A CELEBRATED virtual reality spectacular will make its Fremantle debut at the WA Maritime Museum this Saturday.
Following a successful season at the WA Museum Boola Bardip and other regional museums, the VR documentary The Great Kimberely Wilderness will reach a new audience in Fremantle.
Created by WA’s Briege Whitehead, the documentary takes viewers on a journey through the Kimberley narrated by Luke Hemsworth.
Ms Whitehead’s company, White Spark Pictures are global leaders in what she calls “VR cinema” which uses their patented technology Surround Sync.
The Kimberely experience is Ms Whitehead’s second VR cinema project, following the global success of her 2018 work, The Antarctica Experience.
• Benn Ellard and Briege Whitehead navigate their custom drone rig. Photo courtesy White Spark Pictures
“We actually call it story living, rather than storytelling. There is a far greater impact on audiences, who walk away with a far greater understanding and perspective of places,” Ms Whitehead said.
She describes the experience as “immersive” placing the viewer at the heart of “the huge diversity of the land”.
“Being able to have people connected to one of the oldest parts of the world and its rich history and landscape is so incredibly magical and is something that I think only VR can really do,” Ms Whitehead said.
The documentary had a two-year long development phase of careful planning and consultation with First Nations groups, including 11 native title groups.
“I think having an ability to connect with your own backyard and your own country is an incredible privilege and so is being able to hear the perspectives of those who know it best, especially First Nations Australians,” Ms Whitehead said.
The project then filmed for a further two years, with Ms Whitehead’s team visiting the region during different seasons to capture rare phenomena, including the famous lining up of the Milky Way at Cathedral Gorge.
White Spark Pictures designed a multi camera DLSR rig to shoot the VR cinema experience in 360 degrees.
West Australian Museum director of engagement Jason Fair said the result is a “beautiful story about the Kimberely”.
“I got to see it in the very early stages, and I’ve got to be honest, when I saw even the first example, as in the test run, I had a tear in my eye, I thought it was so beautiful,” Mr Fair said.
Mr Fair said 40,000 people have already seen the documentary, and he expects 20-30,000 more will see it at the WA Maritime Museum.
He said the “incredible work” of Ms Whitehead will leave audiences both “desiring to go to the Kimberely” and “in love with VR”.
“The idea of taking people to places that not everyone can get to, is a really important storytelling opportunity here,” Mr Fair said.
“Virtual tourism is actually a very big thing and a growing market.”
Ms Whitehead said the documentary has motivated viewers to travel.
“I think it only adds to tourism, and hopefully it encourages more people to go and do First Nations tourism, because there are definitely right ways and wrong ways to go and experience country, even just to be culturally safe,” Ms Whitehead said
“This was a collaboration with so many different groups of people all across the Kimberley and everyone telling their part of their story.”
White Spark Pictures is working on two more VR cinema projects in collaboration with WAM, the National Museum of Australia and Tamaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Museum.
The first is set to debut in 2026, and the next in 2027.
The Great Kimberely Wilderness will run at the WA Maritime Museum from 31 May until 24 August.
Standard tickets are $20 and can be booked through the museum’s website: visit.museum.wa.gov.au/
by ELOISE BUDIMLICH