Whale Fall
A project by
Armelle Mihailescu, Riya Mahajan, Selin Öztürk and Janmejay Singh
‘Whale Fall’ is an immersive project in Virtual Reality that addresses and informs on the issue of marine plastic pollution and its effect on whales. Using the intriguing whale fall phenomenon, this experience engages the audience in learning about the fate of the whales in our oceans.
“We are not protecting nature,
we are nature protecting itself”
- Arias Kalpana, Tedx Talk, 2023
WATCH THE VR TRAILER HERE
WATCH THE 360 DOCUMENTARY HERE
ABOUT THE PROJECT
‘Whale Fall’ is composed of two parts. The first one is an immersive and interactive Virtual Reality experience that addresses and informs the audience on the issue of marine plastic pollution and its effect on whales. A ‘Whale Fall’ occurs when a whale dies, sinks to the bottom of the ocean and sustains a rich marine ecosystem for decades. Using this phenomenon as an anchor, we have created a deep-sea environment in which viewers can virtually immerse themselves and interact with the fallen whale.
Narrative: The experience starts with the players on the ocean floor who look up to see a deceased sperm whale, her body entangled in a ghost net, slowly falling toward them from the ocean surface. After she falls on the ground, the interactive experience begins and the players can walk around the whale’s body. As they get closer and see her body entangled in nets and human generated trash, they are nudged to pick it up. Their actions trigger the decomposition of the whale’s body and blooming of the marine ecosystem. Witnessing first-hand how their proactive efforts to clean up the oceans contribute to the thriving of the marine ecosystem, the experience ends with a sense of hope.
The second part of ‘Whale Fall’ is a 360 documentary. Collaborating with Whale and Dolphin Conservation’s experts, we created a gripping documentary video, displaying the effects of plastics in the cycle of the cetacean’s life. More serious and factual than our VR experience, ‘Whales and the Plastic Problem’ compliments the eery feeling of the VR experience and provides the audience with crucial informations on the context.
Narrative: The documentary begins with a submerged scene, prompting viewers to hold their breath until all trash disappears. It then transitions to various environments, starting with a beach scene illustrating the impact of shopping habits on the environment and whales. Subsequent underwater footage reveals polluted oceans and the pervasive issue of microplastics, highlighting their harmful effects on whale ingestion. The documentary further explores whale incidents, particularly focusing on those in Sardinia, Italy, and immerses the audience in these environments. In conclusion, experts call for action, emphasising that there is still hope if we act swiftly.
According to the UN, life below water is the most overlooked sustainable development goal. Whales, one of the largest carbon accumulators, are crucial for the fertilization of global marine ecosystems and for keeping climate change at bay. However, human actions threaten their existence as plastic permeates into the marine environment that whales feed in, ingestion of which can lead to fatalities. Fishing gear and ghost nets pose major hazards. Our project emphasises this by referencing a real-life story in which a pregnant sperm whale was found dead with more than 22 kg of plastic in her stomach in 2019 in Sardinia, Italy. She died due to a Gastric shock.
We decided to address the story in VR since we aim to rely on the transformative power of immersive virtual reality to instil a sense of awe for whales and the marine ecosystem, a concern for their survival and hope that it is still not too late to act. We used Unreal Engine, Cinema 4D, Houdini to create the VR experience and 3D environments and Adobe Premiere to edit the documentary for viewing on the Oculus Quest headset.
Learn more about our process
Learn more about our research
Where can you see Whale Fall ?
The team behind Whale Fall
Armelle Mihailescu
Armelle Mihailescu is a Multi Media Artist, who’s using video games and interactive/immersive experiences to explore deep themes close to her heart, such as ecology, escapism and spirituality. After a Bachelor in Graphic Design in France, she worked two years in the video game industry, creating the company Sleepless Paradise with a few collaborators and starting their first project. She then explored storytelling under a different lens and started the Digital Direction course in London at the RCA.
Janmejay Singh
Janmejay Singh is a Digital Storyteller, Filmmaker and Social Activist currently studying at Royal College of Art. He was involved with the Jai Jagat Global Peace Campaign 2020-30, walking for peace and justice. In 2021, he walked and filmed UK based climate activist Pushpanath Krishnamurthy from London to the Cop-26 Climate Conference at Glasgow, across 650 kilometres. Janmejay has over 12 years of experience as a part of the Indian Film Industry, working in direction and editorial capacities and his films have won awards in various film festivals.
Riya Mahajan
Riya Mahajan is a Graphic designer and 3D visual artist from India. After working for some of the leading design studios in India, she discovered her passion for art direction, transitioning to freelancing with global clients like Adobe, Microsoft, ShowStudio, Klar, Inspirit etc. Her work has also been featured in various web and print publications. Riya is currently pursuing an MA in Digital Direction at the Royal College of Art in London.
Selin Öztürk
Selin Öztürk is an Interior Architecture and Environmental Designer graduated from Bilkent University, Turkey. Currently she is continuing her postgraduate education in Royal College of Art in the major of Digital Storytelling. She is an artist who is interested in designing sustainable and accessible interiors. She is also interested in photography and cinematography. During her bachelor, in addition to interior architecture, she was doing courses in communication and graphic design. These courses shaped her decision to study storytelling at the RCA.