It’s been all go in the studio and our new app Guardian VR is now live on iOS and Android. We distributed nearly 100,000 Google cardboard headsets with the Saturday paper and in an online giveaway, and we have published two new virtual reality pieces for you to explore.
The Party: a Virtual Experience of Autism
Everyday situations can be stressful for people on the autism spectrum. Step into the shoes of 16-year-old Layla as she attends a birthday party. Hear her thoughts and experience how overwhelming such an occasion can be.
This 360° film can be viewed on our app, on Facebook and on YouTube.
The piece is based on a concept by the writer Lucy Hawking and involved more than 25 actors. It was shot with the Jump, Google’s stereoscopic 360° camera.
The script, developed after conversations with several focus groups, was composed by Sumita Majumdar, who has autism. She also drew on her own experience of these kinds of occasions.
The visual and sonic effects were informed by recent scientific research and informal conversations about what a meltdown feels like. The experience was centred on girls with autism as women and girls are often underdiagnosed.
To learn more, check out our Science Weekly podcast in which Nicola Davis speaks to Dr William Mandy, a psychologist at the University College London, and Hannah Belcher, a PhD candidate, about the experiences of women on the autism spectrum.
Crime Scene: a Virtual Experience of a Forensic Investigation
It’s 2am and there has been a murder. You are a trainee forensic investigator on duty. Can you gather the right evidence to solve the crime? A forensic crime scene manager will guide you through the process – from examining the body to avoiding DNA contamination.
This is an interactive experience designed for the Daydream headset. Participants must use the controller to move and examine the evidence around the room.
To create this piece we worked with Nicola Davis, the Guardian’s science reporter, who interviewed several forensic experts, including specialists in bloodstain pattern analysis, soil and digital forensics – 95% of crimes leave a digital footprint. We then created a fictional scenario based on the science.
For the visuals, we worked with ScanLab Projects. The team 3D-scanned an apartment and transformed the visuals into a 3D model using photogrammetry. We chose scanning over film because we wanted users to interact with the environment.
Finding our victim was not easy – we wanted the body to look as realistic as possible but needed someone who could lie motionless for more than three hours during the scanning process. The answer was to use a very patient life model.
Watch the trailer here and view the experience on Daydream.
Festivals and awards
First Impressions won the award for best documentary VR experience at Raindance film festival and bagged two prizes in the Lovie awards, including a people’s Lovie. Thank you to everyone who voted for us.
Sea Prayer received a bronze award at VR Days in Amsterdam and a bronze at Ciclope festival in Berlin.
Our VR pieces have been shown around the world, including Beat the Hustler at The Other Art Fair in London, and Sea Prayer at The Future of Storytelling in New York.
Sea Prayer will be shown at Dok Leipzig in November. Limbo has been selected to be shown at IDFA and First Impressions will be exhibited at The Other Art Fair in Sydney.
Industry shout-out: Visualise
Henrik Oppermann, head of sound at Visualise, an award-winning London virtual reality studio, spatialised the sound on Sea Prayer, an illustrated 360° story written by the award-winning novelist Khaled Hosseini.
With a piece that makes full use of the 360° space, having a soundscape to match was crucial. You can see more of the team’s award-winning work here.
That’s it for our second newsletter. Thank you to everyone who has watched and supported our work this year. With the app launched, we hope more people than ever before will experience and enjoy Guardian VR.
