Aboard the Mayflower

Aboard the Mayflower

Aboard the Mayflower

A VR experience

Project Info

Principal:
International Museum of the Reformation

Year:
2020

Summary

In November 1620, the passengers and crew of the Mayflower reached the coast of Massachusetts and established a colony there. Among them were Puritan Reformers who crossed the ocean to found a community in accordance with their aspirations. This episode is considered in the USA as a founding moment of the country.

This VR installation immerses users into the life of these pioneers just before they decide to land. Using a very light set-up, based on Oculus Quest, you begin your journey by discovering details of the Reformation Wall of Geneva before being transported inside the Mayflower in 1620 to witness the discussions between the pilgrims. Finally, you discover the bay of Cape Cod from the upper deck of the boat in the cold winter.

Exhibition opened from October 28th, 2020 until August 31st, 2021 at MIR – International Museum of the Reformation.

More info here.

Credits

Original idea and scientific committee

MIR – Gabriel de Montmollin, Hanna Woodhead

Production, direction, screenplay, 3D content creation, gameplay, photogrammetry and motion capture
Artanim

Actors
Vincent Coppey, José Lillo, Edmond Vuilloux

Sound design
ActMedia – Felicien Fleury, Alain Renaud

Voice over
Sabina Foeth

Dubbing
Tony Clark, Jonathan Cotton, Jan Peter Richter, William Sage, James Smillie, Thomas Stecher

Geneva 1850

Geneva 1850

Geneva 1850

A revolutionary journey

Project Info

Principal:
Ville de Genève

Year:
2019

Summary

Have you ever dreamed of time traveling to another era? This is the experience we proposed to realize in partnership with the City of Geneva with this virtual immersion into the Geneva of 1850.

Headset strapped to your head, movement sensors attached to your wrists and feet, you are now all geared up to dive into the Geneva 1850 experience. This VR installation immerses users into the Geneva of a time when the city was on the brink of modernity. In groups of four, impersonating period costume-clad avatars, users are given a chance to discover the city as it was in October 1846, just days before its people rose up in insurrection. Featuring a spectacular number of special effects, the experience is not only a visual, auditory and olfactory one. It also includes a physical and haptic dimension — users can feel themselves walking around the virtual city and pick up actual objects to interact with their environment, their fellow travelers and city dwellers.

Based on 3D data collected through the digitization of the Magnin model exhibited at Maison Tavel, this extraordinary experience is an invitation to travel back in time and witness the outbreak of Geneva’s “Fazy” revolution.

Originally exhibited from April 12th-July 14th, 2019 at Maison Tavel and from August 1st-September 29th, 2019 at the Museum of Art and History of Geneva.

Permanently exhibited at the Dreamscape center in Geneva, level-1 of Confederation Center. Check https://dreamscapegeneva.com/ for more information and to get tickets.

More information on the VR technology here.

Credits

Production, project direction, VR platform, 3D content creation, gameplay and R&D
Artanim

Coordination City of Geneva, Museum of Art and History
Félicien Mazzola, David Matthey, Bertrand Mazeirat

Scenario
Marianne Brun

Director of actors
Dorian Rossel

Actors
Marco Calamandrei, Fabien Coquil, Xavier Fernandez Cavada, Delphine Lanza, José Lillo, Edmond Vuilloux

Concept art and illustrations
Laurence Suhner

Sound environment
ActMedia

Decors and haptic devices
Marc Wettstein

Smells creation
Firmenich SA

User equipment design
Actis-Datta Créations Sàrl

English dubbing
Dale Chappell, Melisa Epp, Andrew Fogarasi, Kenneth, Kriheli, Stephen Fu, Vince Melamed, David Richter, Steven Varnum

Voice over
Sabina Foeth

Scientific committee
Bénédicte De Donker, Estelle Fallet, Alexandre Fiette, Sylvain Wenger

Supports
City of Geneva, Ernst Göhner Foundation

Manuel’s Dance of Death

Manuel’s Dance of Death

Manuel's Dance of Death

Animated short film

Project Info

Principal:
Simon Tschachtli

Year:
2016

Summary

For the exhibition Niklaus Manuel and the Reformation Period of the Historical Museum of Bern, we participated to the production of an animated short film based on Manuel’s Dance of Death, a mural consisting of 24 scenes depicting death dancing with people as diverse as an emperor, a beggar, a queen, an abbot, a soldier, a cook, a child and its mother. Choreographer Nina Stadler and dancer Fhunyue Gao conceived an expressive dance performance that was motion captured.

Additional information about the exhibition can be found here: www.totentanz.be and www.bhm.ch

Credits

Customer
Bernisches Historisches Museum, Bern

Project
Mercenary, Iconoclast, Dancer of Death – Niklaus Manuel and the Reformation period (13 October 2016 – 17 April 2017)

Concept, 3D modeling and secondary animation
Simon Tschachtli

Choreography
Nina Stadler

Dancer
Fhunyue Gao

Motion capture and animation
Artanim

Music
Salvatore Sciarrino
Annalena Fröhlich

The Giants of Kem Kem

The Giants of Kem Kem

The Giants of Kem Kem

Exhibition

Project Info

Principal:
Ville de Genève

Year:
2015

Summary

We were contacted by the Natural History Museum of Geneva to create a serious game as part of the exhibition Faites comme chez nous: Les géants de Kem Kem.

This exhibition brings adolescents of 12-15 years in Morocco to look for unique dinosaur species. Through an interactive digital scenario, they share the daily life of a paleontologist, from digging the ground to the study of fossils.