fiction
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-fire
https://filmfreeway.com/belonging-farewell

  • Eric Bear
    Producer
    The HyperWatt Conspiracy
  • Nikki Levy
    Producer
    OMG!, Don't Tell My Mother
  • Rebecca Miller
    Producer
  • Eric Bear
    Writer
    The HyperWatt Conspiracy
  • Eric Bear
    Key Cast
    Annie Hall, Yellowstone:1883
  • Carly Christopher
    Key Cast
    The Price of Fame, Murder Made Me Famous
  • Janna Bear
    Key Cast
  • Eric Bear
    Director
    The HyperWatt Conspiracy
  • Jacqueline Cooper
    Director
    Iron Man 3, Jurassic World, TRON: Legacy, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows
  • Lance Mungia
    Director
    Six String Samurai, The Phenomenon
  • Luke Hill
    Director
    Ghostfinders, Mirror Valley
  • Nick Jushchyshyn
    Director
    Last Airbender, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  • Romeo615videos
    Director
    Shade 45: Eminem's Hip Hop Channel
  • Solomon Jagwe
    Director
    The Adventures of Nkoza and Nankya
  • Webb Pickersgill
    Director
    Life is Strange
  • Cory Williams
    Director
    The Mean Kitty Song, Coolest Sound Ever
  • Cristina Mercado
    Director
    Third Eye Spies, We Are Not Alone
  • Frederico Junqueira
    Director
    Alien Planet
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short, Television, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Action / Adventure / Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Romance / Sci-Fi
  • Runtime:
    48 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 1, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Motion Capture via Unreal Engine
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Toronto International Women Film Festival 2022
    Toronto, Ontario
    Canada
    Winner - Best Animation ("NIGHT")
  • Paris Women Film Festival 2022
    Paris
    France
    Winner - Best Animation (“DUCK”)
  • London-Worldwide Comedy Short Film Festival 2022
    London
    United Kingdom
    Honourable Mention ("ROSALINE")
  • Detroit Black Film Festival 2022
    Detroit, Michigan
    United States
    Official Selection ("PARTNERS")
  • Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival 2022
    Providence, Rhode Island
    United States
    Official Selection ("HERE")
  • LA Femme International Film Festival 2022
    Beverly Hills, California
    United States
    Award Nominee ("DUCK")
  • Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival 2022
    Fort Lauderdale, Florida
    United States
    Official Selection (full series)
  • Montreal International Animation Film Festival - ANIMAZE 2022
    Montreal, Quebec
    Canada
    Official Selection (6 episodes)
  • The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction & Supernatural Festival 2022
    New York, New York
    United States
    Official Selection ("NIGHT")
  • Cannes International Shorts 2023
    Cannes
    France
    Winner ~ Best Actor
Director Biography - Eric Bear, Jacqueline Cooper, Lance Mungia, Luke Hill, Nick Jushchyshyn, Romeo615videos, Solomon Jagwe, Webb Pickersgill, Cory Williams, Cristina Mercado, Frederico Junqueira

Eric Bear [EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & SERIES LEAD] is a classically-trained film actor known for a meme-generating role in “Annie Hall” and recurring on the Yellowstone prequel “1883” on Paramount+.

As a kinesthetic artist, Bear specializes in primate motion capture and authentic, grounded expression. Prior to returning to filmmaking, Bear was a tech entrepreneur known for creating award-winning interactive media (e.g., Best Animation at SXSW Interactive 1999).

Bear’s invention of seamless video expansion in 1994 was popularized by "The Matrix” – enabling DVD viewers to “follow the white rabbit” to access behind the scenes footage. This technology has been licensed to all major motion picture studios in the USA and top consumer electronics companies in the world. Bear’s 100+ hardware and software patents also include body-based solutions to motion sickness in virtual reality. Products based on Bear’s inventions are in use every day by millions of people and thousands of companies.

Bear is a partner at Capital Factory Ventures and the founder of HyperWatt® Productions.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Stand-alone episode screeners and details are also available.