Through a faithful recreation of the workshop of the ingenious designer of the Sagrada Familia, the immersive experience, Gaudí, the Atelier of the Divine, co-produced by GEDEON Experiences and Small Creative, invites visitors to share in a collective experience that is both poetic and pedagogical. Agnès Garaudel, director of GEDEON Experiences and producer of this virtual reality work, tells us about the genesis of the project, which arose from a documentary film, and its development, and unveils GEDEON Experiences' future VR productions.
Unifrance: Can you tell us how the project came about?
Agnès Garaudel : GEDEON Programmes, originally a documentary producer, launched into immersive creation in 2020, with a multi-media strategy and the creation of GEDEON Experiences, the department dedicated to innovation and the creation of immersive experiences. When we had the idea for the VR experience Gaudí, the Atelier of the Divine, we were working on a documentary film, "Sagrada Familia, le défi de Gaudí'," with the ambition of recounting Gaudí's oeuvre and story. We soon realized that to tell the story of this architectural master, we needed to reconstruct his atelier, which had completely disappeared in a fire in 1936. To do this, we undertook a veritable investigation to recreate the space that had disappeared in the flames. We immersed ourselves in the archives of foundations and newspapers from the period, and tracked down rare photographs of the atelier. This enabled us to reconstruct every room and every object in 3D for the purposes of the film. We used this 3D reconstruction of the atelier in a large virtual studio, equipped with LED screens. The reactivity of the scenery projected onto these screens enabled us to recreate the sensation that the characters were actually moving about in the atelier. These docu-fiction sequences were an integral part of the film project. We then thought there was another story to be told, using virtual reality headsets, and approached Small Creative, the studio that co-produced the experience.
How did the story of Gaudí and his oeuvre lend itself particularly well to the VR format? How did you go about it?
Agnès Garaudel: VR can be divided into two main areas. On the one hand, there are the often solitary Home VR experiences, and on the other, there are the collective, location-based experiences. Gaudí, the Atelier of the Divine.falls into the latter category. The idea was to create an experience that you can't have in real life, through a highly narrative story for a mainstream audience, and for the whole family. The audience completely changes position, from spectator to visitor. The experience lasts around 20 minutes, in 50 square meters, and is free-roaming, i.e. with the possibility of moving freely in real space and, at the same time, in the virtual environment. A wireless headset and two controllers provide a multilingual, embodied experience, through an avatar. Up to six visitors can move about at the same time, each in the language of his or her choice. To date, the languages available are French, English, Japanese, and Korean. Moreover, the whole system is fairly light, with headsets and a computer for the launch. We're targeting the whole family, from the age of eight upwards, and wanted to create a link between fun technology and a cultural, narrative experience capable of provoking emotions in visitors.
As far as distribution is concerned, in what territories and contexts has the work already found its audience, especially internationally?
Agnès Garaudel: Gaudí, the Atelier of the Divine is on a year-long tour of Japan and was co-produced with Japanese public broadcaster NHK, a long-standing partner of GEDEON Programmes, which has been operating the experience locally for the past six or seven months, with very positive feedback. In France, the experience is available in the Illucity network of virtual reality cinemas, with five theaters across the country.
The work has also been presented at festivals, winning the Audience Award at the Pixii Festival in La Rochelle, the Best Heritage Experience Award at the European XR Awards in Brussels, and third prize at the Beyond The Frame Festival in Tokyo!
It will soon be presented in the USA, at the end of January, at the Animation First festival in New York, organized by FIAF.
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What attributes does this experience possess to appeal to international audiences and be exported worldwide? What future do you envisage for this experience?
Agnès Garaudel: Art and architecture are subjects that radiate around the world, arousing great interest among international audiences. The very essence of this project creates a buzz.
From a practical point of view, the multilingual nature, the lightness of the system with its simple set-up, and the ease with which the software and control system can be mastered, make this ready-to-use experience very accessible. The level of maturity attained by immersive technologies is what makes this simplicity possible today. We wanted to use these tools wisely, to tell a story. Technology is used to serve history and knowledge.
We'd like to be able to distribute the work in VR rooms, museums, and cultural spaces. It's an experience that's explored in a physical space, in a collective way. We've designed the system to support exhibitors and institutions, enabling them to attract new audiences, especially young people. We have forged close ties with cultural institutions to support them in the transition of exhibition spaces (video mapping, VR, etc.). In particular, we co-produced with the RMN Grand Palais the immersive Pompéi experience, presented at the Grand Palais in 2020, and created in collaboration with the Pompeii archaeological site, a project we initiated.
This system allows viewers to travel back in time. What are your future projects in this area? Is there a real desire to pass on a lost heritage?
Agnès Garaudel: Indeed, this is the direction we've taken with our projects. We want to offer journeys in time and space, embodied experiences, to enable the general public to discover the key places of our vanished heritage in an innovative and entertaining way. To discover places that are no longer accessible in the real world, through stories told by great historical figures.
We are behind a major project about to be presented to the public. The Tonight with the Impressionists Paris 1874 experience, co-produced with the Emissive studio and the Musée d'Orsay, will be deployed in the Hamon gallery at Orsay from March 26 to August 11, 2024. It will enable visitors to discover for the very first time the first Impressionist exhibition of 1874, on Boulevard des Capucines, in the studio of the famous photographer Nadar. As with Gaudí, the GEDEON Experiences teams spent two years carrying out a gigantic research project, followed by a 3D reconstruction, to recreate this very important moment in art history. Until now, nobody knew exactly what this first exhibition looked like. By analyzing numerous documents, such as correspondence between the painters, cadastral maps of the period, and newspaper articles, we were able to recreate the studio and the building's façade in computer-generated images, the Boulevard des Capucines of 1874, and reproduce the hanging of the paintings as close as possible to historical reality. We approached the Musée d'Orsay teams with this unprecedented work, and it was at this point that the overall project was decided.
The Musée d'Orsay will devote 700 square meters to this experience, complementing the Paris 1874. Inventing Impressionism exhibition which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the movement's birth and brings together some 130 works. 100 visitors will be able to enjoy this large-format VR experience simultaneously, preceded by a pre-show and followed by a post-show in the form of video mapping. The exhibition will then travel internationally.
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ENG: https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/whats-on/exhibitions/tonight-impressionists-paris-1874
GEDEON Programmes is also producing a documentary film, 1874, the Birth of Impressionism. For the very first time, the public will be able to discover this key moment hitherto devoid of visual representation, and learn about the young Impressionist painters, their influences, their working methods, and the regions that inspired them. With this film, alongside the immersive VR experience, we want to create a multi-channel, 360 degree experience! We've collaborated with the Orsay curators, who have scientifically validated the historical veracity of the entire documentary and immersive production.
We're also working on a project focused on discovering the lost gardens of the Château de Versailles, from the Grotte de Téthys to the Labyrinthe, via the Ménagerie Royale, which will be presented in June 2024 and narrated by the young Louis XIV. An experience co-produced with Small Studio, in partnership with the Château de Versailles.
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