Virtual Reality brings “Flight of the Mantas” to life
The Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) has partnered with Immotion, the leading provider of location-based VR edutainment, to create an educational and immersive virtual reality (VR) experience titled "Flight of the Mantas."
Watch the trailer:
By utilizing motion seats, haptic feedback, and 360-degree sound, "Flight of the Mantas" stars MMF co-founder Dr Andrea Marshall as she transports participants into the underwater world of manta rays. This groundbreaking initiative aims to raise awareness about the threats these creatures face and foster a connection between millions of people worldwide and these majestic animals.
"Flight of the Mantas" will be distributed to aquariums across the globe, making this unique conservation effort widely accessible and promoting a better understanding of the importance of manta ray conservation.
One of Immotion’s aquaria installations
Fostering Connection and Empathy through Virtual Reality
Dr. Andrea Marshall, co-founder of MMF shares her excitement about the partnership with Immotion: "They're really a leader in the industry, and it's great to work with people who have the same goal in mind. We're all trying to figure out how to connect people with wildlife and share conservation stories."
"Flight of the Mantas" takes viewers on a journey beneath the waters off the coast of Mozambique, following Dr. Andrea Marshall on her quest to study and protect the local manta ray population. The immersive VR experience allows users to feel as if they are swimming alongside these majestic creatures, fostering a connection that helps raise awareness and drive conservation efforts.
Janneman Conradie filming “Flight of the Mantas”
When Immotion approached Dr. Marshall about a collaboration, she jumped at the opportunity to work on Immotion's latest immersive experience. "Conservation requires empathy. And it's a really important experience to swim alongside a large animal, to see the challenges it faces. We've become disconnected from the natural world, and people don't get to experience wildlife anymore. But Immotion's “Flight of the Mantas” transports them, takes them underwater where they're right there, swimming next to a manta ray.”
“VR has been a vital educational tool and a game changer in conservation. Which is so important, because we don't have a lot of time left to save the remaining manta populations," Dr. Marshall.
Immotion President Rod Findley agreed, adding, "Partnering with conservation organizations like the Marine Megafauna Foundation is very important to us. It forms the core of our mission of conservation and education."
Capturing Elusive Mantas
For the production of "Flight of the Mantas," Immotion's creative team partnered with Habitat XR in Africa for logistical support and production services. MMF’s own underwater videographer, Janneman Conradie captured Dr. Marshall's intimate interactions with the manta rays.
Habitat XR team with Andrea and Janneman on location in Mozambique
Together, they employed Habitat XR’s state-of-the-art VR cameras to create an unforgettable 3D, 360-degree experience. Dr. Marshall notes: "Mantas are notoriously difficult to film. They're highly elusive, highly migratory, and as a mobile species, they're moving around all the time. It's never easy to film them."
Janneman shared his experience filming: “It was amazing to dive into the water with these huge VR cameras, knowing that what I was about to film will be shared with millions of people in virtual reality. The drag from the equipment made it tough to keep up but we managed to get some amazing footage. It helped that I’ve been in these waters with Andrea filming mantas for years, so I almost have a sixth sense about what Andrea’s going to do next, and have learned mantas' behavior pretty well too! I'm very happy to have played a role in this collaboration."
Janneman filming with the VR camera for “Flight of the Mantas”
Inspiring Change Through Innovative Technology
Through this innovative collaboration, MMF and Immotion have brought to life a unique, impactful, and conservation-focused VR experience that can inspire people worldwide and help safeguard the future of these majestic creatures.
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About Marine Megafauna Foundation:
The Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) was created in 2009 to research, protect, and conserve the populations of threatened marine megafauna around the world. For further details, please visit www.marinemegafauna.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About Immotion:
Immotion is a global leader in virtual reality edutainment, dedicated to creating the most engaging immersive experiences. Immotion has quickly established itself as a category leader, working with major aquariums and zoos worldwide to educate, entertain, and inspire thousands of visitors with its immersive VR films. For more information, visit www.immotion.co.uk.
About Habitat XR:
Habitat XR is South African-based impact-led production studio focused on immersing people in nature and their stories using extended reality (XR) technologies. For more information, visit www.habitatxr.com
For questions about this press release, please contact:
Dr. Andrea Marshall – Co-founder, Marine Megafauna Foundation
andrea@marinemegafauna.org
