In these times of working - and for the most part, even socializing - remotely, it has never been more important to ground our communications with a sense of physical space wherever possible. (As I’m sure you’ll agree, the Castle is a rather wonderful unique selling point to have, so it’s worth reminding everyone from time to time just how special a place it is.) To that end, the BISC’s Film prof, Dr. Robert Hyland, has created a wonderful 3D virtual tour of the Castle and grounds. For incoming students, it represents something of a teaser that hints at what life could be like once lockdown is lifted, whereas for Castle alumni it’s a chance to see some spaces that are sure to be familiar, and take a vivid trip down Memory Lane.
There are eight fully-immersive scenes in all, offering viewers a 360 degree tour with accompanying audio commentary. There are also a number of info tiles for each scene, providing interesting trivia and historical notes that are sure to make even complete strangers Herstmonceux Castle aficionados in no time! As a quirky bonus, if you turn on the ‘Ambient Sounds’ option, you might also hear the familiar crow of a certain cockerel, or perhaps the bleating of one of our local sheep. When you lived at Bader Hall, just how often did one of this choral tag-team awaken you with their less than dulcet tones?
The tour is available in both desktop and mobile format, and no expensive equipment is required. Dr. Hyland recommends Google Cardboard to his students as a means to experience VR on a budget – and building one makes a great rainy-day project for the whole family.
You can find our virtual tour on the BISC website, under our new BISC Alumni Media Gallery. This page features a number of videos and other media content that will be of interest to Castle alumni. Why not relive the commute from Bader Hall to the Castle, or experience orientation again with our Student Services staff? We have content in the gallery that has been created by both students and staff, so there’s an eclectic mix of styles, with (of course!) Herstmonceux Castle campus as the star of the show in each case. We actively encourage you to share any of this content on your social media channels and help us build our online presence. You will even find some BISC-themed video conferencing backgrounds that you can download to show your BISC pride during your next business meeting!
As mentioned in our previous article, we created so much promotional and instructional content for SOAR and the fall term that it seems a shame for it to go to waste. We have just launched an official YouTube channel to share this content with the world! We aim to post as many videos as we possibly can by the time this edition of The Herald arrives in your inbox. However, we promise it will be worth clicking that ‘Subscribe’ button too, as moving forward, we will be adding new videos as they become available.