White Spark Pictures’ VR documentary The Great Kimberley Wilderness will have its world premiere at the Western Australian Museum later this month.
Narrated by Luke Hemsworth, the 35-minute immersive film, shot in 360-degree 3D VR, takes audiences over the edge of King George Falls, while also getting them up close to saltwater crocodiles, exploring the striped domes and gorges of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Purnululu National Park, and travelling back over 350 million years to the great Devonian Reef.
The Great Kimberley Wilderness is the first completed VR documentary film to be funded through a three-year, $1 million partnership between White Spark Pictures and the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, the Western Australian Museum, and the Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum.
The fund will also support Journey of the Giants, a deep 360° dive into the world of whales, and The Kermadec Islands, a deep dive into the remote and pristine marine wonderland deep in the South Pacific Ocean, both in development. Screenwest and Lotterywest also provided significant funding to assist in the making of The Great Kimberley Wilderness.
White Spark Pictures founder and creative director Briege Whitehead said The Great Kimberley Wilderness was designed to transport audiences to “places that they would otherwise struggle to visit and provides a uniquely immersive and memorable experience in a breath-taking landscape”.
“We are excited to deliver the first film from this game-changing, world-first content partnership and are delighted that our work together is increasingly generating interest from other venues and attractions keen to find cost-effective and scalable new experiences for their visitors,” she said.
“In addition, with the recent budget cuts and commissioning slowdown for factual, we are experiencing an upturn in approaches from mainstream documentary producers looking to understand the growing opportunities for VR and how they can adapt their skills. As a result, we are now in the process of exploring several interesting new potential partnerships with TV and film producers.”
Screenwest CEO Rikki Lea Bestall commended Whitehead and the White Spark Pictures team for achieving new ground in the world of VR while showcasing the Kimberley.
“Screenwest is proud to support the creativity, ingenuity, and tenacity of Western Australian filmmakers and crew who produce such captivating content within our home state,” she said.
The Great Kimberley Wilderness season runs from 23 November 2024 to 28 April 2025 at WA Museum before seasons at the National Museum of Australia from December and Tamaki Paenga Auckland War Memorial Museum in April 2025. It will also roll out to venues overseas in 2025.