20 Sep 2016
Peter Jackson wants to tell the story of a Maori island through augmented reality
BY Tom Anstey
Sir Peter Jackson continues to contribute to visitor experiences in his home country, with the New Zealand native now planning a digital project utilising augmented reality to teach visitors about the Maori inhabitants of Matiu-Somes Island.
The island – located within Wellington Harbour – would aim to create an experience where visitors could potentially explore the island using AR glasses, with digital overlays and images appearing as they learned what life was like for its Maori inhabitants.
"We are in the early stages of this journey together, but the idea potentially involves using various media, including digital storytelling and the latest in virtual and augmented reality technology, to tell stories about the Maori history of Wellington,” said Dominic Sheehan, general manager of Jackson's Wingnut Films Productions, speaking to the New Zealand Herald.
"We're looking forward to chatting to the trust and talking about how we can best work together," he added.
Maori tribe Taranaki Wh?nui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika took ownership of the island in 2009. Its management is shared between local government, the Department of Conservation and the tribe’s operational body.
The project is seeking funding support through the Government's Maori ICT Fund. Jackson has worked on several tourism ventures in the past several years, with his proposed movie museum in Wellington currently seeking approval, while the director also brought a World War One museum project to the city’s former Dominion Museum Building. Further afield, the set used for filming The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies in Matamata has been turned into a visitor attraction, with Hobbiton one of New Zealand’s most popular tourist hotspots.
The island is accessible from several public locations, including downtown Wellington, Petone, Days Bay and Seatoun. As a visitor destination it is growing in popularity, welcoming more than 15,000 people last year.
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