Common Ground
An Original VR Documentary
Common Ground is directed by our CCO Darren Emerson and co-funded by CreativeXR and StoryFutures Academy. The interactive VR documentary received its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival as part of the Virtual Arcade in April 2019 and its UK premiere at Sheffield Doc Fest as part of Alternate Realities. The groundbreaking experience has won Outstanding VR Narrative at World Press Photo, Best VR Experience at the Broadcast Digital Awards, the Grand Prix for Innovation at Cinema Nouveau and the award for Best Immersive Storytelling at Sandbox Immersive Film Festival.
A passionate advocate of VR story-telling, Darren is a director, producer and co-founder of East City Films. He has experienced considerable success with his VR film, Witness 360: 7/7 which was selected in competition at IDFA Doc Lab and been played at many high-profile festivals including Cannes; and VR documentary, Indefinite which won the first ever VR commission by Sheffield Doc/Fest and has been featured in the New York Times Op-Docs VR app, as well as touring festivals globally.
“What was interesting was how the piece had everyone talking – not purely about the medium but the content, the story and its impact, something rarely achieved in the realm of extended reality filmmaking. It’s truly an outstanding documentary in its own right and, despite the rainy weather outside, brought with it a sense of a new dawn in documentary VR.”
Darren Emerson on location with Alexa Pearson and contributor and resident Jean Bartlett.
Common Ground explores the notorious Aylesbury Estate, home to thousands of South Londoners, and a concrete monument to the history and legacy of social housing in the UK. The Aylesbury Estate is undergoing a massive regeneration scheme that will see big changes to the community of thousands that live there and call it home. Common Ground mixes 360 video and real time environments to allow people access to areas of the estate itself and personal spaces of residents, in order to examine how design, planning, dreams of utopian living and the political will of the day has affected the ordinary people caught in its midst. Utilising stereoscopic 360 video, photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and archive the viewer enters the world of the estate from its birth in 1960’s, through its decline and up to its controversial regeneration today. This multifaceted documentary questions notions of community, examines the dis-enfranchisement and demonization of the working class, and ask whether current housing policy today is destined to repeat the mistakes of the past.
“Common Ground is the technological and creative culmination of four years of work and development in VR; and the next step in my immersive documentary storytelling. It is a work that utilises my passion for exploring social injustice, giving voice to those not usually heard, and building an experience that allows us to connect more closely to the lives of other people. It’s a privilege to have my work selected for Tribeca and I would like to thank Digital Catapult and StoryFutures Academy for seeing the project’s potential and providing the funding to get it made.”
A screen shot from the documentary.
“It’s very exciting for us that Darren and the team behind Common Ground will be part of the Tribeca Film Festival this year. Having guided them through CreativeXR over the last year and a half, we’ve seen Common Ground grow and develop from an idea using groundbreaking production techniques into a thoroughly original, thought-provoking immersive experience that tells not just an interesting story, but lifts the lid on the realities of social housing and regeneration.”
“Yet there was one work that set the festival alight – Common Ground, by Darren Emerson of East City Films. This 30-minute experience featuring the Aylesbury Estate in London is an urgent political documentary about social cleansing that deftly blends archive film, original interview, drone photography, interactive elements and 3D blueprints to devastating effect.”
Common Ground being viewed at its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival 2019
A viewing at Tribeca Film Festival 2019
Common Ground is an East City Films production for VR City. It was Executive Produced by Ashley Cowan and Darren Emerson. For more information please get in touch or watch this space for further festival announcements and screenings.
Common Ground Screenings
APRIL 2019
Tribeca Film Festival (New York City, USA) – 25th April – 5th May (World Premiere)
MAY 2019
ASC Gallery (London, UK) – Aylesbury Estate – Private View – 7th May
JUNE 2019
Sheffield Doc Fest (Sheffield, UK) – June 6th – June 12th (UK Premiere)
Sandbox Immersive Festival (Qingdao, China) – June 24th – June 27th
*Winner of Best Immersive Storytelling
AUG 2019
Melbourne International Film Festival (Melbourne, Australia) – Aug 1st – Aug 18th
SEPT 2019
Camden International Film Festival (Camden, USA) – Sept 12 – 15th
The Portal (LA, USA) – Sept 22nd Sept 23rd
VIFF (Vancouver, Canada) – Sept 27th – Sept 30th
OCT 2019
Walworth History Festival (London, UK) – Oct 18th – 19th
Haifa International Film Festival (Haifa, Israel) – Oct 12th – 21st Oct
BFI London Film Festival (London, UK) – Oct 11th – 13th
The Lighthouse (Brighton, UK) – Oct 12th – 20th
Festival du Noveau Cinema (Montreal, Canada) – 9th Oct – 20th Oct
*Grand Prix Innovation Winner
NOV 2019
Aesthetica (York, UK)– Nov 6th – Nov 10th
IDFA Doclab 2019 (Amsterdam, Netherlands)– 20th Nov – Dec 1st
Speak To Us
We would love to hear from you if you want to know more about Common Ground. It is currently only available to view on request and on Oculus Rift but if you get in touch we will do everything we can to accommodate your circumstances. We are open to exhibition, licensing or the possibility of creating a new experience like Common Ground for you and your story. Don’t hesitate to drop us a line - we’re always happy to hear from interested people and will make time to talk things through.