As virtual reality (VR) moves further towards mainstream adoption, more and more experiences created for VR and 360-degree video are seeing recognition by major award bodies. One such example occurred recently with a VR experience that featured on the Jaunt VR platform being awarded and international Emmy Award.
At the Adelaide Film Festival, an immersive project titled Collisions was awarded with an international Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding New Approaches: Documentary’. Collisions is a VR project telling the story of indigenous Australian tribe, the Martu, following one of its elders named Nyarri Morgan.
Until the 1960s, the Martu had lived in the Pilbara desert of Western Australia largely untouched by Western culture. Collisions aims to tell the story of how the culture of the Martu was changed, and specifically, how Nyarri’s life was affected by the influence of Western science and technology. A dramatic impact of science and spirit had a profound affect on Nyarri, and using the immersive medium of VR means his story can reach people in a way the filmmakers hope will be more affecting.
Collisions was the first project to receive support from the Adelaide film festival. Artist Lynette Wallworth, producer Nicole Newnham and director Patrick Meegan from Jaunt all contributed towards the making of the VR film.
You can watch a 360-degree video version of the experience below. Jaunt VR users will soon be able to view the experience in full VR using the Jaunt VR app.
VRFocus will continue to report on awards and professional recognition given to VR projects.