Anthony Geffen: Scanning the Titanic and Immersive Storytelling

anthony geffen talk may 2023 28 rs

The world-famous Titanic shipwreck has been fully scanned and can be seen like never before, thanks to Anthony Geffen, a Fellow of St Cross, and his company Atlantic Productions. On the eve of this story being released to global media, Anthony gave an exclusive sneak-peak to College members who came to hear his Talk on Tuesday 16 May. 

Anthony is CEO and Creative Director of Atlantic Productions, a film company that has produced groundbreaking documentaries, including the first to live-stream from the top of Mount Everest to having Queen Elizabeth II reflect on her coronation and wearing the crown.  

More recently for King Charles' Coronation, Alchemy (the immersive technology arm of Atlantic Productions) created an AR experience in which smartphone users could interact with digital twins of the crowns – the St Edward’s Crown and the Queen Mary Crown – at home; one of many immersive experiences to come, Anthony promises. 

But the full-sized scan of the Titanic wreck, nearly 13,000 feet under the Atlantic Ocean, highlights the revolutionary power this new technology has.  

Since being published on Wednesday, Atlantic Productions' scan of the Titanic has been viewed over 8 million times – the highest rating BBC Science story for over 12 months; has trended on Twitter with over 35,000 tweets; and received 280,000 likes on the BBC’s Instagram page – 10 times their average.  

News of this scan has made headlines around the world with major outlets such as NBC, Sydney Morning News, Gulf News, South China Morning Post, and many others reporting how the new model is ‘one of the first major steps to driving the Titanic story towards evidence-based research – and not speculation.’ 

For example, the remains of Boiler Room 16 – as Anthony explained at St Cross – can give researchers new insight into how strokers kept the sinking vessel’s lights on. 

As the multi-BAFTA and Emmy Award winning filmmaker also explained during Tuesday’s presentation titled ‘From Attenborough to the Summit of Everest and now pioneering Immersive Storytelling', this is a field about to revolutionize many aspects of society, including education and healthcare. 

Attendees learned that there is certainly more to come.  

Please visit Atlantic Productions' website to view a full list of Anthony’s acclaimed films, and learn more about the company’s exciting techniques at the forefront of immersive storytelling.