“The Displaced” from the NY Times is a moving first VR experience for many

The first major VR documentary from the New York Times, “The Displaced”, is now available for viewing from several places.

You can watch it on Youtube, which is embedded in this post, or in the NYT’s new VR app (iPhone or Android). “The Displaced” is also available in the VRSE apps on Android, iPhone or in the Gear VR. If you own a Gear VR that would be my recommended way of seeing it because the head strap allows for more stable viewing than hand-holding a Cardboard. The video is about 329 megabytes.

Broad availability for the 11-minute panoramic video, along with distribution by the NY Times of 1 million Google Cardboards, means the documentary is one of the most easily accessible pieces of content made for the new medium. Combined with the reach of one of the world’s largest and most highly respected news organizations, the documentary is introducing a lot of people to basic VR for the first time with a hard hitting piece of journalistic content that can bring people to tears. The video shows an intimate look into the lives of three children displaced from their homes in war-torn regions. The video accompanies a multi-part article in the New York Times Magazine.

Here are some reactions from Twitter:

Before today, I never suspected VR would interest me, much less bring tears to my eyes. Incredible. #NYTVR

— Jenny Kutnow (@jennykutnow) November 8, 2015

Rufus, 9, utterly absorbed by @NYTmag‘s The Displaced – an extraordinary VR film. https://t.co/cXdlo5XrOC pic.twitter.com/YFAnK2JIUC

— Matt Willey (@MrMattWilley) November 7, 2015

Never have I been emotionally moved by a new technology. Until just now with my first taste of #NYTVR. Speechless. @google @nytimes — Ami Nahshon (@AmiNahshon) November 7, 2015

Woke up this morning and took a trip to Lebanon, Ukraine, and Sudan. Learned, cried. Future of journalism. #NYTVR pic.twitter.com/CZP3qqUjR9 — Udi Ofer (@UdiACLU) November 7, 2015

Well-done, @nytimes and @ge! Today’s @googlecardboard experience is fantastic! My kids loved it too! ?????? — Gregg Weiss (@greggweiss) November 7, 2015

“Whoaaa, bra! I think I need to sit down.” – 10-year-old kid’s mind blown by #NYTVR. “Why do we even have wars? We should not have wars.”

— Elizabeth Weil (@lizweil) November 8, 2015

Thanks @nytimes, it’s been awhile since I’ve sobbed into a cardboard box. #NYTVR — Topher McCulloch (@mugwumpian) November 8, 2015

Ian Hamilton

Ian Hamilton is a journalist based in Arkansas and managing editor at UploadVR. He's covered VR full-time since 2015 as well as Oculus VR since 2012. He is interested in the people creating VR and AR hardware and software, their motivations, and how that work affects the people who spend significant time in simulations. If you have information to pass along you can send him a direct message on Twitter, Facebook or via email.