CityLights Launches Cinematic Virtual Reality Experience Tutankhamun: Enter the Tomb
CityLights, an immersive entertainment company, debuts their groundbreaking virtual reality experience Tutankhamun: Enter the Tombat London’s Saatchi Gallery as a part of the Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaohexhibition opening this weekend. Audiences who opt for the add-on experience will fly through a photorealistic version of the legendary pharaoh's tomb, as Howard Carter would have uncovered it in 1922.
The immersive experience is the directorial debut for Joel Newton, the co-founder of Los Angeles based CityLights, who brought together an unprecedented team of experts to ensure an accurate and respectful recreation, while crafting an entertaining story for the viewer. The 8-minute experience is narrated by Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville, in a nod to the fictional role he played and the equivalent real Lord Carnarvon, who funded Carter’s archaeological pursuit in the same era as the iconic TV series. Further talents include experienced producers Garland Hunt Jr., Ian Donahue and Chadwick Turner, British father-son screenwriting duo Bart and Gabriel Gavigan, and Thievery Corporation’s Rob Garza, who composed the soundtrack after an in-depth study of the sounds and instruments of ancient Egypt.
The theatre consists of 18 state of the art Positron Voyager chairs, the first chair designed specifically for fully immersive cinematic VR. Positron is widely considered the leader in the field and this theatre is the first time the masses will have direct access to this technological advancement.
Tutankhamun: Enter the Tomb is the latest film from CityLights, who, in 2018, acquired Executive Producer Darren Aronofsky’s “Spheres,” the space-themed narrative three-piece series that debuted at Sundance and won the Grand Prix at the Venice International Film Festival and was the first-ever VR project to screen at Telluride. In January 2019, CityLights produced a sold out Spheres Pop-Up at Rockefeller Center. Recently, they announced The MVP Experience, an extended reality project featuring NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, in which fans can put on a VR headset and be transported into the shoes of the star quarterback.