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Film explores underwater beauty of West Papua in virtual reality
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A coral colony along the edge of a reef dropoff in Raja Ampat, West Papua. (Shutterstock/-)
C
onservation International (CI) Indonesia launched a virtual reality film focused on the Bird’s Head Seascape in West Papua on Monday.
Valen's Reef follows Ronald Mambrasar, a local fisherman-turned-scientist from CI Indonesia in his journey to protect the Bird's Head Seascape. CI Indonesia has been working in the West Papua region since 2004 to protect species like sharks, manta rays, whales and sea turtles.
Produced in partnership with virtual reality production company Vrse.works and Finch Company, the film takes viewers on a 360 degree virtual tour of the vibrant reefs of eastern Indonesia, home to 600 types of coral and 1,765 species of fish. Without the required headgear, you can still use a computer mouse to view the environment in all its beauty.
(Read also: Things to know about coral reefs and their importance)
“The Bird’s Head gives people a vision of what a colorful, healthy, abundant reef can look like. So if you’re going to take somebody on an immersive underwater journey, what better place than this?” filmmaker John Martin said, when asked why they opted for virtual reality.
The film is available on YouTube. (ken/kes)
