Virtual Reality Films Immerse Viewers in Global Issues
Melting glaciers and rising seas in Greenland. Fires raging in Northern California. Drought in Somalia and the disappearing Amazon forests. Famine, Feast, Fire and Ice are the four episodes in a virtual reality documentary on climate change by filmmakers Eric Strauss and Danfung Dennis.
The series, which is being shown at the American Film Institute’s Documentary festival in Washington, D.C., offers a 360-degree view of the destructive effect that climate change is having on our planet.
Strauss says he hopes that when someone watches the series, it makes it clear that there is no escaping global warming. “This is coming for all of us, regardless of where we live or what our income is; it’s going to affect everyone."
Ken Jacobson, AFI’s Virtual Reality Programmer, says viewers – who watch the film wearing virtual reality headsets – react in many different ways.
One viewer, Patricia, watched Famine, the episode that looks at extreme drought in Somalia. “It makes it even more powerful because you feel like you are there. I think it’s a great [way] to spread the word on critical subjects,” she says.
Another viewer, James Willard, describes his experience of watching Feast, which is about the deforestation of the Amazon rainforests to make space for cow farms. “You are completely immersed in this whole situation,” he says, “You are facing these animals eye-to-eye and watching as they are marching towards their death.”
That's what Strauss wants to hear. “That is the goal; to effect change, to effect positive change.”
VR films are becoming more widely available as the technology evolves, and are often viewed on smart phones.
Strauss doesn't think that VR will replace traditional cinema, but he says virtual reality can allow viewers to connect on a deeper level with what they're seeing.
“The technology creates a situation where you truly feel transported to that location because you are not just witnessing something or watching it on a screen. You are [in] the space... Hopefully that will create an emotional response in viewers and what they are seeing will prompt them to want to get involved.”
