Wevr Will Be Showcasing theBlu At The Natural History Museum In Los Angeles
Friends in LA, rejoice! Wevr will be showcasing the wonderful VR experience called theBlu at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles (NHMLA) between March 6 – April 28, 2017. For those who aren’t familiar with the title, theBlu is a VR experience that takes you underwater to see the beautiful creatures in the sea. You’ll be seeing these underwater animals up-close in an immersive experience.
There are three different areas you can visit in theBlu. One of those experiences will take you on top of a sunken ship where you’ll see these water creatures swim past you. And while you observe these creatures, you’ll notice a giant Blue Whale get real up-close and personal with you. The length of the animal is around 80 ft so it’s quite intimidating when you come eye-to-eye with the mammal. When I first experienced it, I had to take a step back because of how it made you feel. This experience lasts about six-minutes.
The second experience takes you to a shallow coral reef where you’ll encounter turtles and a group of jellyfish movising past you. The colors you see from the anemones when you touch them makes you feel like you’re in a different world. The animals appear very realistic and represent how this type of migration would look underwater. This experience will also last around six-minutes.
The last experience takes you deep into the ocean where most humans will never reach. In real-life, you require special equipment, gear, and most likely a submarine to reach the depths that this experience is prepared to show you. And at these depths, you’ll come across very unique looking animals such as the Angler Fish. This animal dangles a light in front of its mouth to attract its prey. It’s quite daunting as they look quite scary. So if you’re into exploration, this might be the most unique experience out of the three.
In a statement by Lori Bettison-Varga, director and president at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, said, “The museum has integrated technology and multimedia into our newer exhibits and is now exploring ways to enhance digital engagement with the natural world. This iconic deep dive VR experience from Wevr brings us to a new level of interactivity — and our visitors come along for the ride. Engaging and inspiring visitors is what we do — and theBlu: An Underwater VR Experience is beautiful, powerful storytelling. It would not surprise me if the next generation of marine biologists — and VR developers — are inspired by this exhibit.”
theBlue VR experience was directed by Jake Rowell who worked on many famous projects such as Final Fantasy, Call of Duty, Superman, Shark Tale, Gnomes & Goblins, and many more. He’s known for his amazing illustrative abilities and has created creatures of wonder for Wevr’s theBlu. For those that have yet to check out theBlu, you can do so today on the HTC Vive or simply visit the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles starting March 6, 2017. You can buy the tickets now.
Wevr is a VR studio based in Venice, California.