Félix Lajeunesse
Félix Lajeunesse | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2004–present |
Félix Lajeunesse is a Canadian film director, writer, and producer, and virtual reality director.[1][2] He is the co-founder and chief creative officer at Felix & Paul Studios.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Lajeunesse was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. He graduated with a film production degree from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema at Concordia University.[4]
Career
[edit]In 2013, Lajeunesse co-founded Felix & Paul Studios with Paul Raphaël and Stéphane Rituit. The studio's first VR film, "Strangers with Patrick Watson," was released that same year, marking an early entry into cinematic VR storytelling.[5][6]
Since then, Lajeunesse has co-directed over 30 immersive experiences, including collaborations with notable figures and institutions.[7]
Notable works
[edit]Some of Lajeunesse's notable works include:
- "The People's House," a collaboration with former President Barack Obama[8]
- "Traveling While Black," created with filmmaker Roger Ross Williams[9]
- "Space Explorers: The ISS Experience," a documentary series filmed aboard the International Space Station[10]
Immersive installation
[edit]Lajeunesse acted as creative director for "Space Explorers: The Infinite," a location-based VR experience co-created by Felix & Paul Studios and PHI Studio that launched in Montreal in 2021.[11][12] This free-roaming exhibit invites visitors to experience life aboard the International Space Station.
Since its launch, "Space Explorers: The Infinite" has toured various locations, including:
Awards and recognitions
[edit]Lajeunesse has received various accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards for The People's House: Inside the White House with Barack and Michelle Obama and for Space Explorers: The ISS Experience.[18][19]
Lajeunesse has also gained significant industry recognition for his work.
- In 2015, he was named in the Creativity 50 list by AdAge.[20]
- In 2016, he was included in Fast Company's list of 100 most creative people in business,[21] and was also named one of the 30 Execs to Watch by Variety.[22]
- In 2024, he was inducted into the XR Hall of Fame by AWE.[23]
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: The Seven Ravens | Yes | Yes | Interactive AR experience |
| 2021-2023 | Space Explorers: The Infinite | Yes | Yes | Large-scale interactive touring exhibit - 60 minutes |
| 2020-2022 | Space Explorers: The ISS Experience | Yes | Yes | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | Traveling While Black | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR documentary film |
| 2019 | Marshall From Detroit | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR documentary film |
| 2018 | Space Explorers: The Journey Begins | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR documentary series |
| 2018 | Jurassic World: Blue | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR fiction film |
| 2017 | Cirque du Soleil: Dreams of 'O' VR | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR fiction film |
| 2017 | The People's House: Inside the White House with Barack and Michelle Obama | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR documentary film |
| 2017 | Miyubi | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR fiction film |
| 2017 | Cirque du Soleil: Through the Masks of Luzia | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR fiction film |
| 2017 | The Confessional | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR documentary series |
| 2016 | Nomads | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR documentary series |
| 2016 | Cirque du Soleil: KÀ The Battle Within | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR fiction film |
| 2016 | Through the Ages: President Obama Celebrates America's National Parks | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR documentary film |
| 2015 | Inside the Box of Kurios | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR fiction film |
| 2015 | Jurassic World: Apatosaurus | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR fiction film |
| 2015 | Wild: The Experience | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR film |
| 2015 | Inside Impact: East Africa with President Clinton | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR documentary film |
| 2015 | Lebron James: Striving for Greatness | Yes | Yes | 5 episodes |
| 2014 | Introduction to Virtual Reality | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR documentary film |
| 2014 | Strangers with Patrick Watson | Yes | Yes | Immersive 360 3D VR documentary film |
| 2013 | The Sparkling River | Yes | Yes | 3D fiction film |
| 2009 | Tusarnituuq! Nagano in the Land of the Inuit | Yes | Yes | 2D documentary film |
| 2009 | Tungijuq | Yes | Yes | 2D documentary film |
As editor
[edit]- Before Tomorrow (2008)
- The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (2006)
As cinematographer
[edit]- Uvanga (2013)
- Before Tomorrow (2008)
Awards and nominations
[edit]| Year | Result | Award | Category | Work | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Won | VR Awards | VR Film of the Year | Spacewalkers Extended | [24] |
| Won | Webby Awards | Metaverse, Immersive & Virtual Technical Achievement | Spacewalkers Extended | [25] | |
| 2022 | Nominated | South by Southwest | Innovation Award | The Infinite | [26] |
| Won | Canadian Screen Awards | Best Immersive Experience, Nonfiction | Space Explorers: The ISS Experience | [27] | |
| 2021 | Won | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Interactive Program | [19] | |
| Won | Webby Awards | Science & Education and Best VR Video | [28] | ||
| 2020 | Won | Canadian Screen Awards | Best Immersive Experience, Fiction | Gymnasia | [29] |
| Won | Best Immersive Experience, Nonfiction | Traveling While Black | |||
| Won | FIPADOC | SMART Award | [30] | ||
| Won | Webby Awards | best Documentary (Immersive And Mixed Reality) | [31] | ||
| 2019 | Won | B3 Biennial of the Moving Image | Best VR/AR/MR | Gymnasia | |
| Won | Manchester Animation Festival | Best VR Short Film | [32] | ||
| Won | Ottawa International Animation Festival | Best VR Animation | |||
| Won | Webby Awards | Best Video - Best Branded CInematic or Pre-Rendered | Isle of Dogs: Behind the Scenes in VR | [33] | |
| Won | People's Voice | ||||
| 2018 | Won | Canadian Screen Awards | Best Immersive Experience | Miyubi | [34] |
| 2017 | Won | Peabody Awards | Virtual Reality/360 | [35] | |
| Won | South by Southwest | Special Jury Recognition | Dreams of 'O' | [36] | |
| Won | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Interactive Program | The People's House | [18] | |
| Won | Canadian Screen Awards | Best Immersive Experience | Nomads | [37] | |
| 2016 | Won | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Interactive Media - Original Daytime Program or Series | Inside the Box of Kurios | [38] |
References
[edit]- ^ "Félix Lajeunesse: What it's like to film VR on the ISS". siliconrepublic.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "The virtual reality creator". concordia.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Montreal VR studio teams up with NASA, Russia to send you into space". montrealgazette.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema grads win top international awards". concordia.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Strangers with Patrick Watson". MIT Open Documentary Lab. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Felix & Paul Studios is virtual reality's savior". The Verge. 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Felix Lajeunesse - XP Land". xp.land. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "President Obama Narrates "The People's House" Virtual Reality Tour of the White House". Obama White House Archives. 2017-01-13. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Traveling While Black: An Immersive VR Experience by Award-Winning Director Roger Ross Williams Now Touring the U.S." Los Angeles Sentinel. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Space film VR project set to beam Sony cameras outside the ISS". The Register. 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "The Infinite Is The Closest You'll Get To Space". VR Scout. 2021-07-08. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Virtual reality show brings Montrealers aboard the International Space Station". CTV News. 2021-07-30. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Interactive exhibit The Infinite takes Vancouver audiences to outer space this fall". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "The Infinite immerses Houstonians in a virtual space odyssey". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Space Explorers: The Infinite' at Denver Center lets visitors experience space in virtual reality". CBS News Colorado. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Charlotte's first virtual reality experience opens this week". Axios Charlotte. 2024-10-02. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "I became an astronaut on the ISS thanks to Science Centre Singapore's Space Explorers: The Infinite experience". SG Magazine. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ a b "The People's House - Inside The White House With Barack And Michelle Obama". emmys.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ a b "Outstanding Interactive Program - 2021". emmys.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Creativity 50 2015: Félix Lajeuneusse & Paul Raphaël". adage.com. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Most Creative People in Business 2016". fastcompany.com. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "Digital Entertainment Execs to Watch". variety.com. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "AWE XR Hall of Fame". awexr.com. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
- ^ "7th Edition Winners & Finalists". vrawards.aixr.org/winners-and-finalists-. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ^ "Space Explorers: Spacewalkers Extended". winners.webbyawards.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Announcing the 2022 SXSW Innovation Awards Finalists". sxsw.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Canadian Screen Awards: Winners Announced In Sports Programming, Digital & Immersive Categories". etcanada.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Science Education, Virtual & Remote 2021". winners.webbyawards.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Canadian Screen Awards 2020: Non-Fiction Winners Revealed". etcanada.com. May 25, 2020. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Two prizes for digital creation at Fipadoc 2020". institutfrancais.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Here are all the winners of the 2020 Webby Awards". theverge.com. May 20, 2020. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "PAST WINNERS". manchesteranimationfestival.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Isle of Dogs Behind the Scenes (in Virtual Reality)". winners.webbyawards.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Miyubi wins best interactive experience at Canadian Screen Awards". cbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "Miyubi". peabodyawards.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "SXSW Film Festival Announces 2017 Audience and Virtual Cinema Jury Award Winners" (PDF). sxsw.com. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "CBC web series score wins as Canadian Screen Awards celebrate all things digital". cbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ "'Sesame Street' & Others Honored At Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards: See The Complete Winners List". indiewire.com. April 30, 2016. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
External links
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