Crisis Virtual Reality Films

LONDON – 31^st March 2020 – UK innovation agency, Tiger Heart, worked with homeless charity Crisis to produce two virtual reality experiences based on real life accounts of homelessness as told by Crisis member ambassadors.

Homelessness is a devastating experience, and for most people one that is unimaginable. Crisis supports thousands of people on their journey out of homelessness each year at our Skylight centres. In addition to receiving one-to-one support from coaches and taking part in transformative training and learning courses, Skylight members are given the opportunity to share their story by becoming a member ambassador.

As part of their 2018-23 strategy, Crisis was looking to create new and immersive experiences for supporters, to help them gain deeper insight into what it really means to be homeless. To this end, Crisis Director of Fundraising has engaged with Sanj Surati, Digital Atelier and founder of Tiger Heart, to create virtual reality experiences based on the lived experiences of Crisis’ in-house storytellers, our member ambassadors. In 2019, two member ambassadors agreed to capture their accounts of their experiences of sofa-surfing in the Crisis London Skylight recording studio. Their stories will be transposed onto 360 footage depicting their experiences of sofa-surfing, which supporters can view at Crisis events. These powerful films will immerse the viewer in the ambassador’s story and offer unparalleled insight into how it feels to have nowhere to call home.

The concept and motion design were developed and captured by Tiger Heart and all of the post production and formatting was handled by The Little Wild Ones.

Sanj Surati from Tiger Heart said “Crisis’s digital strategy is still in its infancy which meant that this current initiative had an explorative nature to it. This was a great approach as it ensured that the production process was delivered in a measured way that allowed for them to trial ideas before defining a specific route for the final installation”

Kevin Francis of the Little Wild Ones added “Virtual Reality is a fantastic medium which can allow any business to communicate their narrative in an immersive way. With the Covid 19 lockdown currently occurring, it’s allowed for Crisis to engage with their audience in a more accessible way during a challenging time”.

CLIENT: Crisis
CONCEPT: Sanj Surati
MOTION DIRECTOR: Kevin Francis
VIRTUAL REALITY PRODUCTION: The Little Wild Ones
SOUND DESIGN: Sanj Surati
ASSISTANT PRODUCER: Naomi Ruddock