VR City creates mosquito-eye view of malaria in 360° for Comic Relief

VR City has teamed up with Sport Relief, a biennial fundraising campaign for UK charity Comic Relief organised in association with BBC Sport, to produce an immersive 360° film focusing on malaria treatment.

The film will enable viewers to accompany the journey of a mosquito as it spreads malaria in Uganda.

The malaria film, directed by VR City CCO Darren Emerson, includes sound of the buzz of mosquitos recorded on a binaural microphone to surround the viewer, with visuals generated through the use of a Kandao Obsidian 360 camera.

Ashley Cowan, CEO and co-founder, VR City, said: “Comic Relief is part of the fabric of the nation –we’ve all grown up with it. So it’s an incredible honour and we are very proud to work with them to highlight what is such a  significant issue. With this film we wanted to connect audiences with the threat people in Uganda are confronting every day. By using VR it is possible to feel as close to being there as possible without actually taking them there. We hope it inspires people to take action and donate to Sport Relief.”

Bill Griffin, executive director of brand and creative at Comic Relief, said: “Malaria takes a life every two minutes in Africa. At Comic Relief, we are always looking for innovative ways to bring home this stark reality and deepen understanding of one of the world’s most deadly diseases. Collaborating with the brilliant VR City to make this immersive 360 film enables us to do exactly that, in a way which will take viewers incredibly close to the daily threat faced by so many people living across Africa”.