A closer look
Documentarians used to risk their lives trekking through active warzones; now they strap on a VR headset and interview emotional anime girls in virtual neon dive bars. Director Joe Hunting never once filmed his subjects in the physical world. Instead, he utilized in-game virtual camera tools to beautifully frame profound conversations about pandemic isolation, deaf culture, and human connection, all while his subjects were dressed as Kermit the Frog or giant robots. It utterly destroyed the stigma that digital spaces are meaningless, cementing machinima as a vital storytelling medium.
