White Spark Pictures receives museum funding for VR documentaries

White Spark Pictures, the Australian production company established by Briege Whitehead, has entered development on a trio of new VR documentaries after striking a funding partnership with three museums.

The deal will see the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, the Western Australian Museum in Perth and the Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum in New Zealand fund White Spark for $1million ($681,000) over three years.

The money will be invested in three new immersive VR films which will see museum visitors transported to difficult to reach places, with one of the titles, The Kimberley VR Experience, offering a 360° flight over the edges of waterfalls and coastlines, and a journey into the heart of an ancient landscape unlike anywhere else on the planet. It is due to launch in the second half of 2024.

Journey Of The Giants will take viewers from outback to ocean, with a dive into the world of whales, including following their migration, exploring the long history of these creatures and recreating the feeling of swimming with humpbacks.

Meanwhile, The Kermadec Islands is a chance to experience a once-in-a-lifetime adventure in a remote and pristine marine wonderland deep in the South Pacific Ocean.

The National Museum of Australia, the Western Australian Museum and the Auckland Museum have each hosted (and continue to host at given periods) either one or both of White Spark Pictures’ previous VR films The Antarctica Experience and Beyond The Milky Way – which begins its run at the Royal Institution in London on 24 July.

“These venues are visionary in the way that they have embraced the opportunity VR presents. With technology improving all the time, and with venues and attractions constantly looking for unique new experiences to offer their visitors, demand for world-class, cost-effective and scalable offerings like ours, which are the perfect fit for any site, will only increase. At present, lack of available content is a major barrier, so it is very astute of these museums to invest in their own pipeline,” said Whitehead.