RÍOS // CHAPTER N.3

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R€¥€R$€ / REVERSE

Getting closer to the Amazon is like zooming into an immensely complex and abundant system. Diving deeper is confronting, as it leads to the experience that, in fact, one knows nothing. 

 

REVERSE is a 30' Virtual Reality piece that deepens into the complex situation of Amazonia. More than half of the Amazon region, 66 per cent of it, is subject to permanent pressure due to human extractive practices such as oil and mineral exploitation, road infrastructure development, ranching, agricultural activity and hydroelectric plants. Deforestation, burning, and loss of carbon stocks are proof of the large-scale transformations taking place in Amazonia.

The ancestral Indigenous Peoples' and the biome of the Rainforest are endangered by the rapid deforestation and exploitation of natural resources. The extractivist practices operating in the region have caused irreparable damage to these vital ecosystems, threatening the survival of countless species of plants and animals. The loss of these valuable resources impacts the local communities who rely on them for their livelihoods and has far-reaching global consequences. It is imperative that we take action to protect and preserve the Rainforest and its inhabitants before it's too late.

REVERSE  underlines the tensions present in the territory, where human, cultural and environmental aspects rub with power, economics and multinational interests in a context of climate stress in which importance of preserving this unique ecosystem is vital for the survival of the current life on Earth.

 

REVERSE_Screenshot

 

The viewer is prompted into different 3D scenarios built with fine-detail real-time atmospherical VFX.

In addition to the 3D animation sections, REVERSE features six interactive maps:
1. Deforestation
2. Oil & Gas Blocks 
3. Legal and Illegal Mining 
4. Hydroelectric Plants
5. Road Infrastructure
6. Fire Areas

Viewers can explore the diverse maps by rotating their position in the VR world. They can interact with the full maps of the Amazon basin or select individual river basins.

An option to overlay Indigenous Territories and Natural Protected Areas is available, allowing to understand how social and environmental layers overlap with extractivism and deforestation.

Credits
  • Conception, direction, production, Laura Colmenares Guerra
  • Unreal developer, François Zajéga
  • Unreal environment & lighting, Samson Michel
  • Animation & compositing, Laura Colmenares Guerra
  • CG & VFX supervisor, Laura Colmenares Guerra
  • Sound design & Music composition, Loup Mormont
  • Amazon sound field recordings, Jana Irmert
  • Studio recordings, Antonin Simon
  • English VO, Emma Dingwall
  • French VO, Sarah Hebborn
  • Text editor, Camilla Colombo
  • Dutch VO, Nina Mallants
  • Portuguese VO, Fernanda Stefanski
  • Spanish VO, Laura Colmenares Guerra
  • Text corrections and translations, Anne Vereecken / Ellie McDonald / Joachim Devillé / Santiago Colmenares Guerra
  • REVERSE, Co-Produced by OHME