Organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, Geffen described how virtual reality and augmented reality will impact all areas of the economy.
Award-winning documentary filmmaker and a pioneer in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) productions, Anthony Geffen recently hosted an online session as part of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair’s (ADIBF) Virtual Session series.
The sessions are being held with guests who were scheduled to appear at the 30th edition of the fair, which has been postponed until next year.
Organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), the session saw Geffen detailing his production company Atlantic Productions’ work with Image Nation Abu Dhabi to produce History of the Emirates.
The documentary series used technology to bring to life 125,000 years of human life in the region. Through VR, viewers could become part of this story, with features such as a history of the different eras of the Qasr Al Hosn complex or a recreation of the experience of pearl diving.
Geffen described his work portraying marine life in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and another allowing visitors to meet dinosaurs in the Natural History Museum in London. A soon-to-be-released project features the late British scientist Stephen Hawking, allowing viewers to travel throughout the universe. Geffen also talked of his work with New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) to teach the technology behind immersive storytelling.
The session concluded with Geffen stated that the COVID-19 pandemic is presenting new opportunities in the field of immersive storytelling, giving viewers who are on lockdown in their homes new ways to experience the world.
Previous ADIBF Virtual Sessions included ones with Annabel Karmel, the renowned children’s cookbook author; Korky Paul, the illustrator behind the multi-million selling Winnie and Wilbur series; and Nick Arnold, the author of the Horrible Science children’s books.
