Oculus Story Studio was an original animated virtual reality film studio that was a division of

Oculus VR Reality Labs is a business of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc.) that produces virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware and software, including virtual reality headsets such as Quest, and online platforms such as Horizon ...

. The studio was started by

to pioneer animated virtual reality filmmaking and educate, inspire, and foster community for filmmakers interested in VR. Story Studio was founded in 2014 by

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

veterans Saschka Unseld and Max Planck, as well as producer Edward Saatchi. The studio was publicly announced and premiered its first film, Lost, at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. In 2016 the studio's second film, ''

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

'', won the Emmy for Outstanding Original Interactive Program. Oculus announced in May 2017 that the studio had been closed.

Filmography

The studio produced three films before being shut down.

''Lost''

''Lost'' was the first film released by Oculus Story Studio. Directed by studio Creative Director Saschka Unseld. The film drops viewers in the middle of the woods at night to witness a robot searching for its misplaced hand.

''Henry''

Henry is the second film released by Oculus Story Studio, directed by Ramiro Lopes Dau and narrated by

Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) and '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' (2012). Woo ...

. ''Henry'' is the story of a hedgehog who has trouble making friends. Henry premiered at an event in Hollywood on July 28, 2015. ''Henry'' became the first original VR short to win the Emmy for Outstanding Original Interactive Program.

''Dear Angelica''

The third project from Oculus Story Studio, ''Dear Angelica'', premiered at the

2017 Sundance Film Festival The 2017 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to January 29, 2017. The first lineup of competition films was announced November 30, 2016. Awards The following awards were presented: * Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic – ''I Don't Feel at ...

. The film was directed by Saschka Unseld, produced by Edward Saatchi, illustrated by Wesley Allsbrook, and featured music by Drazen Bosnjak and

Sarah Jaffe Sarah Allison Jaffe (born January 29, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter from Denton, Texas. Known for her distinctively clear vocals, she has worked as a singer-songwriter across many musical genres, including acoustic-folk, indie pop and ...

. It stars

Geena Davis Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor

and

Mae Whitman Mae Margaret Whitman (born June 9, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She began acting in commercials as a child, making her film debut at the age of six in the romantic drama '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994). She achieved recognition as ...

in a "visually splendid and deeply human journey through memory, loss, and the magic of a valorous life." The film was animated entirely with the Oculus Quill, a VR drawing and sculpting application.

References

{{reflist American animation studios Defunct American film studios Virtual reality companies Entertainment companies based in California Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Companies based in Menlo Park, California Mass media companies established in 2014 Mass media companies disestablished in 2017 2014 establishments in California 2017 disestablishments in California Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Oculus VR Defunct software companies of the United States