Photoplay’s Jasmin Tarasin directs a ride like no other with Ghost Train launch for Sydney Festival

Photoplay director Jasmin Tarasin is inviting audiences to take a trip through the inner workings of the mind in ‘Ghost Train‘ her latest artistic collaboration, a multi-sensory VR project set to feature at this year’s Sydney Festival.

Working alongside co-creative director, Jonnine Standish and Melbourne VR artists, Joe Hamilton and Patrick Hamilton, with a music score by Mika Vainio and HTRK, this world premiere season of “Ghost Train” is a uniquely immersive combination of VR, narrative adventure film, ethereal images and haunting music packaged into a traditional ghost train carnival ride.

The VR journey travels through rooms of the mind and finishes with a ‘choose your own adventure’ story that takes visitors to either purgatory or bliss. From the moment you step into the physical train carriage and put on the Samsung Gear VR Headset, you are transported into a world that explores the theme of self-displacement and how in the blink of an eye, you can make a decision that can affect the rest of your life.

Says Tarasin: “Jonnine and I wanted to explore a ghost train of the mind, a psychological journey that maps out how the mind works and how we make choices, so the imagery your eye focuses on, and the directions you choose to look, will make decisions on the actual course of the train ride itself.”

Instead of using the 360-camera, often employed in VR, Tarasin alongside DOP Katie Milwright, worked with the RED camera to map out the storyboards and to ensure the project had the same cinematic aesthetic that influences her commercial film work.

The first original VR concept of its kind to be developed in Australia, produced by Liza McLean, Ghost Train provides an opportunity to showcase the works of numerous artists in a unique multi-platform project. It marks the second multi-scale installation that Tarasin has delivered for Sydney Festival. Her first installation Live (2011) explored the art of performance and featured musicians including Juliette Lewis, Jarvis Cocker, and Martha and Rufus Wainwright.

Says Oliver Lawrance, executive producer, Photoplay: “Jasmin is a truly interdisciplinary artist, just as comfortable with interactive platforms as film direction. She has a strong vision within which her art and commercial work both thrive and we are super pleased to see her talents come together in this highly immersive project.”

Photoplay has 20 complimentary tickets for any agency creatives or producers who’d like to attend Ghost Train at the Sydney Festival, just email Oliver Lawrance EP on oliver@photoplay.co.

Creative Directors: Jonnine Standish & Jasmin Tarasin 

Featuring: Rachel Rutt, Nynno Bel Air, Henry Charles Law, Rowan Oliver, Karina Utomo, Zeina Thiboult & Arlo Jack