Fish Eye Project will make a splash on World Oceans Day (June 8, 2016) by bringing live, interactive underwater cinema to IMAX Victoria—a first for the giant screen.
Emerald Forest is a ‘live dive’ event that will give audiences the chance to follow and interact with scuba divers as they explore the marine kelp forests off Victoria’s Ogden Point. The first live show starts at IMAX Victoria in the Royal BC Museum at 11 a.m. with a second dive at 1 p.m. (PDT).
Live and interactive
“Emerald Forest will offer the surround sound and stunning visuals you’d expect of a Giant Screen experience, but with a twist—it’s an underwater broadcast happening in real time,” says Fish Eye co-founder Maeva Gauthier. It’s also a first of its kind interactive cinema experience. Audiences will be able to see, hear, and talk to divers without getting wet.
Victoria, B.C.-based Fish Eye Project uses innovative technology to connect children and adults with the world’s oceans. To date, the team of marine scientists and educators has broadcast real-time dive events to more than 30 countries and hundreds of classrooms around the world.
IMAX to iPhone
Simulcast to select Giant Screen theatres in Canada and sites including Telus World of Science in Edmonton and Saskatchewan Science Centre in Regina, the shows will also be streamed to the Internet. Anyone with a computer or smartphone can participate. Theatregoers, school groups, and viewers around the world will be able to ask questions of Fish Eye’s team of marine educators and scuba divers via social media.
“IMAX Victoria recognizes the value of the Fish Eye Project’s interactive live dive concept,” says theatre director Paul Wild. “We see it as a complement to our line-up of entertaining and inspiring documentary programming.”
Event supporters include Eagle Wing Tours, Aqua Lung Canada, Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, Ogden Point Dive Centre, David Suzuki Foundation, Ocean Networks Canada and VIATEC.
History in the making
This isn’t the first breakthrough event for the non-profit Fish Eye Project whose mission is to inspire the next generation of ocean stewards. Co-founder Mike Irvine made waves last year by broadcasting his graduate thesis defence from 15 feet below the surface of the Salish Sea.
Every year, World Oceans Day provides a unique opportunity to honour, help protect, and conserve the world’s oceans.
