Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway is out now on Meta Quest
StoryFutures (led by Royal Holloway, University of London) commissioned No Ghost to use and reinterpret archival material from the BBC and BFI archives, to tell a lost story from British history. In three acts, users interact with the archive in a completely new and three dimensional way, and eventually find themselves plunged into a rave to the tunes of London's contemporary Daytimers Collective.
“Off the Record” is a VR archival exploration celebrating British South Asians and their rich musical heritage, mapping the meteoric rise of Bhangra from the 1970s, to The Asian Underground and Punjabi Garage at the turn of the century. The experience depicts the early migration of South Asians to the UK, contrasting their struggle to integrate with the defiant self-expression of the second generation.
Designing an experience with the musical journey at its heart was a new and exciting challenge. With a heavy emphasis on the use and exploration of spatial sound design, this time the visuals played a supporting role to the audio landscape. From re-mastering of the archive, to a complimentary UI soundscape, and finally into the rave, the goal was to lay on a sensational 360 immersive audio experience.
In an effort to bring immersive formats to a wider public audience, “Off The Record” travelled to 15 towns in the UK as part of the UNBOXED festival. Between July and October 2022 this showcase, which ran under the name StoryTrails, offered local communities a deep dive into our collective history and offered many their first encounter with virtual reality.
