After making headlines following its premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film
Festival, held in late January in Salt Lake City, the innovative
documentary We Met in Virtual Reality is now showing on HBO
Max.
This particular project has attracted the attention of so many film
enthusiasts because it is set in its entirety within a virtual reality
environment. The film has been released under the HBO Documentary Films
distribution company and marks Joe Hunting’s directorial debut.
The new age of virtual reality
In recent years, virtual reality has gone from a remote possibility to a
tool widely available for gaming and virtual social interactions. Online
entertainment is currently facing a growing demand for immersive
experiences and engaging digital worlds. In this sense, video games, and
online platforms have sought to create complex new environments that can
captivate and entertain users. For instance, users accessing
online casino at Paddy Power Games
will find that they can join immersive and innovative game formats,
including live casino games. These games are hosted by real dealers
dealing cards and numbers in real-time and who also interact with players
joining in. But that's not all: huge technological endeavours such as the
metaverse are expected to rely heavily on VR to create a truly immersive
and fully-digital experience. In fact, Meta, formerly known as
Facebook, has been experimenting with virtual
reality for some time now.
Source:
Pexels
As a result, this new immersive wave, best represented by VR, has grown
into a highly interesting subject matter for anyone looking to explore new
forms of online interactions, virtual experiences, and how technology
can contribute to bringing people together.
Inside VR
We Met in Virtual Reality aims to precisely explore that. While the
documentary was shot within a VR chat it was filmed in real-time, with raw
and non-performed interactions and testimonies. The director’s goal was to
document a tale of real bonds and emotional connections experienced by VR
users while exploring an entirely virtual platform. The film also explores
issues related to loneliness, the human experience in online worlds, and
the power that immersive experiences could have in shaping the future of
the Internet.
This new documentary seeks to tell the story of different protagonists who
have, in some ways, found a new dimension to their lives by engaging with
virtual reality. The audience will discover the story of two couples who
interact using VR: DustBunny, a fitness and dance teacher who works on VR
Chats, and Toaster, her boyfriend; and DragonHeart and IsYourBoi, two
artists that got together after meeting on a VR dance community. Both
couples are committed to working on their relationships before they take
the next step of meeting their partners in the real world. In addition, we
also follow the life of Jenny, a dedicated and talented sign language
teacher whose goal is to set up a VR community for deaf and
hearing-impaired individuals.
Upon its release, the documentary was met with generally favourable
reviews, with critics pointing out that Hunting’s documentary showcases
the true power of VR and how digital worlds can transcend all boundaries
and limitations of reality. The documentary premiered on HBO Max on July
28 and has a runtime of just over 90 minutes.