A longtime disaster-relief worker and prizewinning documentarian has created the first ever virtual reality disaster film in the aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude quake that ravaged large areas of Nepal on April 25. And he did it using GoPro cameras.听
The movie, considered the latest development in the evolution of disaster reporting, aired last weekend at the in Telluride.听
It was created by David Darg, 35, vice president and co-founder聽of the aid organization , with Bryn Mooser, of the multimedia newsgathering company , based in Los Angeles.听
Darg, who has worked in disaster relief for the past decade, was in Virginia when the quake hit on April 25, according to Mooser. He immediately booked a flight to Kathmandu, and, during a layover in Los Angeles, Mooser brought him the camera, which聽was on loan from the immersive video production company聽.听
The device itself聽is聽made up of聽six cameras (all top-of-the-line GoPro Hero models), attached to a聽360-degree mount on a tripod. Darg took it to Nepal, where he spent two days in Kathmandu before traveling to the much-harder-hit mountain districts of Bhaktapur and Sindhupalchowk.听Once the team arrived in Nepal,聽Darg鈥檚 first priority was to distribute food, water, and shelter to the communities. But from their experience covering disasters鈥攎ost notably in Haiti鈥攖he RYOT founders know that 鈥渟o much of disaster relief is in storytelling.鈥澛
鈥淭here鈥檚 a moment when you can catalyze the world鈥檚 attention,鈥 says Mooser. 鈥淚t鈥檚 brief, but it鈥檚 crucial. So while David worked, he took out the camera. He got only a combined 10 minutes of footage, but we think it shows the potential of immersive story.鈥澛
VR technology is becoming more affordable and accessible, with viewers now able to experience mobile virtual reality content on their phones by swiping through 360-degree video.听Google also offers an inexpensive聽workaround to viewing VR footage that聽.听Granted, neither of these options聽offer the same immersive feel as a聽VR headset like the Oculus Rift (which goes on sale next year), but they're聽important first steps.
Available on and , the three-minute film is best viewed using those $5 Google鈥檚 , currently only compatible with Android phones. But even if you don't have the eyewear, the footage聽packs a punch. Darg shot intimate footage of people waiting in foodlines amid buildings reduced to piles of rubble and rescue crews digging through remains. The air still seems saturated with particles of dust. Susan Sarandon narrates. The film aims to drive viewers to take action and support direct relief on the ground at聽. And the action aligns with RYOT鈥檚 mission: To link every story it covers, from politics and breaking to trending content and cultural features, to an action a viewer can take to affect positive change related to the story.听
Mooser admits that at present, VR鈥檚 reach in the mass market is limited. But he adds that consumer-facing headsets are 鈥渁 month to six months out from reaching the mass market.鈥 When they do, RYOT will already have a headstart in producing content. According to Mooser, after airing the Nepal Quake Project at Mountainfilm, Harg took the camera to shoot a new VR project in Haiti. Next steps include RYOT acquiring its own VR GoPro, and then taking the camera all over the world聽to create a series of disaster films, to bring people to the front lines, and to link the stories to an action viewers can take to help make the world a better place.听