VR Documentary Archives

In celebration of the historic Moon landing, which took place on July 20th, 1969, Felix & Paul Studios and TIME released the latest installment of Space Explorers, a VR docuseries that lets you experience the final frontier from both inside and outside the International Space Station (ISS).

Called Expand, the new episode in the series lets you join along with the ISS crew as they prepare to close the hatch behind them for the last time as a year-long mission comes to an end.

Much like back on Earth, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a monkey wrench into the works though, and in their case it’s the return that’s seen complications. But that’s not all. Here’s how Felix & Paul describe it in a Meta blog post:

“They leave knowing the work they accomplished on the ISS will help all those who will come after them to expand the horizon of deep space exploration. Sights are set to getting back to the moon with the ultimate goal of Mars. With the realization of commercial space flight, expansion is now closer than ever. The episode – and series – culminate with the first-ever spacewalk filmed in ultra high-resolution cinematic virtual reality.”

And that space walk isn’t filmed with just any 360 camera; Felix & Paul capture the action with a custom-fitted ‘Outer Space Camera’ built on a Z-Cam V1 Pro camera consisting of nine 4K sensors allowing for a 3D, a 360-degree image at 8K resolution.

The Outer Space Camera is attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm, which lets you see space like few ever had—and without the danger of braving the extreme external temperatures which can range from -250° F to +250° F (-155° C to +121° C).

The multipart series is available to watch for free on Oculus TV for the Meta Quest platform as well as via the Space Explorers app available for download on the Quest Store.

A new documentary that was filmed entirely in VR is coming to HBO later this month that focuses on the individuals and communities growing in social VR spaces.

Created by director Joe Hunting and premiered at 2022 Sundance Film Festival, We Met in Virtual Reality explores the lives of real VR users who met in VRChat and their experiences living on the platform.

VRChat is one of the most popular social VR platforms thanks to its ability to allow custom avatars and user-generated content such as rooms and experiences. The platform, which is available on Quest and PC VR headsets, is also free as well as being open to non-VR users on PC.

The film is said to reveal “the growing power and intimacy of several relationships formed in the virtual world, many of which began during the COVID-19 lockdown while so many in the physical world were facing intense isolation.”

The film follows a few people on their journey through VR, such as Jenny, an American Sign Language (ASL) teacher who’s dedicated to building a welcoming community for deaf and hard of hearing VRChat users. The film also follows a number of long distance relationships sparked and maintained in VRChat. A fitness dance instructor named ‘DustBunny’ talks about building a career in social VR dance classes.

The creators say the film has “elements of humor, serendipitous interactions and unexpected events that characterize real life.”

“We Met in Virtual Reality tenderly documents the stories of people experiencing love, loss and unexpected connection, expressing vulnerability around mental health struggles and questions about identity, offering a hyper-real journey into the human experience of an online world that may soon shape the future,” the film’s description reads.

We Met in Virtual Reality debuts on July 27th on HBO (schedule here), and will also be available to stream on HBO Max.