360 VIRTUAL REALITY
"Virtual reality is the 'ultimate empathy machine.' These experiences are more than documentaries. They're opportunities to walk a mile in someone else's shoes."
- Chris Milk, (VR Pioneer, Founder & CEO of WITHIN)
What is 360 Virtual Reality?
Virtual reality is something everyone's talking about nowadays. It's not hard to see why - if you've tried it out for yourself, you know how impressive it can be. But what exactly is it? With terms like 360 video, virtual reality, 360VR, 3D, stereoscopic… it's easy to be confused about what it all means.
Virtual reality (VR) is a term used to describe artificial, computer-generated environments that people can experience and often interact with. That's typically done by wearing a headset, and maybe wielding some controllers in your hands too. A lot of VR content are games (but not always!).
360 Video is a little different from VR, despite sharing many similarities. They are often being considered together, hence why the medium is frequently called 360VR - a combination of 360 Video and Virtual Reality. It's probably easier to think of 360 video as a spherical film. When you film in 360, you are recording the real world / live-action, just like you would do with a normal camera or your smartphone. The difference is that you are using multiple cameras, or multiple lenses, to record everything around you, rather than just a section of the world captured within a rectangular frame.
When you watch a 360 film, the story still flows in a linear direction, just like a normal movie. Unlike a normal movie, you can look around in all directions and see the rest of the world, as if you were there.
When done correctly, 360 Video can offer an incredibly immersive experience.
Why use 360 Video?
The disconnect between people and the oceans is arguably the biggest challenge facing our underwater world. 360 Video has the ability to fix that.
Unlike conventional filmmaking and photography, 360 Video is able to go beyond storytelling - it can transport people into the story so they can experience it for themselves. This medium can connect viewers with people and problems that they may never encounter, and deliver such a visceral response that people are driven to take actions or change their behaviour as a result. It's no wonder people consider 360 Video (and VR) the ultimate 'empathy machine.'
The underwater world is especially well suited to 360 Video. Unless we turn everyone into a SCUBA diver, the reality is that the oceans are an environment that many people will likely never visit themselves. This includes local stakeholders who rely on the oceans, and key decision makers who govern our relationship with it. How can you expect people to care about what happens to something that is out of sight and out of mind?
360 Video can change that. We can make reality virtual, and make the oceans accessible to everyone, and impossible to ignore.
Using 360 Video in Conservation
360 video has the power to go beyond simply raising awareness.
When used strategically with a clear impact strategy in mind, 360 Video can deliver change. The same can be said about using photography and normal films, but consider the impact you can have when the audience feels like they actually have experienced something, rather than just witnessed a story from afar.
Drawing from my existing experience across several projects, below are some of the most effective and common ways I use 360 Video content, in partnership with NGO and commercial clients, to aid in conservation.
EDUCATION
Use 360 Video to create an immersive educational experience like no other. Use it as a teaching tool in the classroom, or as part of an exhibit in an aquarium / museum.
CALL TO ACTION
Whether you're trying to recruit local stakeholders to join your cause, or convince politicians and decision-makers to make the right choice - 360 Video is a powerful way to change someone's behaviour and convince them to take action.
FUNDRAISING
Take your 360 Video film to events, or upload it online, to solicit donations from the masses; or transport a single philanthropist to a project site to show them why the work you do is worth funding.
Using 360 Video in Conservation
Case Study: Supporting Policy Change for Mobula Rays
In September 2016, world governments gathered at a conference in South Africa known as CITES. Here they would vote on proposals for certain endangered species to receive international, legally-binding protection from the wildlife trade that threatens them. Of the many species up for consideration, devil rays - a family of endangered fish - were being proposed for the first time. Around the world devil ray populations have plummeted, in large part due to targeted fisheries that provide for a growing international trade in their gills. It was clear that a victory at CITES would be crucial to the future survival of these vulnerable rays.
I collaborated with the Manta Trust - a UK-registered charity specialising in the conservation of manta and devil rays - to launch a targeted media campaign, dubbed Love Mini Mantas. The aim of the campaign was simple - to ensure the devil ray proposal was successful at the upcoming CITES conference. To achieve this goal we decided the primary objective was to create an underwater 360 film, to specifically show to the voting politicians and ministers attending CITES. It was apparent that many delegates were not divers, would likely have never heard of a devil ray before, and would have their attention frequently diverted during the conference towards proposals for better known species like rhinos and elephants. By taking them on a virtual dive with these animals, the hope was that the film would engage the delegates with the devil ray proposal in a novel and interactive way, and perhaps even sway their government into voting in favour of their protection.
With support from various partners, we shot and edited The Mini Mantas of Maria (TMMoM) in the Azores in August 2016. In the film, viewers joined marine biologist Ana Sobral as she told the story of her love of Santa Maria Island, and her desire to save the elusive Chilean devil rays that visit its underwater seamounts.
What Happened?
In the week leading up to the vote on the devil ray proposal, the TMMoM was played at the CITES conference via way of a booth and several Samsung GearVR headsets. Over 350 delegates came to watch the film, including 130 key decision makers from 56 of the 152 attending nations.
Devil rays successfully gained CITES protection on 4th October 2016. Various officials and delegates themselves confirmed that the film had swung the decision of at least several nations, that were previously sat on the fence about their voting position. As species must gain a 2/3 majority to gain protection at CITES, proposals are often won or lost by less than a dozen votes. It became clear that the 360 film helped deliver the final push that the devil ray proposal needed to cross the political finishing line.
Previous Underwater 360 VR Projects
The following are several underwater 360 VR projects I've been involved with, as well as my role in each.
Our Blue Planet VR | BBC Studios | x2 Online 360 Films | 2019
Lasting 4-5 months, this production with the Natural History Unit at BBC Studios involved creating x2 underwater stereoscopic 360VR films, using a one-of-a-kind rig created by VRTUL / Blue Ring Imaging. The films offer a guided-dive experience with local experts, as you encounter charismatic animals in two very different marine environments.
My Role: Assistant Producer-Director, Underwater Camera Operator (Canada), Dive Supervisor (Mexico).
Plymouth National Marine Park - Launch 360 Film | Blue Marine Foundation | 2019
Partnering once again with Blue Marine Foundation, this underwater 360 film was made to aid in the launch of the Plymouth National Marine Park. Distributed in headsets at a public event, this short film was designed to simply offer Plymouth residents a brief, naturalistic experience of the marine environment on their doorstep.
My Role: End-to-End Production, including planning, underwater filming, editing, stitching.
To Protect a Paradise | Blue Marine Foundation | 2017-2018
Created for the Blue Marine Foundation, this film depicts the challenges at the heart of their conservation work in the Aeolian Islands of Italy - namely the issue of overfishing. The story is told through the eyes of Dr. Giulia Bernadi, a marine biologist who has spent much of her life working in and around this archipelago.
My Role: End-to-end production.
VR Zoo | Dubai Aquarium - Public Exhibit | 2017
Launched by the Dubai Aquarium, the VR Zoo is a paid exhibit that allows customers to have a 2-3 minute 'naturalistic’ experience with a selection of charismatic animals, ranging from lions to whale sharks. I was brought onto the project to be the underwater 360 camera operator for several underwater species - including turtles, sea lions, whale sharks, manta rays, and dugongs.
My Role: Principal 360 Underwater Cameraman.
Last B-24 - Bonus 360 Promo Film | NOVA, PBS via Lone Wolf Media | 2019
This project aimed to create a short underwater 360 film to help promote an upcoming documentary on PBS in America. The film and attached documentary was about the recovery of solder-remains from a World War II plane wreckage in the waters around Vis island in Croatia. The wreck sat around 65m deep, so my Boxfish 360 was used by a participating tech-diver to film the search and recovery work taking place at depth.
My Role: Digital Imaging Technician & Hire of Underwater 360 Rig.
The Mini Mantas of Maria | Manta Trust | 2016
My first underwater 360 film, created using an Abyss 360 GoPro rig - one of the earliest underwater 360 camera solutions. This film transports viewers underwater to experience a dive with sicklefin devil rays (Mobula tarapacana) in the Azores, whilst hearing the story of Ana Sobral - one of the few researchers focusing on these elusive animals. Created in collaboration with the Manta Trust, and with funding support from the Conservation Media Group, this film was part of a targeted impact campaign to influence delegates at a CITES conference, where Mobula rays were being proposed for listing on Appendix II. This protection would restrict international trade in their gill plates.
Following the CITES campaign, a Portugese dub of the film continues to be used at a community library on the island of Santa Maria in the Azores - allowing non-diving locals to experience to rays that visit the waters around their island home.
My Role: End-to-end production: director, producer, camera op, editor.
ENGLISH
PORTUGESE
My Services
I offer an array of 360 VR services that can be tailored to your project and needs. If you're interested in creating an underwater 360 VR experience, but need expertise to help realise it, then please contact me via:
360 UNDERWATER CAMERAMAN
HIRE MY UNDERWATER 360 RIG
END-TO-END PRODUCTION OF A FILM
