Gorgeous VR Short Film Lets You Explore Yosemite National Park Without Visiting

Today's the 100th birthday of the National Park Service, and to commemorate it, Oculus VR teamed up with National Geographic and Felix and Paul Studios to create a 360-degree short film showing off Yosemite National Park.

President Obama both narrates and appears in the movie, titled Through the Ages. The 11-minute film is shot entirely using 360-degree cameras by Felix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphael, a filmmaking duo that specializes in virtual reality. It's viewable on National Geographic's Facebook page, but if you want the full VR cinematic experience, you can watch it using a Gear VR headset. Check out the non-VR 360-degree video below.

Using beautiful timelapse footage of the park, the film discusses the history of the National Park Service and, more specifically, Yosemite. Obama also appears in the film conversing with a park ranger about his initiatives to preserve more land and make it easier for children to visit.

In my opinion, it's a pretty amazing use of VR tech and one of the better-made VR films I've seen yet. The footage used is stunning, often overlooking Yosemite Valley. Pictures and normal video don't do Yosemite justice, but this film--especially if viewed in a headset--gets pretty close to capturing the feeling of being alone in the park, surrounded by nature.

It's currently free on the Gear VR store, and it'll soon be available for the Oculus Rift, as well. If you own a Gear VR, you can pick it up here.

This is one of the many VR film projects that have been announced; Ubisoft, for example, is currently working on a VR experience for the upcoming Assassin's Creed film.