David Attenborough to Become 3D Hologram in Sky VR Experience
David Attenborough, the renowned British naturalist and TV presenter, is set to become a 3D hologram in a new virtual reality interactive experience from Sky. Sky is re-teaming with the 90-year-old Attenborough and the U.K.’s Natural History Museum on a “world-first” VR experience titled “Hold the World.”
“Hold the World” is the first of 12 VR movies Sky is creating. It will give users virtual hands-on access to rare objects from the museum’s collection with a holographic Attenborough on hand to offer his own insights in a one-on-one interactive environment.
“We think virtual reality and augmented reality has good long-term potential,” Sky’s group chief executive Jeremy Darroch said Thursday, adding that Sky considered Attenborough and the Natural History Museum “the perfect partnership” to attract consumers to the new technology.
The experience will utilize a unique combination of interactive video game technology and television documentary, allowing visitors to study fossils and other objects more closely in the Attenborough’s company.
“I have enjoyed helping people to discover more about the natural world, and ‘Hold the World’ offers people a unique opportunity to examine rare objects, some millions of years old, up close,” Attenborough said. “It represents an extraordinary new step in how people can explore and experience nature, and I am delighted to be able to help users uncover some of the treasures the Natural History Museum has to offer in a thrilling new way.”
It is produced by Factory 42 in association with Dream Reality Interactive and Talesmith, and was commissioned by the Sky VR Studio. Factory 42 was founded by former Sky executive John Cassy and Dan Smith. Smith directed Sky’s 3D production “David Attenborough’s Natural History Museum Alive,” which aired New Year’s Day 2014 and won a BAFTA television award for best specialist factual program.
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