THE ANTARCTICA EXPERIENCE
A world-first Virtual Reality adventure
White Spark’s first VR film was conceived by Briege Whitehead as a means to allow people to ‘visit’ Antarctica, explore a day in the life of the scientists who work there and understand the impact that climate change is having on this vast, mysterious continent. The first documentary of its kind, The Antarctica Experience, was filmed in 2018 in 360-degrees with drone and 6K high-resolution imagery.
With unrivalled access to the Australian Antarctic Division’s Davis Station, a permanent research base, the film allows viewers to explore Antarctica from a helicopter cockpit and land on a glacier, walk amongst a colony of penguins, take a zodiac tour of Antarctic bays and view the spectacular, and seldom captured, Southern Lights. It is narrated by actor David Wenham (300, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers). The Antarctica Experience has been touring a number of high-profile venues in Australia, including sell-out seasons at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra and the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Perth – and has been declared one of the most successful VR projects of all time, based on world-wide ticket sales and is currently in the top 10 of highest grossing Australian documentaries of all time. The Antarctica Experience began its international roll-out in 2020, starting in Argentina and New Zealand.
Some of the world’s best collaborated to create a truly world class VR experience including BAFTA - winning director/producer Phil Harper, best known for his work David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef VR Dive, Four-time Academy Award winning VFX studio DNEG (Inception, Interstellar, Ex Machina and Blade Runner 2049), three time Emmy nominated sound supervisor David Raines (Burn Notice, Fargo) and Warner Brothers Studio (sound production).
The Antarctica Experience would not have been possible without the incredible support of White Spark Pictures’ key partners: Australian Antarctic Division, Screen Australia, Screenwest, Lotterywest, DNEG and the Western Australian Museum. White Spark Pictures travelled to Antarctica with the support of the Australian Antarctic Program.
