The creative idea behind this piece was to produce an immersive journalism piece using VR, encouraging users to physically experience some of the effects of long term solitary confinement.

The idea was to place a viewer inside a prison solitary confinement unit with little more than a cot and a toilet. While actual inmates speak to you directly, the film begins to emulate the kind of psychological effects — blurred vision, hallucinations, a sense of floating — that may occur after long-term sensory deprivation.

The journey is designed to build empathy through a physical experience.

The experience was created to feel like a VR documentary, yet as it plays out, the user becomes more and more integral to the story.

At first we feed information as traditional voice over narrative. Then information is found through hotspots - interactive finding of information. This makes a user feel in control and invested in the story. After that we remove control to mimic the prisoners descent into negative psychological effects.

They hallucinate, through blurring of vision and floating we induce subtle forms of motion sickness bringing on a sense of anxiousness.

Through overloaded visual stimulus and audio chaos we build tension.

Eventually leaving a user back in the cell as if nothing has happened. Reenforcing the principle that despite all these effects the prisoner is back where they began

Guardian 6x9 was initially pre-launched at Sundance Film Festival on the Samsung Gear VR, with the public release taking place at last week’s Tribeca Film Festival for Google cardboard.

Tribeca festival alone had queues of up to 3 hours making it a drawcard amongst an influential audience.

It has gained press coverage from The New York Times, the Verge, News Week, The Week and has even been a hot topic on Jimmy Fallon’s well known evening show.

It has been viewed by some of the key thought leaders of our time, including those in the film and music industries including Robert De Niro, and was even viewed upon invitation at The Whitehouse.

The reaction to 6x9 has been emotional and physical from tears to disbelief.

These results are based purely on exhibition at both Sundance and Tribeca film festivals.