Last week I got an advance peek at D-Day: The Camera Soldier, a $5 interactive documentary (delivered via the App Store) for the Vision Pro from Time Studios and TARGO. It’s the story of Richard Taylor, an American who stormed the beaches of Normandy armed with nothing but his own cameras, risking his life to document the momentous Allied landing on mainland Europe.
It’s a fascinating combination of different storytelling techniques fused together. There’s 3-D video footage of Taylor’s daughter returning to where her father experienced D-Day; there are 3-D objects such as Taylor’s camera and dog tags, as well as photos and letters; and there are some immersive locations based on Taylor’s photographs (including on and just off Omaha Beach).
Directed by Chloé Rochereuil, the app brought back to me the very best vibes of the old days of multimedia CD-ROMs. It’s an unapologetic mixed-media documentary that tells the story of the man who helped tell the story of all the other men on those beaches on D-Day. I’m not sure I’ve experienced as affecting an immersive environment on the Vision Pro as being in the landing craft with the gate down and the beach looming in the distance, 81 years ago.
“D-Day: The Camera Soldier” is available in the visionOS App Store.
