Alphr
History documentary is part of the BBC’s VR and 360 video line-up, which also includes a sound-led fairy tale and a virtual spacewalk
The BBC has made a virtual reality documentary about the 1916 Easter Rising, designed for Oculus Rift and set to be released as part of its burgeoning slate of VR and 360 video projects.
Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel is based on the eyewitness testimony of a 19 year-old rebel who took part in the fight against the British. The idea is that the audience sees and hears the events of the uprising from this singular perspective, rather than the relatively objective perspective of a traditional TV documentary.
In a blog on the BBC, Andy Conroy, controller of BBC research and development, describes the piece as “a ground-breaking new form of history documentary”, offering a glimpse at “how VR might create a completely new way for people to engage with the past – by living through a protagonist’s memories and perceiving events from their perspective.”