Unique view of Northside flats

AN INCREDIBLE new hi-tech documentary that uses 360° technology has captured O’Devaney Gardens in a way never seen before.

‘The Last Days of the Flats’, RTE Prime Time documentary that follows residents of the Northside flats complex is the first of its kind in Ireland.

It was filmed by Blanchardstown local, Mark Coughlan, who used ‘virtual reality’ cameras to document the Gardens from every possible angle.

Coughlan, and RTE researcher Conor Wilson, explored the flats from an unrestricted, non-manipulated perspective that lets the viewer decide what they see, and not the director.

“I came across the technology online and I was wondering how could I tell stories using this online?” Coughlan told Northside People.

“I was at a Mojo conference and I saw a couple of packages there that kind of clicked with me and I thought we could do something really interesting with this if we got the right story.

“The editor [in Prime Time] mentioned that we should do a story on the O’Devaney Gardens and I said ‘why don’t we do it in 360?’”

RTE quickly sanctioned the report and Coughlan and Wilson set out to tell the story of the Gardens in the most objective, non-biased way they possibly could.

“The 360° brings people to a place rather than direct them to it with cameras,” added Coughlan.

“We place the camera down and we’re showing people and letting them come to their own conclusions as to whether the conditions are okay for people to be living in, or whether they’ve been left to ruin.

“We’re not directing them to a broken window; if there’s a broken window they can see a broken window, and the window beside that, and the window across the other side as well. People can make their own call on it.”

The interactive documentary allows desktop, smartphone and tablet users follow Coughlan and Wilson through the flats and view its surroundings from their point of view, as well as from the residents’ perspective. There’s no lighting, special effects or tailored editing; essentially, the audience sees what’s actually there.

It’s the first documentary of its kind in Ireland and Coughlan said the inspiration to shoot it came from the emptiness of a social housing estate that once housed up to 300 people.

The ‘camera’ consists of a hard-plastic casing that houses six individual cube-shaped GoPro Hero 4Session cameras, which record a section of the surrounding area with each individual camera lens. The six recordings are ultimately combined to paint a 360° picture of the area filmed.

The flats used to house upwards of 300 residents but now there are just 11 flats remaining with Dublin City Council planning to demolish the remainder to make way for a new development of some 400 homes.

The council plans to demolish two blocks this year and the rest will be destroyed when the tenants have been relocated.

REPORT: Jack O’Toole