The Client

Our Future on Earth is an organization whose mission is to accelerate the transition to a sustainable and socially just future. It does this for businesses, civil society organizations, governments, and educational institutions through the following programs (10 to 500 participants):

• VR Workshop Our Future on Earth.
• VR College Tour Our Future on Earth.
• VR Theater Tour Our Future on Earth.

In these two-hour programs, the VR film plays a central role. In it, participants experience the overview effect. This is the phenomenon astronauts experience when viewing Earth from space, which inspires many of them to become environmental ambassadors. Because they have not only seen, but truly felt, that our Earth is beautiful yet incredibly fragile. And that there is no Planet B anywhere else. This creates a deeply personal sense of connection and commitment to take action for a livable future. For more information, please visit www.ourfutureonearth.com!

The Challenge

For years, our client used their trusted “VR Earth from Space” 180° video during their talks. The challenge was to completely update the journey visually and audibly, making the trip more beautiful and powerful than ever before. Furthermore, maintaining a strict 30-minute video presented a significant technical hurdle, as rendering high-resolution VR at that length demands massive computational time and resources.

The Solution

An updated, high-quality 3D VR video journey built completely from scratch, of 30 minutes long. By using Unreal Engine, we created the whole space journey to show realistic planets, beautiful lighting and accurate data. Rendered in a wide 180° and 360° VR format, the video changes viewers from watchers into space observers. This safe, seated simulation allows people to experience the vastness of space and see the direct visual results of climate damage on Earth. Even though the full VR video is 30 minutes long, it passes quickly because the experience is immersive, meditative and easy to watch. To handle the rendering, we optimized our process to make updates as smooth as possible, but long rendering times were unavoidable for such a high quality and long VR video project.

Evaluation and Impact

After the virtual space journey, participants are asked to remain seated for a few moments with their eyes closed. They are invited to reflect on their thoughts and feelings experienced during the video, which are then shared and discussed together. The responses are saved (anonymously) and analyzed. Results from the first thousand participants show that the emotional and cognitive effects reported by astronauts due to the overview effect are also reported by a majority of participants after the virtual space flight.

Although we do not use quizzes or tests for this project, we measure success based on the audience’s reactions and emotions. The video ends with a quiet moment where text on screen asks viewers to remove their headset while keeping their eyes closed for a few minutes. This intentional silence gives the speaker the opportunity to start the presentation with an audience that is focused, calm, and ready to discuss green initiatives centered around sustainability, eco-friendly living, and climate change awareness. Through specialized presentations and lectures, they inform leaders and the public about the real dangers of global warming. Their primary goal is to transform cold facts about climate change into a deeply personal feeling, inspiring people to take genuine action for a greener future.