"Space Explorers: Life in Orbit": filming VR in microgravity

In December 2018, TIME and Felix & Paul Studios launched virtual reality cameras---built to operate in microgravity---to the International Space Station. Since then, filming has documented astronauts from several countries in their daring missions more than 250 miles above Earth, capturing life in space as viewers have never truly seen before, and culminating in the first-ever spacewalk in cinematic virtual reality. Join Felix & Paul Studios, along with collaborators from NASA and the ISS National Lab, as they share insights from one of the most ambitious VR projects ever undertaken. In this production session, we will discuss the background of how this partnership came to be, before diving into the technical challenges of capturing cinematic virtual reality on the ISS. How do you direct a scene in such a tight and constrained place, especially while down on Earth? How can you transfer terabytes of data from the cameras to Mission Control? And finally, what does it take to build and operate cameras that can capture a spacewalk? The team will explore the variety of challenges inherent in such a groundbreaking project, from building a camera that can capture an EVA (extra-vehicular activity) in the extreme environment of space, to tracking and crafting months of astronaut footage into a cohesive episodic narrative. Finally, the team will share never-before-seen early footage from the project.