Being nominated and winning an Oscar is a life changing event. It’s something people aspire to achieve their entire life. This year, the Oscars will feature three nominated films that have supplementary VR experiences. This further demonstrates that VR is starting to generate serious interest among the major studios.

We saw New Deal Studios release a compelling Interstellar experience that gives fans the opportunity to take a zero-gravity tour of the Endurance spacecraft.

Jaunt utilized their 360 video technology to create an experience for The Hobbit, which put fans in the Shire with Gandalf.

Created by our friends Felix & Paul, “Wild” puts you in the woods with Reese Witherspoon to experience her journey, hundreds of miles from civilization.

What excites me most about VR being associated to the Oscars is the credibility it establishes for the VR industry. When Oscar season rolls around next year, I’m sure we’ll see more nominees with supporting VR experiences. Who knows, maybe “Best VR Film” will be its own Oscar category in the near future.

Editors Update: one of three films listed above won Oscars this year! Here’s a break down of those awards. All of the nominees and awards can be found on the Oscars’ website.

Interstellar

Nominated for:

Visual Effects (Won) – Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher

Best Music for an Original Score – Hans Zimmer

Production Design

Sound Editing

Sound Mixing

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five ArmiesHobbit

Nominated for:

Sound Editing

Wild

Nominated for:

Actress in a Leading Role – Reese Witherspoon

Actress in a Supporting Role – Laura Dern

How to Train Your Dragon 2 was nominated for ‘Best Animated Feature Film’ and has a VR experiences as well. However, that film did not win an award.

[Photo Source: Polygon]