Everyone wants to come to this lovable hedgehog’s party now.
Oculus just won their first Emmy last night. The animated VR short film from Oculus Story Studio, Henry, won an Emmy for Outstanding Original Interactive Program.
Henry is a heartwarming comedy about a lovable hedgehog who longs for friendship but scares away other animals with his spikiness. The film is directed by Ramiro Lopez Dau, who has completed animation on films such as Pixar’s Brave and Monsters University, with narration from Elijah Wood. The short film premiered over a year ago in Los Angeles and is the second film coming out of Oculus Story Studio, Oculus’s interactive film studio.
We couldn’t have been more thrilled to celebrate with the team during last night’s celebration. This Emmy award recognizes creative achievement in interactive media and comes from the juried Emmy categories, where winning entries must earn unanimous approval from a panel of Interactive Media Peer Group professionals.
Ramiro Lopez Dau said in statement Thursday, “When we set out to make Henry, it was a step into the unknown world of making an emotional VR movie. While we didn’t know what the outcome was going to be, we were excited about the possibilities. We never anticipated that one of our first projects would be given such a distinction and this recognition is not only a testament to our team’s creative and technical achievements, but also a validation for the VR storytelling community as a whole. While Henry is just one step in the long journey ahead, we hope this moment inspires storytellers to bring their ideas to this new medium and help shape the future of VR storytelling.”
Although this is not the first Emmy nod for a VR experience, this is the first VR original narrative movie to ever win an Emmy. The first VR project to ever win an Emmy was last year, with a promotion for the Fox series Sleepy Hollow getting the nod for user experience and visual design. The Emmy award Henry won this year also previously went to a 360-degree music video for Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space.”
The Oculus Story Studio team is hard at work on their next project, Dear Angelica, a new type of illustrative VR filmmaking that is sure to get the industry’s attention.