On the occasion of Dante’s Dayi.e. the National day dedicated to Dante Alighierifrom March 25 the short “Inferno” and the second unpublished chapter “Purgatorio” of “The Divine Comedy VR” will be available on RaiPlay e Rai Cinema Channel.
To make everything even more special, is the airing in an accessible version for the deaf and blind, thanks to the collaboration with Rai Public Utility.
A Dan Tuesday in VR thanks to Rai Cinema and ETT
The Scai Group’s ETT production is the protagonist of the VR multi-platform project conceived by Rai Cinema and dedicated to the Divine Comedy to celebrate the now famous Dantedì. The planned initiatives follow the following itinerary:
- Saturday 25 March, from 11:00, the VR version of the two chapters (“Inferno” and “Purgatorio”) will be presented, which will involve different spaces divided between Firenze (at Dante’s House Museum in via Santa Margherita 1), Milano (Leonardo Da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology via San Vittore 21/via Olona) e Torino (Mole Antonelliana National Museum of Cinema via Montebello 20;
- the press conference to present the project will take place at the Casa di Dante at around 11:30, with guests including: Paolo Del Brocco, CEO of Rai Cinema; the Governor of the Tuscany Region Eugenio Giani; Giovanni Verreschi, CEO of ETT SpA SCAI Group; Adele Magnelli creator and curator of the project, International Project Manager, ETT SpA Gruppo SCAI; Carlo Rodomonti, head of strategic and digital marketing of Rai Cinema; Tullia Carlino Head of Coordination of Museum and Dante’s House Events; the director Federico Basso; Roberto Celestri, filmmaker and content creator. Moderated by journalist Raffaella Salamina
In addition, a VR corner to allow the public to enjoy the contents.
“We are very proud of the collaboration started with Rai Cinema, as proof of the high quality and innovativeness of the contents created by ETT with the short films Inferno and Purgatorio. Two multimedia audiovisual works that demonstrate how new technologies aim to support and enhance the humanistic heritage. Valuable tools to facilitate access to culture, in all its forms and for all types of public” he declared Giovanni Verreschi, CEO of ETT spa of the Scai Group.
“Virtual Reality thus offers a great opportunity to the viewer. In this case, a powerful introduction to the Divine Comedy capable of bringing reading, intriguing and stimulating especially the younger generation audience. A new way to discover the work and its author from a new, interesting and extraordinarily engaging perspective. An innovative approach that, in the future, could offer us the opportunity to explore other literary masterpieces thanks to a suggestive immersive journey”.
“The Divine Comedy VR: Purgatory”
Born from an idea of Adele Magnellithe short is written and directed by Federico Bassoon the subject of Alexander Cavallaro, who also took care of the scientific supervision and the selection of the verses. The short film, which lasts about eight minutes and thirty seconds, is accompanied by the voice of the actor and dubber Francesco Pannofinoallowing the viewer to take on the role of the Great Poet and to cross the threshold of Purgatory to embark on his journey.
Il Purgatory looks like one rocky mountain which stands in the center of the southern hemisphere, in the ocean. Once out of Hell, the passage of time is admitted in this realm, dividing itself into dawn and dusk, day and night. The spectator, therefore, will cross the threshold of Purgatory with Dante’s eyes, or rather a rocky door guarded by an angel armed with a sword.
The first frame is that of superbfollowed by enviousslumped to the ground with your eyes closed, hey lustful, which advance dramatically in the focus of the last frame. Finally arrived in the Paradisoshe appears, Beatricethe woman who convinced Dante to embark on the journey to the first two realms.
The environments were modeled, sculpted and painted in 3D. The animations of plants, fire and water were created taking the physical parameters as a reference, while for the human figure it was decided to opt for theintegration in compositing of actors filmed in green screen or using techniques of motion capture.
Don’t forget that the original soundtracks are signed by Marco Moriniwhile ETT Gruppo Scai collaborated in the creation of the educational gaming path within the Rai Cinema metaverse are The Nemesisan entertainment platform that offers innovative virtual reality experiences.
ETT was also involved in the literary consultancy for the reconstruction of the dark forest and the screenplay of the experience in the metaverse. The gaming route – which will be online from Thursday 22 March – is completely free and accessible from desktop and mobile app. Up for grabs is the exclusive preview of the short film “Inferno”, the first chapter of the production “The Divine Comedy VR”.
Finally, we remind you that the shorts “Inferno” and “Purgatorio” will also be made available on the app from 27 March Rai Cinema Channel VR.