Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) production studio UNLTD has announced its next project, a commission by Fairmont Hotels, Ivanhoé Cambridge Properties and co-producer MassivArt Agency called John Lennon’s Suite 1742: A Virtual Bed-in Experience.
The immersive experience is based around John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s bed-in for peace for the newly redesigned Suite 1742 of The Queen Elizabeth Hotel, where John Lennon and Yoko Ono held their iconic bed-in for peace in 1969. Directed by Carl Ruscica, guests don a VR headset transporting them into the 2017 version of suite 1742. Then as they relax on the same bed that John and Yoko held their protest on, they are transported back to the 1960s as journalists rush the room and bombard them with questions.
“The ‘Suite 1742’ project is an immersive voyage that takes you on a journey from the present to the past, it’s part fiction and part documentary and offers insight into John and Yoko’s ideas and values at the time, which are still highly relevant today,” says Ruscica. Ruscica brings a fresh, original and authentic approach to virtual reality. His understanding and interpretation of the medium are truly unique and he has brought the medium of VR to another level with “Suite 1742.”
While the experience will be exclusive to the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal, UNTLD will be publicly debuting the film at the Future of Storytelling Festival in New York, from 6-8 October, 2017.
“Debuting this one-of-a-kind immersive experience at the Future of Storytelling is a natural fit because of the complex story we were able to tell using virtual reality, giving viewers a unique perspective shift,” said John Hamilton, CEO of UNLTD and producer of “Suite 1742. “We worked hard to translate the experience and story of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in a way that allowed the viewer to step into the shoes of these icons, take a trip back in time and be a part of one of the most historic pop-culture events ever.”
VRFocus will continue its coverage of UNLTD, reporting back with further updates.