Touching the Sky VR: Experience flight

Available exclusively on Meta Quest, Touching the Sky VR is the result of more than two years of work, combining cutting-edge virtual reality technology, incredible athletic skill, meticulous planning and the raw power of nature. The goal? To capture the true feeling of flight, allowing viewers to experience what it’s really like to soar through some of the world’s most breathtaking skies.

To bring the experience of flight to life, the team behind Touching the Sky VR had to develop entirely new filming techniques. Custom-built 3D-360 cameras were created specifically for the project, designed to capture every angle while keeping the sensation of flight as real and immersive as possible.

“The biggest challenge was in freefall, to fly with such a camera,” explains Fugen. “It took a lot of work to collaborate with the drone pilots who were in the helicopter. You had to adapt and synchronise together to do the jumps and freefalls. We didn’t have much training together [beforehand], so combining our skillsets was challenging.”

For Fugen, whose passion has expanded from parachuting into BASE jumping, wingsuit flying and speed riding, this project demanded a new level of precision – not just for safety and performance, but for the revolutionary technology capturing every moment.

The production took the crew to some of the world’s most stunning and remote locations. They filmed in the iconic peaks of Zermatt, Switzerland, the towering Mont Blanc massif on the French-Italian border, and the jagged spires of the Dolomites in northern Italy. The most challenging destination, however, was in Pakistan, deep in the Karakoram mountain range.

In Pakistan, the team operated from Payu basecamp, navigating a 440km glacier field by helicopter. Pilots had to carefully time their flights with thermal air currents to avoid stopping. One of the standout locations was the Great Trango Tower, a massive granite peak rising 6,286m (20,623ft). Known as a legendary spot for big-wall climbing, it became the dramatic backdrop for capturing breathtaking aerial footage.

The production relied heavily on the incredible flying skills of athletes Fugen and Durogati. “I felt responsible for the whole team when we were flying,” Durogati explains, reflecting on the pressure of the project.

“What’s the trajectory? What’s the angle of attack?” These questions, posed by Fugen during production, highlight the complex choreography required for every flight sequence. While the pilots performed jaw-dropping stunts, the camera crews worked in tricky and sometimes risky positions, waiting for the perfect moment when safety, visibility, and precision all lined up.

Touching the Sky VR combines groundbreaking technology with the unstoppable human drive to chase the impossible. The film doesn’t just showcase the stunning visuals of soaring through the air – it captures the deep emotional connection to flying in a way that’s never been done before.

“The footage is just incredible. It’s the most mesmerising thing I’ve ever watched in a [VR] headset. It’s meditative. It’s beautiful. It’s intense. It’s every emotion possible. When I put it in the headset, it feels just as goosebumpy and impressive as it did when I was there,” reminisces Griffith.