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Past forward: Virtual reality as 'the future of history'
I open my eyes and I am in the middle of a decidedly rustic room, surrounded by what appears to be a well-dressed cabal of old-timey Filipinos.
From where I am standing, I can see the clear Cavite sky, right outside the window. I can also see the color rising in Andres Bonifacio’s visage as he pulls out his pistol, waving it at the people standing about a foot away from me.
I look around me and see varying degrees of fear, rage, disappointment, and disgust. I see a number of hands reaching for their own firearms. I could feel the tension in the room, as well as my growing urge to grab the gun from the Supremo’s hands. These emotions linger in me as the scene shifts to a different point in Philippine history, and even after I take off my goggles and return to the present day — to reality.
As I finish recounting this memory to Ibba Bernardo, I see satisfaction and, oddly enough, a tinge of relief on his face. “Thank you,” says the CEO of tech startup I Am Cardboard PH. “That makes me incredibly happy.”
Ibba and his team developed ‘Emergence of the Filipino Nation’, a 10-minute historical film shot entirely in 360-degree virtual reality (VR).
It was created in partnership with the Ayala Museum, and is the newest addition to the institution’s array of dioramas on Philippine history. Covering four key events in the lives of Emilio Aguinaldo and Andres Bonifacio — the Cry of Pugad Lawin, the Tejeros Convention, the Trial of Andres Bonifacio, and the Declaration of Philippine Independence — ‘Emergence’ does more than just give viewers front-row seats.
It puts audiences squarely in meticulously crafted recreations of the events, effectively transforming them into phantom observers. (Millennials are likely to draw similarities between this exhibit and the Pensieve scenes in the ‘Harry Potter’ films.)
Limited narrative, or unlimited perspective?
At the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, a pavilion dedicated entirely to screening VR short films and presentations was included in the program, and American director Steven Spielberg voiced his reservations regarding the use of VR in storytelling.
The filmmaker believed that because VR offers the audience full freedom in terms of which parts of the story and environment to focus on, it disrupts the director’s ability to lead them down a single narrative path. Spielberg feared that this would ultimately make viewers “forget the story” as they “make their own choices of where to look at.”
(Incidentally, Spielberg would end up directing ‘Ready Player One’, which features a protagonist who spends most of his time immersed in a VR world, two years later.)
Interestingly, the fact that ‘Emergence’ is an entirely VR experience is precisely what makes it such an effective storytelling piece.
Three of the four historical milestones featured in ‘Emergence’ have static diorama counterparts in the museum. The displays, with their carefully constructed backdrops, finely crafted statuettes, and well-worded descriptions, provide sufficient visibility and create a general sense of omniscience. However, they also have a dry, almost detached sort of air about them.
Meanwhile, ‘Emergence’ takes you to the very heart of the action, or at least to the extent that VR technology permits.
You can hear Bonifacio’s passion as he addresses the plebians at Pugad Lawin, feel a sense of trepidation in the seconds leading to his conviction at the Teodorico Reyes Ancestral House, and see how each member of the crowd reacts as Aguinaldo waves the Philippine flag for the first time in Kawit.
By offering a 360-degree view of these events, audiences go beyond mere education and ascend to comprehension— a level that is often difficult to reach solely from the vantage point offered by a typical diorama.
“It takes a lot of time to choose which story to tell, because that story has to be a mirror of who we are now,” says Ibba. “It has to show us this, without slapping us in the face with it.”
Thus, despite the absence of any dioramic representation in the museum, Ibba’s team deemed the Tejeros election to be a necessary inclusion. “That is a scene we actively chose; It’s not [an existing] diorama. We felt that we needed that scene, that point in history, to give a complete picture.”
Based on my experience, I am inclined to agree.
WWJD: What Would Jose Do?
‘Emergence’ is the second VR film created by Ibba and his team for the Ayala Museum. Just last year, they launched ‘The Future of History’ — a film that won I Am Cardboard PH a Silver Boomerang Award from the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) earlier this month.
‘Future’ shows the last few minutes of Dr. Jose Rizal’s life from the eyes of three different people: a bystander, a soldier, and Rizal himself. In this regard, the Rizal VR exhibit can be considered a reflection of the museum itself.
“[The Ayala Museum is a] cultural institution for Philippine art and history,” explains Spike Acosta, the museum’s senior marketing associate. “We present everything without bias, without leaning towards anything.”
To ensure the factual accuracy of their VR films, Ibba’s team and the Ayala Museum consulted with renowned historian Ambeth Ocampo. “Kung ano ‘yung nakita natin sa mga firsthand account, sa research, ‘yun lang ang ipapakita natin talaga,” Spike asserts.
As ‘Future’ is rendered in 360-degree VR, it opens up a number of possibilities in terms of how each scene would play out. Assuming the role of Rizal, for instance, presents you with an interesting choice: Will you calmly accept the inevitable as the bullets bury themselves in your back, or would you do like Rizal did, turning around at the last moment to die facing the sky?
Time to think
Both VR films were dubbed in Filipino and English; the viewer can choose which version to watch after putting on the goggles. “The Tagalog version [of ‘Emergence’] is actually some seconds longer, which is due to the dubbing,” shares Marco Biemann, the director. “Everyone’s saying, ‘Oh, the Tagalog one is so much more emotional!’”
That’s not to say, of course, that the English version won’t tug at your heartstrings. No matter which version you choose to watch, ‘Emergence’ will leave you with feelings — and hopefully, a greater understanding of who we were and who we are, regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum.
“We won’t cross any lines, whether it’s the left or the right,” says Spike. “Never naman kasi na sinabi namin na ‘Ah, ganito, ganyan.’ Sasabihin lang namin, ‘Ganito ang nangyari, kayo na ang bahala kung paano niyo i-interpret ‘yan.’
“Ambeth put it best: The road to nationhood is a complex one; it’s not black and white.”
As I ask about their plans for future installments, I specifically mention the Bataan Death March and the Martial Law era. “The Bataan Death March is a great story to tell,” agrees Ibba. Due to its strong political connotations, however, the latter subject is a tad more complicated to tackle. “I personally want to do it; I feel that there is a need to do it.”
I think about the kind of person I could have been, one hundred and twenty-one years ago. Knowing what I know now, had I actually been there on that fateful day at Tejeros, I would have asked Bonifacio to put down his gun. I would have reminded him and everyone there that the last thing a leader of a broken nation needs is an ego inflated by a volatile temper.
Unfortunately, even if virtual reality truly is the future of history, we cannot use it to fix past mistakes. Stopping ourselves from repeating them, however, is a completely different story — one that can be told in 360 degrees.
