Immersion in nature is as much relaxing as it is intended to be educational. theBlu is a virtual reality experience intended to relax, educate, and connect the viewer to the ocean and the diverse life that lives within it. Director Jake Rowell directed and premiered three immersive episodes of theBlu at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016, marketing it as a unique experience to bring a deep sense of connection and calm that nature can provide. There are three episodes in the series that viewers enjoy. The first is about a whale encounter; viewers see the massive 80 ft Humpback Whale glide through the water, and at one point, come eye to eye with it. The experience is actually based on one hand by executive producer Neville Spiteri, who described the experience as nothing short of transcendent. The second episode exposes the viewer to the vibrant, transient life of coral reef species. Turtles, beautiful fish, sharks and all other manners of life within the coral reefs have defined migratory patterns, and this episode captures that transition. The final episode “dives deep” by going into the dark, shadowy deep ocean. Translucent, ghostly creatures flit along in the dark. Throughout the episodes, viewers can adjust the speed of their experience, take pictures, “investigate” certain species, and also change the lighting and sound of each episode to be either relaxing/meditative or dynamic. Like many other VR experiences that use nature, there is the risk that it will build a false sense of security in the viewer that these species and their habitats are safe when often the opposite is true. Immersive and educational visual tools that showcase nature, while often artful and evocative, need to be conscientious of how they might be contributing to that false sense of security.
“About.” theBlu: Season 1. Accessed September 16, 2020. https://www.transportvr.com/theblu-series
Categories
Biodiversity, Immersive Technology, Psychology
Air Pollution Robot
The dangers of air pollution to human health are well documented, though the traditional methodology of collecting and reporting on sample lags behind the need to keep abreast and regulate air pollution in a meaningful amount of time. The use of drones and robots have been identified by researchers as resources that can be tweaked […]
Artificial Life, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Industry/Natural Commodities, Lifestyle, Monitoring
Telematic Rivers
Erica Kermani’s artwork seeks to answer a central question: if rivers were seeing an equal, living entity, would humans take issues like climate change threatening them more seriously? In his year-long art exhibition in 2017, Kermani, in collaboration with Diana Salcedo & Jeana Chesnik, created a new forum of interaction between humans and rivers to […]
Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies
Co-occupied Boundaries
Art is easily found in nature but rarely is what considered art today inherently natural. The concept of co-occupied mediums that serve to be both functional for nature and aesthetically pleasing to people is being actively explored by Asya Ilgun and Phil Ayres, from the CITAstudio at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. In […]
Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies