Nexus Studios | StoryFutures | Niantic | BFI | BBC

Senior Producer, David Bradshaw

StoryTrails: Rolling through towns across the nation during the scorching summer of 2022, the UK’s largest immersive storytelling experience took over public libraries to tell local stories told by local communities through a series of AR walking trails. From Omagh to Dundee, Swansea to Slough, Lambeth to Lewisham, the public were invited to step through time and space to experience history where it happened. Building on Nexus Studios’ longstanding vision to bring Augmented Reality to wider audiences and reanimate public spaces through immersive storytelling, the mammoth project resulted in the building of 16 unique AR Trails and 15 AR Cinemas.

Along with StoryFutures, the Nexus Studios team trained up to 50 creatives from across the country to tell the stories of 15 communities by integrating archive material from the BFI, regional film archives and the BBC into site-specific locations using state-of-the-art technology. The team harnessed Niantic’s recently launched Lightship VPS (visual positioning system) for this experience, this technology localises virtual objects without the need for QR codes or markers, allowing permanent objects or structures such as monuments, public art and signage along the trail, to become Wayspots and host intelligent AR experiences with accurate precision.

The results were astounding, with millions of people engaging with the stories in-person and through the BBC2 special The Peoples’ Piazza. We were thrilled that 38% of visitors were new to Immersive technology, with the AR component proving particularly engaging. It was also successful in reigniting public spaces, including local libraries with 71% of visitors saying they were more likely to return following the events and 155 librarians across the country training in immersive storytelling and gaining the skills to be able to run scanning and trail workshops.

https://story-trails.com/

AWARD RECOGNITION

Museums + Heritage Awards - Best Use of Digital