START VR’S IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY APP FOR NEW CALEDONIA TOURISM GIVES UNPRECEDENTED ACCESS TO THIS FRENCH ISLAND PARADISE
Sydney, Australia-based virtual reality studio Start VR transports viewers to the picturesque archipelago of New Caledonia in a virtual reality travel experience for New Caledonia Tourism. The Start VR team specially designed the program’s navigation plane. The interface, called StartGATE, established user engagement properties and enables publishers and brands to create multi-platform VR experiences.
The app is now available for download on the Samsung Gear and Google Cardboard headsets. Designed to entice viewers to travel to the colorful island paradise, the 360 video and soundscape experience covers diverse regions in New Caledonia, including the Grande Terre and Loyalty islands, as well the Isle of Pines. The app includes fascinating local stories, tours of private beaches and a glimpse into the cosmopolitan New Caledonia lifestyle, all in an immersive and interactive environment.
Click HERE to view the VR experience using iTunes and HERE for Google Play.
“We set out to create a sensory, interactive and exploratory experience that revels in the diverse and compelling stories of the New Caledonia people. As an active participant in the narrative, we experience the lifestyle, beauty and uniqueness of each location, as told through the stories of each locations local guide,” says Kain Tietzel, CEO and Creative Director at Start VR.
Tietzel notes, “Virtual Reality is finally achieving the critical mass that brands and marketers have been waiting for. New Caledonia is a great example of a tourism brand who have embraced the unique qualities afforded by the medium to tell immersive, interactive and stories.”
New Caledonia Tourism commissioned Start VR to develop the experience, which features five local guides leading viewers across the five regions of New Caledonia and through 12 fantastic locations, bringing viewers a multi-sensory glimpse into the remote island paradise. The app currently hosts a menu in VR and provides four language options, multi-channel distribution, and app alerts.
Users are encouraged to explore the island and experience the local stories of New Caledonia. Users will unlock additional locations and stories as they explore the islands’ attractions, creating a choose-your-own-adventure style experience. From a silver-sand cove littered with fish, players might follow their guide up one of the many jungle-laden mountains. Or, they can meet the island chief himself and be offered a ceremonious gift. In all, users can partake in the pristine Isle of Pines, Noumea Markets, dirt roads with present-day operating cowboys, and more. The linear sequence of the experience lets viewers see the island as any tourist—through one breathtaking story at a time.
Credits:
Client: New Caledonia Tourism
VR Production Company: Start VR
Executive Producer: Nathan Anderson
Creative Director: Kain Tietzel
Creative Producer: Landia Egal
Writer and Director: Martin Taylor
Director of Creative Services: Angus Stevens
Legal & Accountant: Carolina Sorensen
Production Coordinator: Ciara Hehir
Post Production Managers: Peter Magdas, Paul Willey
Senior Editor: Bin Li
VFX: Josef Heks, Oliver Ma
Editing Assistants: Lucca Barone-Peters, Kelly Cameron
Sound Designer: Hamish Camilleri
Development Producer: Derek Proud
Lead Developer: Jaeger Battersby
Unity Developer: Karel Chabera
VR Developer and 3D Artist: Isabella Povolny
VR Designer: Conor Dalton
Imag’in
Executive Producer: Antoine Derouineau
Camera Operator: Jérôme Bodénès
Sound Recorder: Dominique Colas
Production Assistants: Adrien Espinosa, Jill Fisiimoli, Baptiste Esclapez
GTI Tourism
Head of Strategy: Caroline Brunel
Sales and Marketing Senior Account Executive: Manuela Nielsen
Sales and Marketing Account Manager: Claire Kaletka-Neil
PR Account Director: Natalie Schofield
PR Senior Account Executive: Lynsey Trembath
NCTPS
Marketing Executive: Cyril Gervais
PR Coordinators: Tiphaine Bousquet, Aurélie Chenu
Guides
Isle of Pines: Many Hapa-Tiaou
North: Jacob
Bourail: Cindy Baronnet
Guide Nouméa: Rudy Guillot
Loyalty Islands: Abel
Languages
Translation, French-English: Landia Egal
Translation, Italian: Alessio Tasca
Translation, Japanese: Miyuki Marshall
VO English Male: Paul Willey
VO Japanese Female: Miyuki Marshall
VO Japanese Male: Aki Moon
VO Italian Female: Clare Crosby
VO Italian Male: Nick Reverse
About Start VR
Start VR is a cinematic virtual reality studio, creating highly immersive experiences and interactive content. A leader in longer form VR entertainment that resonates with viewers, the company is known for its compelling narratives, and best of class, blockbuster-quality visuals. Thanks to the in-depth industry knowledge and vast technical experience of Start VR’s team, the company consistently turns out polished, critically acclaimed experiences that are not soon forgotten.
Start VR’s beautifully made work is designed to spark unprecedented levels of engagement and viewer involvement, pushing the envelope to explore the storytelling capabilities of Oculus Rift, Gear VR, HTC Vive, Sony PSVR, Daydream and Google Cardboard–and platforms still to come.
