'Sit Stand Smoke' VR 360 Experience Explores Seán Keating's Iconic Painting

Heritage were the production service team behind "SIT STAND SMOKE" a captivating 360 degree Virtual Reality (VR) experience delving into the origin of Seán Keating's iconic painting, "Men of the South (1921-22)." Transporting viewers to the tumultuous era of the Irish War of Independence, it unveils Keating's reflections on the early foundations of the Irish State and its decisions.

Above: Co-directors of Sit Stand Smoke, David Keating (centre) and Linda Curtin (right) with camera op Leonardo Soggiu. Picture: Tadhg Richardson 

Developed by co-artists Linda Curtin and David Keating (CURTIN // KEATING) grandson of the renowned painter, "SIT STAND SMOKE" commemorates a century since the acquisition of "Men of the South." Dr Éimear O’Connor, art historian and biographer was a vital asset in bringing this story to life both off screen as a story consultant and on screen as a newly initiated VR director casting actors for her first VR project. 

Funny, provocative, and poignant, SIT STAND SMOKE takes the viewer into the unexpected world of Dr Éimear O’Connor, art historian, biographer, and – in this narrative – a newly initiated VR director casting actors for her first VR project. Although full of challenges, VR does afford Éimear the opportunity to have a conversation with Seán Keating, played by his great-grandson, Jonathan Quinlan.

This VR experience features characters based on volunteers who appear in the painting – Jim Riordan, Denis O’Mullane, Jim Cashman, John Jones, Roger Kiely, and Dan Browne – all of whom were members of the Cork No.2 Brigade of the Irish Republican Army and came mainly from the Newmarket and Kiskeam area of County Cork. 

Sit Stand Smoke’s creators share an interest in telling stories through new technologies. Director Linda Curtin runs a company called Immersive Ireland, training people in VR production, while Keating helped write the screenplay for Jim Sheridan’s film, Into the West, and has also directed two feature films, The Last of the High Kings and Wake Wood. He currently lectures at the National Film School in Dublin. 

“We’ve been exploring advances in screen production for the last number of years,” said Linda. “We go to a lot of VR festivals, and we're very interested in how screen production is moving into a kind of spatial storytelling. We had a period of about a year where we were developing the script, playing, testing and prototyping for this project. It's been challenging, but it’s also been kind of magical.” (words from an interview with the Marc O’Sullivan Vallig, Irish Examiner 05.05.24).

Above: On set for the filming of the Men of the South project, Sit Stand Smoke. Picture: Tadhg Richardson

Heritage’s Emily Power and Gráinne Dwyer were the local producers for the film in the newly built West Cork Film Studio run by Edain O’Donnell who also worked as the production designer for this project and Stephen Park. 

Watch the producer interview here:

Throughout the process industry leading creatives came on board to see this project fruition such as Peter Collis, 360 camera operator Leo Avorio, volumetric capture artist Kazimir Bielecki, Emmy award winning sound recordist Danny Crowley all the way to post production with Khora Virtual Reality in Copenhagen. 

The exhibition had a very successful run in the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork City. We look forward to seeing the continued success of SIT STAND SMOKE.

The production was commissioned by Crawford Art Gallery as part of BUILDING AS WITNESS, supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012 - 2023. 

With additional support from Screen Ireland, Animation Ireland Innovation & Immersive Development Fund, Ballymore, BT Business, Cork Film Centre, and Immersive Ireland.