Releases Swimming with Humpback Whales Experience

RNS Number : 2541U

Immotion Group PLC

28 March 2019

 

28 March 2019

Immotion Group plc

("Immotion Group", the "Company")

Immotion releases World first "Swimming with Humpback Whales" VR experience

Immotion Group, the UK-based immersive virtual reality ("VR") 'Out of Home' entertainment business, is pleased to announce the release of its new live-action VR experience, Swimming with Humpbacks.  This world-first experience provides a rare glimpse and insight into one of the most mysterious creatures on the planet, the giant Humpback whale.  The breath-taking short film is exclusively available on Immotion's VR Cinematic motion pods at the Company's 11 ImmotionVR stores across the UK.

Building on Immotion's VR aquatic expertise, the experience is the first instalment in Immotion's Blue Ocean Aquarium series.  To create it, the Company joined forces with Jeff Hester, a leading free-diving cinematographer. He successfully filmed a pod of humpback whales in live action VR in the Kingdom of Tonga on migration from Antarctica during the mating season.  Virtually every move the whales made has been captured.  Viewers can witness incredible scenes including a female giving birth and bonding with her calf, young whales playing, and a frenetic heat run. During the heat run, males vie for the attention of the female whale and chase her in an ocean sprint that can go on for hours.

As well as Immotion VR Cinematic motion pods, consumers will soon be able to enjoy this fantastic experience in the comfort of their home through SonyVR, as well as through mobile downloads on IOS and Android.

Martin Higginson, CEO of Immotion Group, said:  "At Immotion, we are always looking to push the boundaries of VR. What we've managed to capture is truly breath-taking. The film provides an incredible insight into these elusive creatures.  The experience makes full use of the visual, sound and motion capabilities of our VR Cinematic motion pods to deliver our customers something ground-breaking and memorable.  We are excited about future instalments of our Blue Ocean Aquarium series, and demonstrating the power of VR to engage and thrill audiences."

Ian Liddell, Immotion's Group Creative Director, said: "This film is a first for VR. People can experience something they may have only dreamed about until now. Thanks to this piece of immersive filming, it's possible for them to get up close with humpback whales.

"This is a truly remarkable achievement to get so near to such a magnificent and endangered species. One of the great challenges was that our cinematographer, Jeff Hester, couldn't scuba dive around the whales as the bubbles it generated would have disturbed them.  He had to hold his breath for up to four minutes at a time while keeping up with the whales. Each whale can weigh 40 tonnes and move at speeds of 15mph.  "At certain points, our camera is just three inches away from the whales' pectoral fins.  From seeing them show dominance by rolling over and flapping their fins, a mother bonding with her calf, to the young whales gaining their independence - we've captured it all."

 Click on or paste the following link into your web browser to view the associated PDF which includes stills from the Swimming with Humpbacks experience.

·    http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2541U_1-2019-3-27.pdf

Click on, or paste the link below to view the Swimming with Humpbacks trailer.

·    https://vimeo.com/326674434/d725bcc16f

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Enquiries:

Immotion Group	Martin Higginson	Tel: [phone]
WH Ireland Limited (Nomad and Joint Broker)	Adrian Hadden Jessica Cave	Tel: [phone]
Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker)	Damon Heath Erik Woolgar	Tel: [phone]
Newgate Communications (Financial PR)	Elisabeth Cowell Tom Carnegie	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]

About Immotion Group:

Immotion Group, co-founded by Martin Higginson and David Marks in 2017, generates revenues through the delivery of high quality "state of the art" VR experiences, combined with cutting edge motion platforms to consumers at an affordable price point through a range of routes:

·    Sales - sale of VR Motion Platforms to Leisure and Entertainment operators provide the opportunity for the operator to drive substantial ancillary revenues

·   Concession partners - currently installed at a range of outlets including Merlin Entertainments' LEGOLAND® Discovery Centres in Boston, USA and in Manchester, UK and Genting Resorts World in Birmingham - this channel provides an opportunity for its partners to earn ancillary revenues, as well as providing an exciting additional attraction to their facilities

·    Owned and franchised outlets, trading as ImmotionVR.

 

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