As the year concludes we at Studio ANRK wanted to send you something a little more in-depth in case you have the time over the holidays and want to dig in. So, today we’re presenting you with a long-read on our in-development project, 'Camp Century: A City Under Ice.' This subterranean U.S. military base in Greenland operated from 1959-1963, and we've been working on a meticulously reconstructed version of the base using Unreal Engine.
Camp Century was a Cold War-era nuclear military base, initially praised as a triumph, but it soon became inhospitable, leaving behind a lasting and hazardous legacy. Our research offers a look into the history of Camp Century, exploring its broader implications for human exploration, environmental responsibility, and examining the lessons it offers us for the future.
We premiered Camp Century as a Virtual Tour at IDFA in 2021, and then went on to present it at the Copenhagen Film Festival CPH:DOX, working with Nicole Paglia, and Emeka Malbert, and with contributions from former Camp Century resident Søren Gregerson; Research Climatologist William Colgan; Local resident Navarana Sørensen; and Kristian Nielsen, co-author of 'The Cold War Under the Ice Sheet of Greenland' and Associate Professor at Aarhus Univesity.
Since then, we've continued developing the historically accurate virtual reconstruction of Camp Century in Unreal Engine 5. With UE5’s advancements, we're able to recreate a much more authentic and realistic version of this inaccessible place. Alongside the VR experience, we're developing a real-time film, combining reconstruction assets with traditional documentary techniques.
Our goal for Camp Century was always to create a traditional film, with the unique ability to explore Camp Century in full colour and high visual detail. Using UE5 cinematic camera work, this now seems possible. We plan to complete digital and real filming sometime during 2024.
What’s magic is that with UE5 and virtual camera control we can create camera sequences that look like they were filmed in the real Camp Century. And what would be exciting for us, would be to add actors in costume to these scenes and create a traditional film. The point being, you can’t film in Camp Century today and very little footage remains of it. Working with archive footage gives us a glimpse of what it would have been like, allowing us to build a completely realistic, accurate recreation of Camp Century as a type of film set, only virtual, for the purposes of a forthcoming documentary film.
Camp Century is interesting not just as a historical factual story, but it is also very relevant to present-day conversations around climate change, science, indigenous rights, and - as we explore in our long read - there are fascinating links to future space-exploration.
Anyway, we digress. Grab a cup of tea, take a seat sometime over the coming weeks, and join us on Substack for an exploration of Camp Century, the Arctic city under the ice.
You can access the Long Read about Camp Century by clicking below:
Bookmark it for during a train journey or flight or for when you made it home. We would love to receive questions, feedback or any other thoughts from you. If you enjoyed the long read feel free to share it with others.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful break and a very happy New Year.
Team ANRK