SXSW XR EXPERIENCE AUDIENCE AWARD GOES TO FRENCH MEDIA PRODUCTION COMPANY, TARGO
Last week I went to South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. I was there to exhibit a project, Consensus Gentium, at the XR Experience Exhibition located in the Fairmont Hotel. I was occupied most of the days, so I unfortunately did not get to try all of the exhibit’s experiences. However, one of the experiences I got to try out was JFK Memento. JFK Memento is an experience created by TARGO, a French media production company focused on telling stories through virtual reality (VR).
The documentary was directed by Chloé Rochereuil and produced by Victor Agulhon, with the support of Meta. When I saw two French people standing in front of a memento about John F. Kennedy, I was a bit apprehensive. My initial thoughts were, “Why is a French company covering this story? Surely, this should be covered by an American company”. In my head, I had this rationale that I would be received in a bad light if I were to go to France and showcase a film about someone like Victor Hugo, and how he wrote Les Miserables — and perhaps I would be.
However, I was wrong about TARGO. TARGO has shown that it doesn’t matter who creates the story, so long as the integrity and research of the story is done correctly. TARGO did an incredible job of telling a story about one of America’s most revered Presidents through their French sensibility.
The unique storytelling takes place over six chapters, two of which were showcased at the exhibit. Over the two chapters that I experienced, I was transported into beautifully rendered environments, such as the warehouse where Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly shot JFK from and the streets in which JFK motorcaded around Dallas.
While you go through the experience, you are listening to a narrator who takes you to various places of significance. You also get first hand perspectives from individuals who were there on the day of JFK’s assassination. It brings a certain set of emotions afloat.
It is clear that a lot of quality work was put into this piece and the audience noticed, as it won the SXSW XR Experience Audience Award. From this first glimpse, I am excited to see more from TARGO and how this will be integrated into museums, such as the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
