David Attenborough and Meta today release another lavishly produced VR documentary exclusively for Meta Quest headsets.
Over the past few years, award-winning studio Atlantic Productions, with the help of David Attenborough and the support of Meta, has released a series of stunning VR documentaries that are among the best the VR film genre has to offer. From Micro Monsters to Kingdom of Plants and First Life to Conquest of Skies, these VR documentaries have garnered more than 3.2 million views to date.
Today sees the release of another VR documentary in collaboration with Meta and the famous British biologist and documentary filmmaker.
The studio describes Galapagos VR as follows:
"At a time of increasing turbulence across the Galapagos Islands, a consequence of the changing climate, Atlantic Productions and Meta bring meaningful attention to the area's extraordinary ecosystem through an immersive lens. In this latest installment of Atlantic’s innovative 3D 180° experiences, the award-winning series Galapagos with David Attenborough is brought to life in virtual reality, transporting audiences on a journey across time, evolution, and human impact.
From perching on craggy rocks beside Marine Iguanas and Blue-Footed Boobies, to swimming amongst 20-tonne Whale Sharks, and the climate’s most unlikely inhabitants, Galapagos Penguins, Meta Quest watchers find themselves within touching distance of some of the rarest creatures on the planet."
A novelty: The series introduces Quillustrations
Galapagos is the first VR documentary in the Attenborough series to use Quillustrations. These are spatial paintings drawn and animated in and for VR, bringing a dynamic narrative to the natural history storytelling genre. The 3D paintings depict volcanic eruptions, Charles Darwin's discovery of natural selection, and the Galapagos phytoplankton phenomenon.
A young Charles Darwin, drawn with the PC VR app Quill. | Image: Atlantic Productions
These spatial paintings were created by an international team: Samia Khalaf, a US-based artist with Lebanese-Palestinian roots; Zoe Röllin, a Swiss artist; and Ruxandra Popescu, a Romanian artist living in Ireland. VR artist Dan Franke has created the series intro in Quill, uniting the three artists’ distinct, yet cohesive styles across the production.
How to watch Galapagos VR in the best possible quality
Galapagos will be released today exclusively for Meta Quest. The VR documentary consists of three episodes, which, like previous works from the production house, are all available in 3D 180° and 8K resolution.
Commenting on the Galapagos while filming there for the series, David Attenborough said: “This small group of islands has revealed in microcosm the processes that have shaped all life on Earth. Unlike many other tropical islands elsewhere, 95% of Galapagos biodiversity still survives. But only just. We have the chance to bring back the full glory of this fragile ecosystem.”
Follow these steps to download and watch Galapagos in the best possible quality:
- Start the VR app Meta Quest TV.
- If you can't find the VR films straight away, enter 'David Attenborough' or 'Galapagos' in the search window at the top right. Scroll through the search results until you find the VR films.
- To view them in the best possible quality, proceed as follows: Click on the three dots in the image portrait and first select "Cache High Quality" and then "Cache".
- If you have done everything correctly, the respective movie will be downloaded in the best quality.
- Once the download is complete, click on "Your Media" in Meta Quest TV. After the download, the episode should appear here under "Cached Media". Click on it and enjoy the VR movies.
- If you want to delete the episode from the device, click on the three dots again and select "Delete from Cache" and then "Delete".
