Within

Virtual reality firm Within has released the first episode in a five-part original series titled “The Possible,” which provides viewers with a 360-degree perspective into some of the latest scientific and technological breakthroughs.

The series, Within’s first attempt at producing original content, is available on Within’s app and watchable via a smartphone VR setup like Samsung’s Gear VR. Veteran filmmaker David Gelb, who helmed the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” and created Emmy-nominated Netflix series “Chef’s Table,” is directing the series, which aims to bring VR into a serialized format similar to a TV show and build a dedicated audience. June Cohen is the executive producer.

The first episode of “The Possible,” titled “Hello, Robot,” provides an inside look into the lab of Boston Dynamics, a robotics design firm owned by Google parent Alphabet Inc. It is available on Within’s app as of 6 a.m. PT / 9 a.m. ET on Thursday. The final episode will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in April.

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GE is providing financial backing to the series and has also created a companion VR film appended to the end of each episode. Mashable, the series’ presenting partner, will create two of its own video series tied to specific themes in “The Possible” in addition to a larger VR world to accompany its launch. Here Be Dragons is the production company behind “The Possible” and the Sloan Foundation is providing financial support for the computer-generated animation sued in the series.

These Virtual-Reality Films at Tribeca Hint How Far VR Can Go (Photos)

Short film "Sens" is the first project to adapt a graphic novel into a virtual reality.
Joan E. Solsman
"Sens" leads viewers on a black-and-white journey, in which the point of view alternates between exploring a strange landscape through the main character's eyes and floating above the character, watching him do things like grip an edge of a cliff.
Sens
"Deep VR" combines a underwater fantasy world with a specialized belt the viewer wears around the waist, which monitors deep breathing. You control your movement in the experience by breathing in and out deeply, causing an initial rush of oxygen to the brain followed by a Zen-like meditative calm as you continue to play.
Joan E. Solsman
"Deep VR" is set in an underwater seascape, and is meant to explore the ways in which VR can change our relationship with both body and mind.
Joan E. Solsman
"The Turning Forrest" is a virtual-reality tale that takes viewers on a journey with a fantasy beast. At the Tribeca Film Fest's main hub, the creators bring viewers into hut before immersing them in the experience.
Joan E. Solsman
"The Turning Forrest" is a fully computer-generated movie, but the creators combined the viewing of it with a rumble pack that viewers wear to feel percussions that match the action.
BBC R&D / VRTOV
"Notes on Blindness" is a VR film that images the internal visions of John Hull, who -- after losing his sight in 1983 -- began recording an audio-diary documenting his discovery of “a world beyond sight.” His original recordings form the basis of this interactive experience, which uses real time 3D, virtual reality, and binaural sound to explore the interior world of blindness.
"Notes on Blindness"
"6X9: An Immersive Experience of Solitary Confinement" attempts to explain the effects solitary confinement of prisons, people who spend 22-24 hours a day in their cells, with little to no human contact.
Joan E. Solsman
"6x9" put virtual-reality viewers inside a cell, to hint at how the sensory deprivation prisoners live with can cause psychological damage.
Guardian