Wildlife documentaries are one of the primary ways that people living in cities or distant countries can discover the fascinating worlds of African big cats, deep-sea fish or Amazonian insects, with shows such as the BBC’s Planet Earth series drawing in huge audiences. A project led by Chris Fischer aims to take viewers further into those hidden worlds with the power of virtual reality (VR).
The Kickstarter campaign, titled The All Around Project – A Global Wildlife Odyssey, is hoping to finance an ambitious series of 360-degree wildlife documentaries that will take a small team all over the world to capture the lives of various animals in a wide range of habitats from the jungles of Uganda to the ice-coated arctic to show the fascinating range of species that live on the planet with us.
Wildlife photographer Chris Fischer is drawing on 25 years of experience with photography and travel to plan out how to create this epic series, which he hopes will not only inform viewers, but also assist in conservation and education efforts.
The creators of the project have pledged that for every backer they get, one free ‘lite’ version of the The All Around Project will be created for use by a children’s hospital, youth centre or classroom.
Some filming in the USA and Canada has already taken place, and it is hoped that the Kickstarter campaign can help fund additional filming trips to Brazil, Namibia, Kenya, Alaska and Costa Rica.
Funding tiers range from $30 (USD) for a downloadable copy of The All Around Project along with exclusive behind the scenes footage, through to a massive $10,000 for the Major Sponsor tier, which lets the sponsor add their business logo to the project, along with receiving a custom headset, copies of all content produced, a second downloadable version sent to a named person and an invite to the launch event.
The full project is expected to be completed by 2020, though various mini-series are expected to be released as they are completed. Further information can be found on the Kickstarter page. A video trailer is available to view below.
For more information on The All Around Project and other VR-related Kickstarter campaigns, keep watching VRFocus.
via Mint VR