What is real and what isn’t. Films throughout the ages have asked us that very question. Made us question what we accept as real and fake. Films like The Matrix series have tapped into that. Now, with all the advances that have been made in sound and visuals a company like Darkfield Radio has taken that and run with it.
At SXSW 2022 Darkfield Radio brought their latest immersive audio experience, Paradise. Paradise is a two person experience that focuses on relationships and why people are together. For 30 minutes you and your partner go through a series of scenarios that allow you to examine why you stay together and what would tear you apart. Really interesting stuff!
It is like an interactive experience combined with a theatre production. In a co-production by Darkfield and Lightshed.io that uses research done by John Hopkins University, Paradise uses voice recognition in leading the two through a series of situations to show how they would react.
While taking part in Paradise the sound is so real at times you will not be able to determine if the person speaking is in the room with you or not. So immersive that you might find yourself physically reacting to what you hear. Soooo cool!
The goal of all this is to open the participants’ eyes and minds about intimate partner violence and to bring about the end of it. Very interesting and mind-opening, Paradise is something you can do with your partner at home. All you need is a quiet room, a phone and a set of earbuds or headphones.
Though the SXSW festival is over you can still enjoy Paradise. Just go to Google Play or the App Store and download Darkfield Radio and then buy tickets to Paradise. It is recommended for ages 16+ as it does deal with intimate violence.