Going into our second session we took a look at content presented in a 360° environment.
Practical Exercise
During this session we used InstaONE cameras to film our own 360° footage. Throughout the course of this discussion we found many ways in which 360° content could be useful, namely within the field of interactivity. When shooting in this format we used the 360° cameras to shoot a scene in our row, with a person positioned at every quarter of the image. When we ingested the footage & put it into the preview software, we were able to pan around to each person. While only a basic proof of concept, what this demonstrates is that 360° content has a layer of engagement for the audience that regular content does not afford. Because of this, applying it to traditional forms of media such as drama which rely on focusing the viewer to certain areas of the screen.
Uses in Industry
Aside from creating 360° content, Virtual reality can be a practical use case for this technology, especially within the context of CGI. when creating a production, virtual reality is often a cheap and efficient way for both directors and actors to preview and navigate digital objects in real time on large VFX heavy productions such as Avatar or The Mandalorian. Following from this, 360° content is extremely immersive for viewers and so can provide a further sense of realism for audiences. This has been used in music videos such as Avicii’s waiting for love, where viewers can look at dancers at random intervals all around them providing a larger factor of immersion.