Beyond the Milky Way
Experience the greatest scientific endeavor in history.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Briege Whitehead
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you!! It's been an honor to make this film! When I was first presented with the opportunity to tell a story on the SKA telescopes and the global mission I immediately knew telling it in 360°, stereoscopic VR was going to be the best possible medium to do this story justice. I wanted this to be an immersive experience for people and the next best thing to being there in real life on the ancient Wajarri landscape, giving audiences the ability to really connect with the story on a level that's just not possible in 2D and 'regular' documentary. The vision was always to make Beyond the Milky Way an immersive, cinema experience taking audiences to the extremely remote and radio-quiet site of the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) and out beyond our own galaxy. I wanted audiences to not only encounter this globally impactful story, but feel connected to the narrative. The discoveries will impact our entire lives so it was important to me to be able to have them be part of the story from this moment in history and in many ways the beginning of the wider community journey. To be able to stand on the top of a huge telescope dish, fly over the future SKA telescope and observe the Universe with incredible detail were just some of the ways this visually came together and also not possible in any other way. We really do transport audiences to the heart of the story and live it along with those in the film. It's such a rarity to be able to do something like this, or for a filmmaker to have such a significant and global story in this way and I just feel totally privileged to have been trusted to tell it.
We also really wanted to up our game in what's possible in VR and immersive documentaries. After the success of The Antarctica Experience the natural next step was for us to turn our sights to an even greater challenge - and taking people to the edge of what's known in the Universe was certainly that! From a narrative, technical and access perspective this was a huge step change and I'm extremely proud of the final film and the incredible talent who've all come together to make this story an unforgettable experience.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
“One thing you can’t do in a spaceship is to explore beyond the Milky Way, but with these telescopes we can”. This line from one of our incredible female onscreen scientists summarises so much for me. Most people can't just hop into space let alone get to explore beyond our own galaxy, but in this film you can! To really explore the Universe, big science questions and see further back in time than we’ve ever been able to before requires the world’s largest radio telescope – the SKA. It’s not every day you get to be at the forefront of one of the greatest scientific endeavors in history and be placed at the center of some of the oldest landscapes on Earth through the power of VR, but all that and more awaits audiences of Beyond the Milky Way.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I think human beings have such a fascinating relationship with space. Anyone can look up at the stars each night and wonder what it would be like to travel amongst them. After all, it’s one of the age-old questions, “Are we alone in the Universe?”. When we learned of the SKA telescope - one of, if not the greatest scientific endeavors in human history - we knew VR was the perfect medium to share this story with the world. This global scientific effort to design, build and operate the world’s largest radio telescope is 70 years in the making, and now we’re at the historic moment of construction finally being realised. We could very likely be capturing the final years of history when we thought we were alone in the Universe – how incredible is that to witness and document through the immersive world of 360 VR. It's also an incredible combination of looking out to the future from one of the oldest places on Earth, filmed on the traditional country of the Wajarri Yamaji people. Leonie Boddington a Wajarri Yamaji woman and Aboriginal Liaison Officer, CSIRO who is one of our incredible onscreen contributors takes audiences on a beautiful tour of the country and the connection between land and sky. It's an incredible experience to have all these themes come together and forward such a remarkable feat of collaboration, science, technology and ancient knowledge.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
We spent almost a year developing this film to garner an accurate and deep understanding of radio astronomy, what the SKA telescopes are, what has come before it and the global science it aims to achieve. It was an incredible process of speaking and collaborating with world-leading scientists and experts to bring together really high-concept radio astronomy and put it into an easy-to-understand form that anyone is accessible and engaging to anyone. As it's a documentary much of the 'script' comes together in the field and is informed by what we're able to capture in situ. With our onscreen talent it's really a conversation hitting key points we want explained and a huge amount of planning to ensure we're linking it all together with epic sequences that really bring it home for audiences. This might be placing the audience at the centre of a dish to see the sky as the telescope sees, or switching from an optical to radio colour image of the milky way to explain how scientists are uncovering mysteries of the universe. Filming techniques and technology played a huge part in this, and we spent large parts of our development and pre-production time designing and testing our own custom-built rigs and working with some of the best creatives in the field to achieve shots such as our 360 astrophotography star-lapses, to stabilised drone rigs to capture world-first views of the site in 3D. Assessing, reassessing, testing and trialling became hugely important in finding methods for success and ultimately shaping the narrative, given we first had to prove a lot of this was possible!
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Overwhelmingly positive feedback. Thus far it's been really incredible and from a hugely diverse audience. It's really resonating with any age and demographic and we really mean that when we say it. In a short period of time, it's played in Paris, Canada and the US after its world premiere at the WA Museum. Currently, it's playing at the National Museum of Australia. So already it's had a large audience range and really resonated with all types of people and many are attending twice bringing their friends and family back to see it. Many are really moved, inspired, in awe... and really impressed with the overall experience. Many people have also said it feels quite meditative or a mindful experience, which I can certainly see how with so many beautiful star-lapses where you're able to see and absorb the night sky in a way most people never have before (especially without all the light pollution!) My personal favorite is to watch audiences of kids who are constantly calling out and excitedly telling each other where to look throughout the film.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Yes, it's been great. One of the best parts about creating immersive documentaries is that you often get to experience your audience's feedback live. When you see first-hand how your film is inspiring or moving someone it's amazing as a creative to get that instant feedback and see which parts, in particular, are consistently resonating. As the film is in 360° 3D it's also about what moments and which parts of the screen are having an impact on your viewer. The audience experience is always core to every creative decision so it's invaluable knowledge and highly rewarding. It continues to amaze and surprise me and feeds into my next VR films and creative work in turn.
It's also just incredible to see a film about amazing science, people and landscape come together and have such a profound impact on people. That's the power of an immersive, story-living experience that you can only get in this medium.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
It would be wonderful to have more awareness of the whole project and film. What we're doing as humans at this point in history blows my mind on a constant basis, and as the telescope sites are radio quiet zones very few people will ever have the opportunity to go there themselves. This film gives everyone the opportunity to be transported there, and witness the incredible people, landscape and science for themselves. The more we're able to share that with the world the more people will get to share in this incredible story and experience this moment in our history.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We'd love to have more venues showcase the film. The way in which we distribute makes it incredibly easy to set up a cinema experience for mass audiences of any size and shape. Venues such as galleries, museums, and festivals would be wonderful to connect with, but it really can be shown anywhere in any space.
And of course, the media to amplify not only the message of the film, but the incredible technology and innovation behind bringing it all together and what's possible in this space.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
You don’t need to be knowledgeable or interested in astronomy to really appreciate the enormity of what is about to be achieved by, and for humanity through the SKA. We set out on telling this truly global story with the hope of inspiring the world and capturing audiences’ imaginations, giving them an awesome new perspective of our place in the very vast cosmos and even some relief from the anxieties of our current everyday lives. I hope when people experience this film, it moves and inspires them, particularly the next generation who will go on to use this technology and undertake the breakthroughs this innovation will lead to. I also hope those from diverse backgrounds can be inspired to join our amazing on-screen talent and see themselves being the next leaders in Earth’s history. We hope the audience can enjoy their immersive visit to the site, learn about the ancient landscape and advanced technology to create the SKA telescope and be inspired to look up at the night sky from a new perspective.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Are we alone in the Universe?
Would you like to add anything else?
When I saw that the world’s first colour radio image of the sky known as “Gleam” allowed us to see over 300,000 galaxies, all of which look like stars to the average viewer, I was immediately struck by how we are smaller than a speck on a speck, on the tiniest grain of sand. And that this had to be a pivotal moment and inspiration for the film. Working so deeply on this film for the past two years, I’ve seen how the SKA is set to be our generation’s ‘moon landing’ in that we’re about to take a transformational leap forward in our understanding of the Universe. It’s incredibly impactful and often moving when the gravity (excuse the pun) of that really is understood.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
The whole White Spark team are currently in development for 3 major natural history VR documentaries that we will be announcing soon, the next of which will be delivering in 2024. Stay tuned!
Interview: February 2023
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Beyond the Milky Way
Experience the greatest scientific endeavor in history.
Length: 26:30
Director: Briege Whitehead
Producer: Briege Whitehead and Jess Black
Writer: Briege Whitehead
About the writer, director and producer:
BRIEGE WHITEHEAD is a multi-award-winning producer, director and writer. She established her company, White Spark Pictures, in 2017, focused on producing both factual programming for the international television market and Virtual Reality (VR), immersive and interactive productions. Briege is responsible for the ground-breaking VR hit, The Antarctica Experience, one of the most commercially successful VR films in the world, ranking within the top 10 highest-grossing Australian documentaries of all time.
JESS BLACK is an award-winning film and TV producer who excels at creating high-quality content and managing projects from development to delivery. She has produced White Spark’s 360° VR film Beyond the Milky Way and is one of few experienced Australian Insta360 Titan camera operators. Notably, Jess produced the eight-hour documentary series Innocent Behind Bars. Her factual credits include story producing the music-meets-crime series Killer Soundtrack (2021) and production managing The Antarctica Experience (2018) VR documentary.
Key cast: Professor Brian Cox (Narration), Leonie Boddington (Wajarri Yamaji, Aboriginal Liaison Officer, Csiro), Dr Natasha Hurley-Walker Radio (Astronomer, Icrar Curtin), Antony Schinckel (Csiro Ska Program Leader & Ska Low Site Construction Director), Professor Cathryn Trott (Astrophysicist, Icrar Curtin)
Looking for: film festival directors, buyers and journalists
Facebook: White Spark Pictures
Twitter: @whitesparkpics
Instagram: @whitesparkpictures
Hashtags used: #BeyondtheMilkyWay #WhiteSparkPictures #BeyondtheStars
Website: www.whitesparkpictures.com.au/beyond-the-milky-way
Other: IMDb
Funders: Beyond the Milky Way is a White Spark Pictures production. Principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with Screenwest & Lotterywest. Financed with support from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), CSIRO- Australia’s national science agency, the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, Scitech and Inspiring Australia, SKA Observatory (SKAO), ASTRO 3D- the ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions and WA Museum
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
20-29th January 2023; Slamdance; USA
All year; National Museum of Australia; Canberra, Australia
2023 TBC dates; WA Museum regional tour; Western Australia