Welcome back to IFC!
I have not seen a video of this new mode yet, but I personally wrote about my experience here.
Technically you do not need to be part of a VA. But being a part of a VA takes some of the work out in terms of finding an organization to join.
If you choose not to go the VA route, you can make your own organization or join an organization not tied to a VA. The latter is a bit harder to find until you have access to Live.