Fire Underground

Fire Underground is a surreal real-time animation which presents an alternative version of the 300-million year history of coal, weaving panoramic visions of forgotten forests, crawling saurian creatures, and chthonic infernos together with the memory of labor in the United States.

It is built with craft techniques lifted from model railroading and tabletop roleplaying games, photogrammetry, and conventional 3D animation, and features scenes and characters borrowed from both tall tales and real episodes in North American labor history. Although it presents a linear narrative, the project is built in a game engine and is exhibited as software which is simulated in real-time, with many scenes and characters are driven by physics simulation and game-like systems.

Featuring original music by North Carolina based musician Sarah Louise.

Run Time: about 1 hour