Virtual reality has the potential to be a game-changer when it comes to empathetic storytelling by challenging stigma and shifting the conversation about abortion access in America, according to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

The organisation’s Executive Vice President and Chief Experience Officer Dawn Laguens says that by sharing their virtual reality film Across the Line with more people around the country they hope to create opportunities for more people to talk openly and honestly about abortion.

Planned Parenthood hopes the film creates constructive conversations around abortion
Share on X

Across the Line places viewers in the shoes of a patient who encounters protesters while entering a health centre for a safe and legal abortion. Co-created by Nonny de la Peña of Emblematic Group and Brad Lichtenstein and Jeff Fitzsimmons from 371 Productions/Custom Reality Services, the film uses real audio gathered at protests along with scripted scenes and documentary footage.

There is a growing body of research around VR and empathy
Share on X

The film is part of on-going efforts by Planned Parenthood and other sexual and reproductive health organizations to reduce stigma and change the conversation around safe and legal abortion. By putting the audience in the virtual shoes of someone who is trying to access a safe and legal abortion, it tries to provide a better understanding of the upset that thousands of women face every day as they seek health care in America.

Virtual Reality is a powerful medium that inspires a deeper level of empathy
Share on X

There is a growing body of research around the fact that such virtual experiences can engender feelings of empathy by allowing the viewer to experience something from someone else’s perspective first-hand and this latest survey data adds further evidence to that argument.

From January through April 2016, researchers from the Sea Change Program, an organization dedicated to transforming the culture of stigma around abortion, surveyed 284 viewers and intended viewers of Across the Line on their attitudes toward abortion and toward clinic harassment and violence. The survey results indicated that VR can move people’s feelings on sensitive issues such as a abortion and the harassment that is commonplace at many abortion clinics, specially in the US where planned parenthood operates, as an extract from the report details:

Overall, Across the Line is an effective tool for increasing support for women who have abortions and decreasing support for protestors outside of reproductive health clinics — even among moderate and slightly conservative audiences. After viewing the film, most interview respondents become more sympathetic to women entering health clinics and become more critical of clinic harassment outside of abortion clinics. On surveys, film viewers expressed more disapproval of clinic harassment than a comparable group that hadn’t yet seen the film.

Planned Parenthood also worked with the strategic communications firm SKDKnickerbocker in close consultation with Sea Change to interview people in Kansas City and Atlanta with moderate and conservative views about abortion, and found that seeing the film led to decreased tolerance for clinic harassment and increased empathy toward women who decide to have an abortion. More than three-quarters of people interviewed said that they would support legislation that keeps protesters away from clinics and two-thirds said they would more likely support candidates who support access to safe and legal abortion.

“We have suspected for a long time that virtual reality is a powerful medium which can incite empathy at a deeper level and also potentially shift opposing attitudes,” said de la Peña. “This study breaks new ground by showing that this in fact does hold true in the real world. With so many women facing increased lack of access to health care, it is exciting to see that our VR piece can have an impact around this issue.”

According to Planned Parenthood, while an overwhelming majority of Americans believe abortion must remain safe and legal, in reality many women in the U.S. face barriers to sexual and reproductive health care. Since 2011, states have enacted over 300 abortion restrictions and more than half of American women of reproductive age now live in states where access to abortion is being restricted by their state legislatures.

Women in the U.S. face barriers to sexual and reproductive health care
Share on X

Across the Line premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2016 and received the Future of Storytelling Prize People’s Choice Award at the 2016 Future of Storytelling Festival, a SIMA 2017 Award for Best Sound Experience in the Virtual Reality Category and was recognized at the annual Media Impact Festival. Tech Trends experienced the film first-hand at the Raindance Film Festival in London last year where it was part of its first-ever VR Showcase. It is currently available here on GearVR, Google Cardboard and desktop viewing.

Tech Trends’  Virtual Reality Consultancy services offers support for companies looking to get a foothold in the growing Mixed Reality spectrum and enhance their brand strategy with these exciting new technologies. 

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedInand follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post How Virtual Reality is Changing Minds appeared first on Tech Trends.

From Cannes to Venice and Tribeca, film festivals been showcasing a wealth of Virtual Reality content, and Raindance is no exception.

At a press briefing today they unveiled 14 experiences that will feature at its first ever VR Arcade (VRcade?) hosted at Covent Garden’s swanky Hospital Club.

Major film festivals have all been showcasing VR content this year
Share on X

It’s great to see the variety of content coming through for the medium, ranging from Oscar Raby’s Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel – produced by the BBC in collaboration with the National Theatre’s Immersive Storytelling Studio – to RecoVR: Mosul, which brings back to life the historical collection of the Mosul Museum, raided by IS in 2014.

There's a strong emphasis on empathy-based experiences in this year's Raindance VR programme
Share on X

There’s also a strong emphasis on empathy-based projects, which create an emotional connection between viewers and storytellers. This sense of “shared experience” comes naturally to VR, and it is being used by filmmakers to explore themes as varied as abortion, blindness, imprisonment, epilepsy and terrorism.

Filmmakers are using VR to explore a wide range of themes, from blindness to abortion and terrorism
Share on X

Raindance tickets go on sale on September 1^st, but in the meantime here are some of the highlights of this year’s VR programme:

WITNESS 360: 7/7

The 13-minute film uses personal testimony, reconstruction and abstract imagery to immerse the viewer in the story of Jacqui Putnan, an ordinary London commuter on her way to work on July 7^th, 2005 when a bomb is detonated on the Circle Line carriage next to hers.

6×9 – A VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

Ever wondered what it’s like to be locked up for 23 hours a day in space measuring just 6×9? When I visited Alcatraz during a trip to San Francisco earlier this year I remember standing in front of one of those tiny cells and physically feeling a sense of confined despair. The story of psychological damage that can result from such isolation is what the Guardian-commissioned experience tries to replicate.

ACROSS THE LINE

Here the “Godmother of VR” Nonny de la Pena combines 360°video CGI to put viewers in the shoes of a patient who goes into a health centre for an abortion, facing angry protesters along the way.

CTRL

An interesting take on VR, combining theatre and computer simulation to put the viewer at the centre of hard-hitting issues.

HOME – AN IMMERSIVE SPACEWALK EXPERIENCE

Aspiring Astronauts will rejoice at the chance to float 250 miles above the earth, enjoying expansive views of the universe. And if that’s not exciting enough for you, there’s even an option to get plunged into an emergency scenario where you have to jet-pack your way back to the International Space Station.

IN MY SHOES: DANCING WITH MYSELF



The film tells the true story of Jane, her friends, and the struggle with epilepsy, fusing film, theatre and technology into an empathetic experience.

INSIDE THE BOX OF KURIOS

Cirque du Soleil have a strong track record of bringing innovation to the creative arts space, so it’s not that surprising that they were among the first to embrace VR, creating this specially tailored performance for the medium.

NOTES ON BLINDNESS: INTO DARKNESS

This sensory experience, which already won awards at both Tribeca and Sheffield festivals, uses binaural audio and real-time 3D animations to immerse us in a ‘world beyond sight’

THE ROSE AND I

Based on the classic tale of The Little Prince, this film by Penrose Studios depicts a heartbreaking tale of loneliness, friendship and loss.

THE TURNING FOREST

Another BBC production, this film uses CG and creative soundscapes to take viewers into a magical forest where things are not quite what they seem…

For companies looking to get into VR/AR/MR our Virtual Reality Consultancy services offer guidance on how these technologies can enhance and support your brand strategy.

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post Raindance 2016 Reveals VR Line-Up appeared first on Tech Trends.