Growing a World wonder
Client: United Nations
The Great Green Wall is an incredible, generation-defining project that aims to stop the Sahara encroaching into the savannah grasslands by planting a wall of trees spanning 8000 km across central Africa. The UN wanted to create a VR film that would showcase the ambitious scheme to world leaders and ultimately raise funds for the project during the COP21 Climate change event in Paris in January 2016.
Deliverables
360 film & app
Project Brief
VR for Good
Project Delivery
The plan was simple: Transport world leaders to the frontline of the issue in Senegal, creating a compelling and positive story about the communities coming together along the wall.
Surround Vision worked with the local Senegalese communities to pull together a breath-taking documentary over 2 weeks,. Shooting with drones, zip wires and capturing gyro stabilised shots allowed us to create a beautiful portrait of the situation, told through the young girl and her family helping to do their bit to change the world for the better.
Results
The agency, SV crew, local fixers, and the Senegalese communities on the frontline all came together to pull off a stunning film which pushed the boundaries of VR.
To tell the story, Surround Vision used drones, zip wires, and steadicam shots that had never been tried before in documentary VR format.
Awards
Awards: SIMA Awards 2017 (FINALIST: Virtual Reality)
The annual SIMA AWARDS are the official global media competition of SIMA STUDIOS, a 501(c)3 non-profit impact media agency. Since 2012, the annual social impact media awards have set new standards of creativity and integrity in social impact storytelling, honouring eye-opening documentary filmmaking and XR/Interactive experiences that exemplify excellence in their potential to inspire social change. Each year, projects are selected from over 140 countries around the world, competing for awards, cash prizes, media features, and entry into SIMA’s impact distribution channels.
‘Growing a World Wonder is a compelling demonstration of the power of VR in influencing global decision making. Further to last year’s global climate summit where Surround Vision’s film premiered to world leaders and heads of international development agencies, 4 billion (USD) was subsequently pledged to advancing the Great Green Wall - an African led initiative which aims to transform millions of lives by growing an 8000km natural wonder of the world across the entire width of Africa.’
- Alexander Asen, Public Campaign Manager,
Great Green Wall Initiative,
UN Convention to Combat Desertification
