De gezonken meesters website
Bringing content and technology together to tell beautiful stories: together with Omroep MAX and Blacklist, we have built an interactive experience to support the television program “De gezonken meesters.” Dive into the discoveries and stories of the sunken ship from 1771.
With Omroep MAX, we dove deep to tell the story of a sunken ship. In 1771, the ship Lady Maria transported masterpieces by six Dutch painters, which sank with the ship. In the program De gezonken meesters by Omroep MAX, these paintings are brought back to life in a competition. Over six episodes, twelve professional artists and a thousand hobbyists recreate the works in their own style. Some of these will earn a place of honor on the website about the sunken ship.
A digital dive into history
To support the television program, we, together with creative agency Blacklist, built the interactive De gezonken meesters. The website brings the created artworks and the journey of Vrouw Maria even more to life. Visitors can view the works in detail and learn more about the original artists. The website has three main sections: an interactive map with the ship's route, a 3D environment of the sunken wreck, and the exhibition of the created artworks.
From start to sinking
To properly tell the entire story of the ship Vrouw Maria, the website features a map of the navigated route. Here, visitors can discover exactly what happened on the ship and where it sank. The story is supported by images and explanations. Visitors can also listen to the content: the stories are narrated by Pieter Roelofs, curator of the Rijksmuseum.
Pieter Roelofs featured in the television program De gezonken meesters.
Accessible to everyone
All pages are built with the high-res storytelling tool Micrio, allowing all content to be displayed in high quality. At the end of the route, visitors can take a virtual dive to explore the next feature of the website, namely the treasures of the sunken ship. User-friendliness is a high priority; everyone should be able to navigate the website with ease. The website provides clear instructions on navigation and controls, both for desktop and tablet.
More depth about the ship and the art
In collaboration with Blacklist, the sunken Vrouw Maria has been reconstructed in a 3D environment. Visitors can explore on their own, searching for the lost treasures. The sunken objects on the seabed are clickable and come with their own content, engaging visitors more deeply with the TV program. The game tool Unreal Engine was used in combination with Micrio, making the 3D environment as realistic as possible.
A closer look at the artworks
Viewing every detail of the newly created artworks was a must for the website. Visitors can view the thirty best works per episode and zoom in fully to the smallest detail. In total, there are 180 artworks available for viewing. This is made possible by our own Micrio technology. With Micrio, images of extremely high resolution (150,000 x 150,000 pixels) can be loaded into a website without affecting its speed.
The interactive De gezonken meesters is a prime example of the power of combining content and technology to tell a story.
