Join Sir David’s walk on the virtual wild side...
EVERY now and then you get the chance to interview not just a celebrity, but an icon. David Attenborough is for me, the most recognisable voice in the world.
I have grown up watching in awe his nature documentaries and it is a pastime I now share with my two boys, Liam and Rian.
He has a level of honesty and credibility that few broadcasters ever obtain. And his series on the Galapagos Islands is one of the finest natural history programmes I think I have ever seen.
So when the chance came to meet the man himself, let’s just say I jumped at it. Sky flew me to London’s Natural History Museum for a new virtual reality experience that will allow its customers to have a ‘one-on-one’ audience with Sir David Attenborough in their living rooms.
The interactive experience — called Hold The World — lasts between 20 minutes and an hour and will be available via the Sky VR app. It is set at the iconic history museum with David Attenborough acting as a tour guide in the form of a 3D hologram.
Users will be able to interact with rare artefacts and objects from the museum’s collection as they explore areas closed to the public.
They can pick up and enlarge objects such as a trilobite (a fossil of an extinct arthropod that looks like a woodlouse), or even a stegosaurus to examine in detail, with virtual Sir David imparting his expert knowledge.
I spent over an hour road testing the technology and it is nothing short of breathtaking. From the minute you strap on the head set, you are immediately immersed in the virtual museum.
Much like a scene from the hit movie Inception, cabinets and sinks drop from the ceiling around you until you are sitting at a desk in one of the museum’s restricted areas. Attenborough’s hologram guides you through various historical anecdotes on the museum before giving you the chance to open one of two drawers, each with a different fossil or skeleton. The technology allows you to view, hold and enlarge the skeleton of, maybe, a pterodactyl or a blue whale. And, trust me, as you stand in a virtual world and the bare bones of a full-size blue whale come hurtling towards you with its mouth open, you cannot help but be impressed.
Speaking on the revolutionary experience Attenborough told me: ‘Sharing my passion for the natural world is something I have done for many years through different technologies, from the days of black-and-white TV to colour, HD, 3D, 4K and now virtual reality. Hold The World is an extraordinary next step in how we can communicate and educate people about experiences they wouldn’t usually have access to in the real world. I am delighted about what users can learn and discover from the Natural History Museum’s treasures in this new VR experience — it really is one of the most convincing and bewitching experiences that the world of technology has yet produced.’
In person Attenborough is so sharp and quick-witted and at 89 you could forgive him for having no time for strangers. Yet he’s warm and engaging and full of chat and banter. And in a room full of people desperate for his time, he was bright and generous. He even took time to sign a copy of his memoirs for my friend.
‘Her name is Siobhan’, I said to him as he took his pen out of his pocket. ‘S. I O…’ I started spelling out the Irish name. He looked at me with half a smile and half cockeyed look. ‘I know how to spell Siobhan. I love Ireland.’
And while I may be the only person to have publicly patronised him, Sir David didn’t take it to heart. It was incredible watching him work the crowd, slipping jokes in here and there as he gave a technical speech on virtual reality that would have confused any millennial. He had huge knowledge and was as passionate about the future of television as he was about the past.
Then he reminded me that he was responsible for bringing colour television to Britain when he worked for the BBC. Attenborough will forever be a pioneer, and for that we should all be grateful.
The Sky VR app will see a new piece of content released each month and will be available to Sky Q customers.