Welcome to Our Project

The bombardment of Hartlepool in 1914 occurred on December 16th, during World War I. It was one of the first attacks on British soil by the German Navy. German battlecruisers, led by Vice-Admiral Franz von Hipper, launched a surprise attack on the coastal towns of Hartlepool, West Hartlepool, and Scarborough.

The attack resulted in significant damage and casualties. Hartlepool, in particular, suffered heavily, with over 1,100 shells raining down on the town within a span of 40 minutes. The bombardment targeted civilian areas, including homes, businesses, and public buildings. The attack killed around 130 people and wounded many more, causing widespread destruction and devastation.

The bombardment of Hartlepool shocked the British public and highlighted the vulnerability of civilian populations to naval attacks. It also fuelled anti-German sentiment and galvanized support for the war effort. The events of December 16th, 1914, remain a poignant reminder of the impact of war on civilian communities.

 

Step into history with "Living the History: The Bombardment of Hartlepool in 1914." Our 360VR video experience captures the 40-minute German barrage of 1100 shells. Witness key moments, delve into the historical context, and immerse yourself in the chaos and courage of this pivotal event in World War I.

 

We aim to create an immersive 360VR video experience titled "Living the History: The Bombardment of Hartlepool in 1914." This project will reconstruct the events of December 16th, 1914, when Hartlepool endured a 40-minute barrage of 1100 shells from German naval forces. We will research to ensure accuracy and authenticity in recreating key scenes and atmosphere of the bombardment. Collaborate with historians, archivists, and local experts. Gather resources, photographs, accounts from past survivors, to accurately depict the events and their impact. Using 360VR Video, to craft a virtual experience that allows users to witness key moments of the attack from multiple perspectives. Users will be transported to the streets, homes, and landmarks of Hartlepool as they existed in 1914, providing an immersive understanding of the events as they unfolded.

Why 360VR

Utilizing 360VR technology offers several compelling advantages to the project:

  1. Immersive Experience: 360VR technology allows users to feel fully immersed in the historical events. By providing a 360-degree view of the environment, users can explore the scenes from different angles, creating a more immersive and engaging experience compared to traditional media.

  2. Sense of Presence: VR technology can evoke a sense of presence, making users feel as if they are physically present in the historical setting. This heightened sense of immersion can enhance empathy and emotional connection with the events and characters portrayed in the experience.

  3. Multiple Perspectives: With 360VR, users can view key moments of the bombardment from multiple perspectives, providing a comprehensive understanding of the events as they unfolded. This allows for a richer storytelling experience and a more nuanced exploration of historical context.

  4. Educational Value: The interactive nature of 360VR experiences lends itself well to educational purposes. Users can learn about historical events in an engaging and memorable way, deepening their understanding and appreciation of history.

  5. Accessibility: 360VR experiences can be accessed through various devices, including VR headsets, mobile phones, and desktop computers. This accessibility ensures that a wide range of audiences can engage with the project, regardless of their location or access to specialized equipment.

Overall, 360VR technology offers a powerful and effective means of bringing history to life, providing users with an immersive, educational, and emotionally impactful experience.

 

Creating immersive lessons that are engaging, memorable and impactful for students.

The Heugh Battery would be remodelled to represent what was there in 1914. The Gun you see now is not the original.

Funding the Project

Funding "Living the History: The Bombardment of Hartlepool in 1914" offers several compelling reasons:

  1. Preservation of History: This project aims to preserve and commemorate a significant historical event - the bombardment of Hartlepool during World War I. By funding this project, you contribute to the preservation of this important aspect of history for future generations.

  2. Educational Value: The immersive 360VR experience will serve as an educational tool, allowing users to learn about the Hartlepool bombardment in a dynamic and engaging way. Funding this project supports educational initiatives that promote historical awareness and understanding.

  3. Innovative Technology: By investing in this project, you support the development and advancement of innovative technology such as 360VR. This project showcases the potential of VR technology to enhance storytelling and historical interpretation, contributing to its continued growth and adoption.

  4. Cultural Impact: The bombardment of Hartlepool had a profound impact on the town and its residents, shaping its history and identity. Funding this project helps to shed light on this lesser-known aspect of World War I history and its significance within the broader context of the conflict.

  5. Public Engagement: "Living the History" offers a unique opportunity for public engagement and outreach. By funding this project, you enable wider access to the immersive VR experience, fostering empathy, curiosity, and appreciation for historical events among diverse audiences.

Overall, funding this project supports the preservation of history, promotes education, drives technological innovation, and facilitates public engagement with cultural heritage - all valuable contributions to society.

Supporting the Project

Examples

Two Examples are from MBD: MBD

The Pipeline to success

Utilizing both Unreal Engine and Reallusion software offers a comprehensive and powerful toolkit for creating "Living the History: The Bombardment of Hartlepool in 1914." Here's why:

  1. Unreal Engine for Realistic Environments: Unreal Engine excels in creating visually stunning and immersive environments. Its advanced rendering capabilities, realistic lighting, and high-quality graphics make it ideal for recreating historical scenes with authenticity and detail. Users will feel fully immersed in the virtual world, enhancing their understanding and engagement with the historical events.

  2. Reallusion Software for Character Animation: Reallusion software, such as iClone and Character Creator, specializes in character animation and creation. By integrating Reallusion software into the project, you can bring historical figures to life with lifelike animations and expressions. This adds a human element to the experience, allowing users to connect with the people who lived through the bombardment of Hartlepool in 1914 on a more personal level.

  3. Seamless Integration: Both Unreal Engine and Reallusion software offer compatibility and seamless integration, allowing for smooth workflow and collaboration between different aspects of the project. You can create and animate characters in Reallusion software and then easily import them into Unreal Engine for integration into the virtual environment.

  4. Comprehensive Toolset: Together, Unreal Engine and Reallusion software provide a comprehensive toolset for creating a fully immersive and interactive VR experience. From realistic environments to lifelike character animations, you have all the tools you need to bring the history of the Hartlepool bombardment to life in a compelling and engaging way.

  5. Industry-Standard Solutions: Both Unreal Engine and Reallusion software are industry-standard solutions widely used in game development, animation, and virtual production. Leveraging these software packages ensures that your project benefits from proven technology and best practices, resulting in a high-quality and professional outcome.

Overall, combining Unreal Engine and Reallusion software offers a powerful and versatile solution for creating "Living the History," enabling you to deliver an immersive and impactful VR experience that effectively communicates the historical events of the Hartlepool bombardment in 1914.

I've worked with the Unreal Engine for a few years now, it keeps on amazing me. I've tested the VR360 video, I wanted to make sure all aspects worked, and without doubt it worked great. As part of the journey of this project is to learn and to help others if I can. I believe this project would benefit massively from the Unreal Engine, the speed of rendering is amazing, not waiting hours for an image but seconds, the game engine delivers on so many levels, it's Unreal.

Another very important tool has to be Reallusion, I've invested a great deal in their tools, Its been part of my pipeline for years now, I love the Character Creator tools, makes producing character easy and quickly. Simple to change and add clothes. Also their Animation tool IClone is a great asset as it allows for quick and effective editing of motion capture from the body to the face, and I love the wrinkle maps. They have a great marketplace to help speed up the production, which I've done a few times.

My new Modelling tool is Blender. I've been a 3DMax user for years. I've taken to Blender not just for costs but for their community. They to have great tools, but their community produce great tools that can help fill gaps and speed up work flows.

Adobe Substance Painter will be another time saver, allowing for speedy texturing and game ready materials. I still have my Allegorithmic license. So going forward it would be worth investing in Adobes Substance Painter and its new updates and improvements. 

And the most important part, is collaborating with local historians, archivists, and locals themselves, these are the people to listen to and learn from, they will give you details of what went on, what propaganda went on after the event, some was miss leading and unfair to some. We hope to highlight some truth, and to alert viewers of misgivings within their film.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why?

The idea is to give the Heugh Battery content and more education material. And allow the Heugh Battery to use the VR360 in any form they like.

Tools of the trade

Blender for modeling

Substance Painter for Textureing

The animation/VFX will be made with the Unreal Engine.

Motion/Characters Reallusion Character Creator 4 - Iclone 8

Supporting the Project

The main aim is to get the local people involved, the project needs them to help build a naritive that delivers the story of the Bombardment in 1914.

And with great thanks:

Heugh Battery – The Only First World War Battlefield in the UK Looking forward to seeing the fruition of the project.

Tanglewood Games | Unreal Engine Support Will be offing Tech support for the Unreal Engine. They are experts in the field.

Sea & Sky Pictures (seaandskypictures.co.uk)  with some great projects under their belts, they are up for helping tell the story.

www.Reallusion.com Are intrested in supporting the project, and would be offering Assets and Software for the project. 

Who will be working on the Project

Hope to use as many local people to work on the project.

After the Project

I hope to turn the VR360 into a film that can be used on TV for education purpose. If funding is avaible, we hope to turn some of the models into AR assets, and allow people to roam around with an app to see what was once there.

Where is the Heugh Battery

Location

Heugh Battery
Hartlepool, England, United Kingdom