The project
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust set up the Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service after the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June 2017, to offer talking therapy to people who were traumatised or bereaved. The service had already offered VR in public spaces as a way to reach people, and in 2019 it began to make mindfulness films of its own.
In the service’s words, the films help people to “visit a moment in someone’s life to notice the thoughts, emotions and sensations experienced.” The series took viewers from a dancer at the Royal Opera House to a few mindful minutes on a park bench, and in one film the former England striker Les Ferdinand talks through the moments before he first played for England.
What we did
Ben Huss was technical lead on the series, working with The Fred Company, which listed us as its specialist 360 camera collaborator. He oversaw the technical side of the production: the 360 video, the VR, the spatial audio and the app.
How it was shown
The films can be watched on any VR headset, on YouTube or on a phone. The service says they are not specific to Grenfell, and has encouraged other NHS talking therapy services to use them.
On 24 April 2019 BBC News reported on the Les Ferdinand film, which the trust released to encourage people to open up about their mental health.
Credits
- Made for
- The Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service, CNWL NHS Foundation Trust
- Made with
- The Fred Company
- Partners
- The Royal Opera House and Queens Park Rangers
- Featuring
- Les Ferdinand
- Technical lead
- Ben Huss