“VR cinema”: an idea as old as the return of virtual reality content to the general public 10 years ago. It has naturally occurred with the increasing accessibility of headsets, their price and the software interfaces enabling them to be synchronised. Developing both production and distribution models for the last 6 years, Australian documentary production company White Spark Pictures officially launched Surround Sync in 2023, a collective viewing software platform for 360° content in cinemas and cultural venues. Producer Briege Whitehead explains their work since the first screening using that technology for the Western Australian Museum in 2021.
Cover: THE GREAT KIMBERLEY WILDERNESS (2024)
White Spark Pictures, immersive documentaries that matter
Briege Whitehead – Coming from traditional filmmaking, White Spark Pictures’s first VR film, THE ANTARCTICA EXPERIENCE, had its premiere in 2018. We’ve embarked on virtual reality with great enthusiasm, and by linking our efforts in a real transmedia strategy of film, TV and VR. We produce our immersive content with the same quality as a cinema film (image and sound), collaborating with renowned 7th art technicians. One of the main reasons for the cinema quality we produce is for mass audience distribution, which we have pioneered a pathway for.
B. W. – White Spark Pictures launched into immersive production with a project I was incredibly passionate about, on Antarctica and climate change, THE ANTARCTICA EXPERIENCE. I wanted to give audiences a truly ‘story-living’ experience, transporting them to Antarctica in a way never before possible that only the VR medium allows. The vast majority of people will never have the opportunity to go there, so we brought Antarctica to them.
B. W. – Virtual reality is not just a technological exploration for us. We produce every film with increasingly high cinema quality, often in 8K or 11K. We’ve built our own VR shooting rigs and post-production workflows to create the best audience experiences and are constantly pushing the boundaries of storytelling. We regularly shoot in very isolated locations, within harsh environments and very dynamic lighting conditions, so we have to be reactive. We also provide the finished film in other formats such as dome and 16:9 which play simultaneously with the VR experience in a variety of venues enabled by Surround Sync.
B. W. – From the outset, we’ve approached our film creation hand-in-hand with distribution. XR filmmakers have largely been restricted to a few events or festivals, and we didn’t want to make films that didn’t have a pathway to large audiences. There was also a lot to solve in creating the perfect wireless cinema synchronicity that is completely turnkey, and able to work across unlimited screens and VR headsets. So in 2017 we began to work with one of our main exhibitor partners, the Western Australian Museum, to discuss a shared, mass audience system that would end up being similar in idea to how IMAX began, but for greater immersion in virtual reality (a closer approximation to cinema-style distribution, but premium with specific content). This also means redefining the cinema experience in line with the latest technological innovations. As far as home entertainment is concerned, the evolution has been a natural one: today’s televisions offer unprecedented viewing comfort, and make it possible to see all kinds of content. Cinemas offer premium screenings, but the future now is that next level of story immersion – and virtual reality is a format that is evolving very rapidly
Building Surround Sync, a synchronised and collective LBE distribution software
B. W. – We then turned to VR headset manufacturers, to understand their strategy. The best-known brands focus on the idea of home use, without considering collective, simultaneous viewing. So we knew we had to design a dedicated system. Buying a headset is still expensive, and little content exists, nor is there a unified way for premium content to be delivered and find consistent pathways to the audience. These are all obstacles to the development of VR, but as a form of collective entertainment, and specifically in the cinema we can create a great solution for the years to come to bring our content to the public in a simple, impactful and collective way. Audiences want new experiences, especially to locations and people they’d never normally have the opportunity to access and if they can come and discover them in a place that’s already been identified, and perfect for a premium experience, that’s even better. As an anecdote, our oldest viewer was 103 when he discovered VR through THE ANTARCTICA EXPERIENCE! He was able to watch the film, from his wheelchair, with his 5-yr-old great-grandson and together venture to Antarctica, which they would never have had the opportunity to in real life.
B. W. – What has now become Surround Sync, our synchronised VR content distribution system (supported by Screen Australia through Enterprise Business Funding in 2020), was born out of all this thinking. We can launch an unlimited number of headsets simultaneously (sessions to date have ranged from a few dozen to over 160 headsets per screening). For cinema sessions, in addition to using the sound from the cinema’s speakers (Dolby Atmos, 7.1 surround etc), the VR film is also broadcast on the big screen. We combine the immersive and cinematic experience to offer our viewers the very best. Today, Surround Sync has 6 permanent venues in Australia, with several other pop-up’s around the world and we have plans to increase this number rapidly in 2025
B. W. – Cinema is a centuries-old form of entertainment, and film exhibitions can by nature be quite conservative but in recent times, particularly since the Covid-19 crisis, cinemas have been looking for new ways to bring people back to the movies. Offering an attractive, innovative new experience in existing cinemas, where there’s no need to make any changes, is a superb opportunity for them. Compared with an IMAX theater, which requires a lot of investment, considering virtual reality makes sense. Surround Sync is a minimalist system that optimises the use of theaters at lower cost, slots directly into their existing method of programming and exhibitors can still show classic films alongside VR.
A new starting point for VR cinema (& more?)
B. W. – Surround Sync is currently deployed in seven venues in Australia, mainly museums and their cinemas (up to 200+ seats). We produce a permanent kit – with PICO 4 most recently – for each venue for medium- or long-term use, or sometimes we set up more temporary pop-up installations. Last year in London, for example, we screened BEYOND THE MILKY WAY for a month at the Royal Institution. Our system can also be adapted, where appropriate, to projects or events outside cinemas – such as walking exhibitions and so on.
- National Museum of Australia, Canberra
- Western Australian Museum, Perth & more
B. W. – We often train the staff on site, so each VR cinema is autonomous, but it’s up to each location if they want us to physically or virtually assist an install, after which the venues then run themselves. The system has been designed with both audience and venue in mind so that the entire experience is seamless. We provide the necessary training and documentation to ensure smooth operation, so that a click of a button triggers screen, sound and headsets in perfect unison, and for cinemas, this process is programmed and automated to their desire.
B. W. – Thus far, Surround Sync has been a huge part of the success of our own content, (THE ANTARCTICA EXPERIENCE ranks within the top 10 highest grossing theatrically released Australian documentaries of all time based on ticket sales) and now third-party films are utilising our permanent venue partners to deliver their immersive experiences to mainstream audiences. We have been careful in selecting premium VR content that meets a number of criteria we know are important for audience viewing, especially as, for many, it’s still their first viewing in virtual reality. It’s also proven to create long shelf-lives for premium content, with films still showing to packed audiences many years on. Now we’ve created a demand for at least 10 VR films a year and are rapidly developing, co-producing and looking to acquire a diverse range of premium content and we’re already talking to well-known VR distributors to identify the most relevant films and experiences.
B. W. – While White Spark Pictures has previously been focused on the production of 360° stereoscopic documentaries (including a new partnership with UK-based company Loud Minds), we are expanding into all genres including live entertainment, drama and also remain on the lookout for interactive formats, or those with the performances that XR implies. Large-scale formats are also interesting, and not so far removed from us in terms of session management software, but there are still some fundamental differences in terms of space (you need a lot more room!) and, above all, audio. But our discussions with cinema exhibitors are also leading us to think about proposals that could really diversify cinema audiences, and fill up screenings at off-peak times: works councils, training sessions, etc.
Next release from the studio: THE GREAT KIMBERLEY WILDERNESS!
- Western Australian Museum, Perth
- Museum of the Great Southern, Albany
- Museum of Geraldton
- Museum of the Goldfields, Kalgoorlie
- National Museum of Australia, Canberra
- Tamaki Paenga Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland
… More venues soon to be announced
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