DCU Multimedia Capstone Project 2025 / by Paul Byrne, Sophie Walsh, Matthew Willis & James Ergen

Project Lead, Video/Motion Graphics, Thesis Editor

Please Stand By is a narrative multimedia exhibition that explores the interplay of immersion and empathy. Expressed through a fictional story, the narrative focuses on the evolution of media & communication technologies, specifically their trend toward personalisation, individualism and sensationalism.

The exhibition uses elements of interactivity, tangibility, novelty and nostalgia to drive the connection between the audience and the main character, Ailis. The space is broken into 6 ‘stages’ each representing a period in time in the story, from Ailis’ childhood in the 1980’s to the modern day. Each stage contains various media artefacts, both physical and digital, audio and visual. These artefacts may drive forward the story, create a sense of atmosphere, provide extra hidden information for greater context, or serve a combination of these purposes.

The project aims to highlight the impact of these changes on the growing sense of isolation and polarization, while acknowledging the role other societal factors may also play in such situations. The audience is given the opportunity to ‘step into the shoes’ of another, to better understand the nuances and complexities of how these issues affect the lives of real people, particularly the most vulnerable.

One of my roles for the project was to lead any video related production. This included shooting, motion graphics, and post-production editing, as seen in the promotional material as well as the footage used within the installation.

The project was exceptionally received by the university and audience members alike, with over 100 attendees for the installation’s 1 day showing. Please Stand By was awarded 1st class honours in both its installation and research thesis, as well as the Project Communication Award for “excellence in communicating multimedia creativity and innovation”.