NY Times VR: The Fight for Falluja

Documentary/Journalism, 11 min, dir. Ben Solomon, NY Times VR, USA

“The Fight for Falluja,” the VR film accompanying The New York Times Magazine’s special issue, “Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart,” by Ben Solomon.

This film transports the viewer to the Iraqi city of Falluja and the heart of the campaign against ISIS. One of the first VR experiences ever filmed in an active war zone, Solomon’s film represents a bold new chapter for digital journalism.

Information from NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/14/magazine/fight-for-falluja-vr.html
DIRECTED, EDITED AND WRITTEN BY Ben C. Solomon
PRODUCED BY Jenna Pirog
FIELD PRODUCERS Mouataz Majed Mohamed, Falih Hassan
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Jake Silverstein, Kathy Ryan, Nancy Gauss
POST-PRODUCTION Koncept VR
TRANSLATIONS Moutataz Majed Mohamad, Abduljabbar Yousif, Ahmed Salah, Sarah Almukhtar
MUSIC BY Matt Joynt and Nathan Sandberg
EDITOR’S NOTE: Images of the V.R. apparatus and its shadow have been removed in some places. This editing, which is common in V.R. production, helps preserve the scene as a viewer on location would normally see it.

This film was supported in part by the Pulitzer Center.

I personally think that this is exact the film which needed to be done by NY Times VR. Their first works were more about art and film. While this work shows exactly why we need to use those cardboards and our smartphones and their app. Excellent cross-platform promotion and here we go — audience is in the middle of the war still sitting in their chairs.