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read moreWildBear Entertainment, one of Australia’s leading producers of factual content for the domestic and international TV markets, has revealed the innovation behind the creation of more than 60 individual films and media pieces for the new Sir John Monash Centre in Villers-Bretonneux, France.
Opened on ANZAC Day by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the Sir John Monash Centre tells Australia’s story of the Western Front in the words of those who served. The Centre - named after First World War general and Australia’s most famous commander of the time – is located adjacent to the Australian National Memorial in the grounds of the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery.
While most widely known for its television programs, WildBear Entertainment has also established itself as a leading provider of multi-media experiences and supporting video materials for exhibitions. These have been hosted in such renowned institutions as the National Museum of Australia, the National Gallery of Australia and the National Portrait Gallery.
WildBear Entertainment won a competitive international tender for the Sir John Monash Centre project but its long-standing expertise in storytelling, creation of compelling content from archive footage and production of absorbing programming about war – such as the new 8 x 60’ series Battles Won and Lost - made it a natural partner for Australia’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs, who oversaw the Centre’s development and construction.
WildBear’s extensive team for the project included film and documentary producers, writers, video game developers, special effects experts, sound designers and composers.
Commenting on the unique three-year project, WildBear Entertainment Chief Executive Michael Tear advised “as factual content producers, our job is to inform, entertain and engage – whether that’s for a one-off TV program or something as unique as the immersive experience we have created at the Sir John Monash Centre.
“We are so proud to have been involved with this important project, that commemorates the sacrifice of those who served, and we are delighted that the wide-ranging skills in our business, from painstaking research to high-end dramatic recreations, can be showcased in this way for years to come.”
The Centre features more than two and a half hours of content, telling the story of the First Australian Imperial Force’s time in France and Belgium during the First World War. It covers both military history, with key battles such as Fromelles and Bullecourt, while also looking at social issues such as the Conscription Referendums and more heartwarming stories about the Australian Imperial Force’s time in London and Paris. Expertly crafted by WildBear Entertainment these accounts, told with quotes researched from service records, diaries and personnel letters of those who were there, take the story from the formation of the First AIF to the Armistice in November 1918, and succeed in showing the war through a uniquely Australian lens.
At the heart of the Centre is the Immersive Gallery, a space containing almost 200 screens built into a 360-degree experience. The Gallery places visitors in two of the key actions of the First AIF: the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux and the great victory of Le Hamel, which brought General Sir John Monash to prominence. Filmed at a number of locations across Australia and New Zealand, using 6k Red Epic cameras and utilising elements of filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson’s extensive collection of original and reconstructed First World War machinery and weaponry, the Immersive Gallery provides a visceral and impactful 12 minute experience that will leave viewers with a deep and emotional understanding of the conflict.
Images: Displays in the new Sir John Monash Centre (top), Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull [third from left] at the Centre's opening (middle) and the Commonwealth War Cemetary at Villers-Bretonneux (below).
15th February 2015 - PETER JACKSON LOOKS TO FIRST WORLD WAR MUSEUM PROJECT
11th September 2015 - FLORIADE REFLECTS AS ANZACS HONOURED WITH ONE MILLION BLOOMS
3rd November 2014 - NATIONAL ANZAC CENTRE OPENS TO COINCIDE WITH WWI FLEET DEPARTURE COMMEMORATION
23rd February 2010 - SYDNEY BRIDGECLIMB MAKES LONELY PLANET TOP 10
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