The World Came Flooding In
Work in progress: An Immersive Documentary Game
‘The World Came Flooding In’ is an immersive documentary game that transports viewers into liminal memory spaces to investigate the lived experience of the climate emergency through flooding.
By recreating lost domestic spaces as miniatures then using photogrammetry to place them in life-sized virtual space, we reveal the processes of grief and recovery that inhabit the psyche long after the initial impact of flooding has dispersed.
Over the course of 2022 in Australia we watched as river after river broke its bank in a crescendo of massive rainstorms. The country was already saturated from a couple of years of La Niña and it seemed as if every second town was receiving warnings for a ‘100 year flood’ event.
Before that vast sections of this country were on fire, after the previous El Niño droughts had made everything tinder dry. Climate scientists are predicting another difficult summer ahead.
These extreme disasters are coming faster and reaching further each time.
‘The World Came Flooding In’ is our response to the sense of urgency we feel around climate change. We are guided by these two questions:
Would a deeper understanding of the personal experience of climate disaster change our thoughts and actions?
How can we create something that shares what flood affected people have been through in a way that audiences feel compelled to engage with?
‘The World Came Flooding In’ is an immersive documentary game that transports viewers into liminal memory spaces to investigate the lived experience of the climate emergency through flooding.
By recreating lost domestic spaces as miniatures then using photogrammetry to place them in life-sized virtual space, we reveal the processes of grief and recovery that inhabit the psyche long after the initial impact of flooding has dispersed.
‘The World Came Flooding In’ is a Film Camp production.
‘The World Came Flooding In’ was developed as part of the 2023 Frame Documentary Lab.
The game is designed in close consultation with flood impacted people to recreate their lost homes as detailed miniature models. These models are transformed via photogrammetry into life-scale virtual spaces for the audience to explore. Each room stands alone, devoid of the surrounding house, in a sea of endless black. Spoken memories bring the rooms to life, showing us a glimpse into the psychological aftermath of a flood. Recreating these spaces allows a positive shift of perspective for the story contributors and a way for them to communicate their experience, shaping our understanding.
Throughout we are buoyed by the promise of recovery and the stories of rebuilding a life step by step. The visual design of the domestic spaces is enchantingly unique and dreamlike and the real voices of people with lived experience ground us in reality.
Though virtual, the experience is incredibly tactile and the textural organic shapes form the sense that these spaces represent real places and objects. The various stages of detail in the cardboard rooms echo the normal CGI process of working with polygons and textures and also perform the task of easing the audience into the experience. The detail becomes more finessed the deeper into the story you go.
In the climax of the work, we transport you into a new kind of experience. The 3D scanned room becomes more real, filmed in 360 video. The shift in detail, addition of motion and the sudden departure of the narration make this transition both unnerving and thrilling. The audience has been forewarned about the events that unfold. They are aware they are entering the recreation of a room flooding. Real water trickles in from under the door, filling the space with murky swirling liquid. The cardboard furniture begins to float, the fabric becomes sodden. The sound of the pounding rain is unwavering. The narration returns with the details of escape and reflections on the experience.
Virtual Reality Prototype
We began by building miniature domestic spaces, our own childhood homes, from memory. We used simple materials that appear as ephemeral as the memories. Cardboard is instantly recognisable as a texture, and having worked with it across several projects that involve miniature sets and altered scales, we have found it to be very effective at conveying a sense of familiarity and wonder.
The miniature sets were 3D scanned and inserted into a VR space.
We invite our audience to first encounter the physical model, then to put on the headset to walk around in a life-sized 3D version. Each room evokes a set of memories which are narrated as you explore.
Memory Postcard workshops
As part of our process we connected with the Lismore community via creative workshops.
During these workshops people are invited to choose a template for a piece of furniture that sparks a memory. Through the process of personalising the template, discussions emerge and sometimes for the participants, new ideas about these lost objects are formed. The objects are made quickly without too much finesse but the memories are solid and become manifest in these symbolic craft items.
We photograph each one against a backdrop, print them out and each person takes home a postcard of their memory.
And then…
At the same time we take a 3D scan of each object and add them to a virtual space. The participants can then put on a VR headset and walk around in a gallery of life sized paper furniture memories. Though in reality these paper objects are flimsy and ephemeral, in virtual reality they become solid and sturdy.
they come to life in VR!
Next steps
We plan to go into production in early 2024.
We would like to conduct more research, travelling to flood affected communities to deliver more workshops and to grow a deeper understanding of the experience of the floods, the aftermath and the future for these places. We hope to find people to work with to delve deeper into a personal lived experience to help shape the narrative aspect of the work.
If you are from a flood affected community and you would be interested in being involved, please get in touch at info@isobelandvan.com