Obamas host farewell guided tour of the White House in VR
America’s first family have marked the final countdown to their White House departure by hosting a guided virtual reality tour of the most famous residence on the planet, granting unfettered access behind the security cordon for the curious.
The Obama administration worked in tandem with Felix and Paul Studios and Facebook’s Oculus team to deliver the experience which entailed months of behind the scenes filming around all corners of the famous 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue address.
The People’s White House will run to 20 minutes and includes commentary from the Obamas themselves within each of the iconic rooms, whilst taking a moment to explain how previous presidents made use of the building.
Filmmaker Félix Lajeunesse said: "It kind of feels like a natural progression of that to engage with virtual reality and try to make people feel what it's like to live in the White House. It's very transparent, very genuine. I think it fits with his personality and everything that he's done before."
Highlights of the tour include the Cabinet Room, Situation Room, Oval Office, Roosevelt Room and vice president Joe Biden's office, as well as a look at executive residences on the second and third floors.
An eight-minute edit of the film is available on Oculus VR headsets and Facebook 360-degree video ahead of a full release next year.