Category: The Atomic Tree

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SXSW VR Experience The Atomic Tree now Available on Within

The SXSW festival took place earlier this month in Austin, Texas, with plenty of immersive 360-degree films and experiences for guests to enjoy. Today WITHIN has announced that one of those films, The Atomic Tree is now available via its virtual reality (VR) app.

The Atomic Tree

The Atomic Tree is a ten-minute journey into the life of a very special tree – a 400-year-old Japanese White Pine bonsai that survived the atomic blast in Hiroshima. Adapted from David Haskell’s book The Songs of Trees, the short film was directed by Adam Loften and produced by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, the creators of award-winning VR experience Sanctuaries of Silence.

The synopsis explains that: “The Atomic Tree is a journey into the memories of one of the most revered trees in the world’s 400-year-old Japanese White Pine bonsai that witnessed and survived the atomic blast in Hiroshima. From Japan’s ancient cedar forests and Buddhist temples to the family home in Hiroshima where the pine was nurtured for five generations, this VR experience explores the unbroken chain of living stories held within the rings of this tree. The delicate shape of this bonsai contains sacred forests, human family, and deep time, inviting us to reflect on the living strands of kinship that are woven between human and non-human worlds.”

The Atomic Tree

To view The Atomic Tree you can either watch it on the WITHIN website or download the free app which supports all major headsets, including Oculus Rift, Oculus Go, Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR, and Google Daydream.

Founded in 2014, WITHIN creates, acquires, and distributes premium augmented reality (AR) and VR experiences, recently releasing a Fright Fest Collection for Halloween and AR app Wonderscope for new storytelling possibilities.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of WITHIN and the company’s latest content releases, updating you with the most recent announcements.

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SXSW 2019: The Atomic Tree Tells A Riveting Deep-Rooted Story

The Atomic Tree

As the years go by, and virtual reality becomes more accessible, it also becomes more mainstream. While a lot of people look forward to VR gaming and other interactive experiences, others yearn for immersive experiences that aren’t as interactive. SXSW’s Virtual Cinema area showed off plenty of these experiences this year, and it brought in quite the crowd. Atomic Tree was one of the apps on show.

Directed by Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughn-Lee, the film tells the story of a 400 year old bonsai tree in the ancient cedar forests outside of Hiroshima. The tree grew on a property owned by the Yamaki family, who tended the tree for five generations. The U.S. armed forces detonated an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. The blast wiped out a lot of the landscape and claimed innocent lives. Surrounded by the walls of the Yamaki family home, the bonsai tree miraculously survived.

Some of the trippy visuals as you dive into the tree’s rings. Photo provided by The 2050 Group Publicity.

Adapted from the book “The Song of Trees” by David Haskell, The Atomic Tree takes viewers on a journey of crazy Alice in Wonderland type visuals, and a riveting look inside the tree’s history. Fantastic visuals take the viewer on an almost disorientating journey through tree’s rings. Dizzying spirals did exactly what they were supposed to by giving the viewer a sense of intense movement without pushing them completely over the edge. This helped intensify the significance and importance of the tree’s history.

A relaxing, immersive VR cinema experience

What really added to the absorptive experience was the great sound design. Several scenes take you through the Yamaki family home, where you witnessed traditional Buddhist prayer ceremonies. As the sounds of the prayer chants came through the headphones, you could move in a full 360 degrees to see everything around you, and the sound would accurately follow. There was no skip in the audio as you moved, which made the experience that more compelling.

A look at the beautiful Yamaki household. Photo provided by The 2050 Group Publicity.

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed the cinematic experience. It did a good job of putting me in a relaxing environment and making me forget about my hectic surroundings at Griffin Hall. However, there is a bit of a twist to the story for those who are unfamiliar with it, but I won’t spoil it for you. The Atomic Tree will be available this Friday, March 22nd, across all VR headsets via Within.

The Atomic Tree was demoed on an Oculus Go at SXSW’s Griffin Hall.

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