Sky, one of Europe’s biggest broadcasters with over 22 million customers across five European countries, has released a new virtual reality sports film, “Finding Haka,” through its dedicated Sky VR app.
The film focuses on a young man of Maori descent, who are the indigenous people of New Zealand, as he explores his own cultural roots and traditions to understand more about the Haka, which is a famous war dance performed by the New Zealand rugby team ahead of matches.
Fans can view this content on the Sky VR app, which is available to download for free on both Android and iOS and content is viewed with a VR headset or in 2D 360 degree video without a headset. The film takes fans on a trip through New Zealand in which they can see the iconic dance performed by a wide variety of people in different parts of the countries.
The new VR experience was produced in partnership with content studio Surround Vision and was released ahead of the first British and Irish Lions test match against New Zealand last Friday.
Director of “Finding Haka” James Hedley, said to Sky Sports: “I wanted to create a powerful and important film that highlights the significance of preserving cultural identity and heritage. The power, the rawness and the eruption of emotion of the Haka is overwhelming; it begged to be explored in VR.”
The film is also Sky’s first full-length VR piece of content. Previously it had created a 12-minute VR film of Anthony Joshua’s victory against Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium in April. The film follows both fighters before and during the fight, with eight custom built 360-degree cameras placed around the ring to capture all the action in VR.
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Sky launched its VR app in October last year and previously had invested in Jaunt, a company specializing in cinematic VR in 2013. Ahead of the launch of the app it also founded its Sky VR Studio, a dedicated in-house facility, and carried out extensive testing, including an interview with ex-LA Galaxy player David Beckham in VR. Upon launch, the app boasted over 20 pieces of VR content including from Disney and Warner Brothers.
Following the launch of Sky VR Studio, Gary Davey, Managing Director, Content at Sky, said in a press release: “The development of VR technology is moving at an incredible pace and excitement is building about its potential. Our expertise across a wide range of video content, from original drama to live sport, gives us a unique ability to bring VR to life for customers. This is just the start and we’re looking forward to creating more amazing VR content and exploring the possibilities with our tech and content partners.”