From September 23, The Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne will be expanding its Virtual Reality offerings – Prehistoric VR will be on show – immersing audiences in the breathtakingly beautiful world of the prehistoric deep sea – alongside a brand new, permanent VR Lounge.
Here’s all the details.
Commissioned by ACMI, and developed with assistance from Create NSW in partnership with AFTRS (the Australia Film Television & Radio School), Handmaid Media and Start VR, Prehistoric VR is a collaboration between internationally renowned makers of puppetry experiences Erth and award-winning visual artist and filmmaker Samantha Lang.
Adapted from Erth’s large-scale puppet show Erth’s Prehistoric Aquarium, Prehistoric VR is the first 360-degree VR puppetry experience of its kind. The work drops you onto the ocean floor 200 million years ago, for an immersive encounter with the strange, wonderful and terrifying creatures of the prehistoric deep.
You will be met by prehistoric marine creatures including bioluminescent jellyfish, Anglerfish, Anomalocaris, Paracyclotosaurus, Dickinsonia, Plesiosaurus and Kronosaurus – all creatures that have a connection to Australia’s prehistoric past. Throughout the work you remains the centre of the action, surrounded by creatures that swim about and investigate them.
“As the national museum for film, TV, games digital culture and art, ACMI is fascinated by the rapid evolution of VR and the new ways practitioners are engaging audiences through this platform,” said ACMI Director and CEO, Katrina Sedgwick. “Alongside our vibrant commissioning program, the VR Lounge is the latest addition to our free, permanent exhibition, Screen Worlds.”
The exhibit will be on show Saturday 23 September to Sunday 8 October, and is free. You can find out more here.