A new VR series offers an exclusive look at Felix & Paul Studios’ decade-long work in VR filmmaking.
Félix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphaël founded the Canadian studio, which just marked its tenth anniversary.
Over the last decade, the Emmy Award-winning production firm has produced a number of memorable VR films. These include the VR feature film Miyubi, which follows an American family through the eyes of a toy robot; a tour of the White House with Michelle and Barack Obama in The People’s House; and the one-of-a-kind space documentary Space Explorers: The ISS Experience, which was shot both inside and outside the International Space Station.
Felix & Paul Studios has also collaborated with Bill Murray, Brie Larson, Eminem, Jeff Goldblum, LeBron James, and a number of other celebrities.
Filmed with Canon’s VR lens
Inside Felix & Paul Studios is a VR documentary made up of eight segments that last between seven and eight minutes each. Six have already been issued. I watched them on Meta Quest.
The documentary is accessible in 180-degree stereoscopic format on Meta Quest TV or YouTube, and links to it are provided at the conclusion of this page.
The documentary was shot on a Canon EOS R5 C camera and Canon’s VR lens, the RF 5.2mm F2.8L Dual Fisheye. This combo captures 180-degree stereoscopic footage in 8K at 60 frames per second, and the results are amazing when seen through a Quest headset.
The studio’s next big goal is to accompany the next journey to the moon
The documentary focuses on many facets of VR film creation, such as camera technology, sound design, and post-processing of 360-degree video.
The first episode explores the studio’s beginnings and history, as well as the motivations of its founders. The founders regard the sense of presence as the distinguishing feature of VR movies above other formats, which is the sensation of being physically there in a location. Every scene and film made by the studio revolves on this element.
The second part focuses on the debut of Artemis I, which the company livestreamed into VR headsets. It demonstrates the considerable work the crew expended in documenting this historic event.
With Space Explorers, the studio tracked astronauts both on Earth and on the ISS. The next stage will be to use virtual reality to immortalize prospective moon trips. The aim is that VR cameras will be present when humans return to the moon.
Watch Inside Felix & Paul Studios with Meta Quest
Episode 3 examines each of the cameras created particularly for virtual reality filming by the studio’s engineer. You’ll see how cameras, and hence image quality, have progressed over time. Special emphasis is placed on the 360-degree camera, which was used to record in open space and had to survive extreme temperature variations.
In two further episodes, the studio highlights the importance of sound design in VR films as well as the complexities of post-production for 360-degree video. Each step is described and displayed.
Inside Felix & Paul Studios is an intriguing VR documentary, even if you’ve never seen any of the production company’s VR flicks. The documentary, like the films, addresses universal human concerns while showcasing pioneers of a new art form and cinematic technology at work.
Inside Felix & Paul Studios may be watched on Meta Quest TV or using the VR software Youtube VR on YouTube (Playlist). Instead than watching individual episodes, I recommend caching them with Meta Quest TV for the greatest image quality.
