The Shot Heard Round the World: A Nation is Born
A Virtual Reality Experience
Experience the Battles of Lexington and Concord, as never before, with the American Battlefield Trust’s new virtual reality experience. This immersive storytelling approach will put you back in time as you navigate in 360 degrees how it may have looked, felt and sounded to be soldier.
Watch the Video
Travel back to where the Revolutionary War began with the American Battlefield Trust’s immersive virtual reality production that puts you at the center of the groundbreaking events at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. Step onto the misty fields of Lexington Green, and march across the North Bridge at Concord. Witness the moment when colonists stood their ground—changing not only American History, but World History forever. This video was made in partnership with our friends at Wide Awake Films.
Watch the 360° VR version of the video below:
Tip: For the most immersive experience, view this video with your virtual reality headset or cardboard viewer. To get started, launch the video with the YouTube app. Select the VR headset icon on the lower right part of the screen and put your smartphone into the cardboard viewer (not needed for headsets).
Not feeling adventurous today? No problem! The standard, non-360° version of the production can be viewed here:
Tips for Watching
Get ready to be transported back to April 19, 1775, where you’ll stand at the center of the action at Lexington and Concord! You can watch this immersive virtual reality experience on desktop, mobile, or — for the best experience — with your virtual reality headset.
No matter where you watch:
- Connect to WiFi to avoid data charges.
- If possible, wear headphones. If you do not have headphones, turn up the volume on your device.
- There’s something to see in every direction in many scenes.
Desktop:
- Use your cursor to click and drag to pan the scene in 360 degrees.
Mobile:
- Use your finger to move and swipe the scene in 360 degrees.
- Pinch-and-zoom to get a closer look.
Virtual Reality Headset or Cardboard Viewer:
- Using a virtual reality headset allows you to simply turn your head and body to move around the scene.
- Not only are the VR videos viewed on a headset immersive, but they use the full potential of the directional sound — the audio adjusts to the way you are facing.
- There’s a viewer for every budget! You can purchase a viewer at Knox Labs.
About This Project
The American Battlefield Trust has long worked to educate people in a variety of ways in hopes of opening up windows of understanding and potentially transformative experiences. From battlefield tours and events to videos, media stories, articles, and on-site interpretation, we've achieved a lot. However, most of these approaches don't quite match the immersive potential of virtual reality (VR). VR offers a unique way to tell stories by placing the viewer directly into the scene.
To explore this exciting technology, we partnered with Wide Awake Films to produce an immersive short film about the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The film puts viewers at the heart of the action, providing a glimpse into the experiences of those who lived through these pivotal moments in history. Wide Awake Films used professional actors and created realistic sets to bring the past to life.
Credits
The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving America’s hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened there and why it matters today. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has protected nearly 60,000 acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War.
Wide Awake Films is a creative media group focused on innovative, efficient execution of historical, commercial and corporate video and film production. The production company excels in producing compelling and powerful corporate messages, as well as Emmy award-winning historical content for museums, documentaries and television programming.
