Forming part of the Historic Royal Palaces Tudors on Tour event, the 360 degree interactive cinema experience explores the working kitchens, wine cellar and fine decorations of Hampton Court, inviting the audience to gather evidence of the King’s excessive spending for the treasury.
Created by specialist production company TX, using a SphereVision 360 degree recording and production system, the fifteen minute film was first debuted at Tatton Park in Cheshire, where nearly 4,000 children immersed themselves in the digital 360 degree pop up cinema from Igloo Vision on the first day alone. Tudors on Tour, including the SphereVision film, will return to the Tower of London from 23-26 July 2015.
“Working in 360 degrees allows us to create an environment that really interacts with the audience, in this case immersing them in Henry VIII’s extravagant Hampton Court,” said Tracey Manasseh, a specialist 360 producer working with SphereVision. “From the moment they step into the Palace’s courtyard until they outwit the King’s guards to make their escape, the audience is captivated and engaged by the 360 degree scene.”
The 360 degree representation of Hampton Court was filmed by TX using a SphereVision recording system in just three days on location at Hampton Court. The opening scenes feature a lone Tudor nobleman who conspiratorially invites the audience to collect evidence of Henry VIII’s excessive spending. The film transports watchers to the Palace’s kitchens where they turn meat on a spit and help a struggling kitchen hand identify exotic ingredients such as lemons, apricots and peppercorns, before whisking them into the King’s palatial wine cellars. Aimed at four-six-year-olds, the interactive experience continues with the audience learning how to bow, curtsy and even dance, before ending with the nobleman testing them on what evidence they have uncovered.
“The SphereVision 360 video recording, production and playback system is easy to use, from onsite filming to the end user sitting at his computer or, in this case, watching in a pop up cinema,” said Manasseh. “It has enormous potential for a range of applications beyond the tourism and heritage markets, including security, site management, risk assessment as well as health and safety management and training.”
