Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1039130
www.postmagazine.com 31 POST OCTOBER 2018 AR/VR What are some of the VR films you have worked on, and in what capacity? "I have worked as a DP on some and as a director and technical supervisor on others. The proj- ects have been pretty broad in scope, including the TRVLR series for Discovery and Google, Gymkhana NINE VR for Ford Performance and Hoonigan, On Stage Lil Wayne VR for Hulu and Live Nation, and other projects for Intel, GoPro, Lionsgate and Epic Games." How does your workflow differ when you are film- ing a VR project? "I tend to look at a few variables when approach- ing VR projects. Is it live action, CG or a mix of both? I then look at the workflow backwards from the intended platform it will be viewed (experienced) on. Is it HMD (head-mounted displayed)-based, projected, location-based, mobile or all of the above? From some of these questions, I can build a plan on what creative and technological tools are available or need to be worked around for any given project." What type of equipment do you use for VR filming? "The equipment, as with a traditional 2D project, can vary greatly project to project. At times it could be a solution that is available from a partner at a rental house, something I have in my kit or a custom solution. In my kit, I have a few camer- as that I have been using: YI Halo, Insta360 Pro, Kandao Obsidian, ZCam S1 Pro, GoPro Fusion, Sony A7Ses, nodal-based Red Helium and Phantom Flex4K rigs. There are some smaller sys- tems that also fit certain use cases when there's tighter rigging situations where the bigger cams will not work. "I have done some split projects where we would be working with 2D teams, where there are two DPs — one on the traditional production and me on the VR side. It can get a little hectic trying to run both teams, and it takes some great support teams and ADs to keep things moving along." Why are there so many input sources for VR projects? "Sources vary depending on the capture technol- ogy. If you are using an all-in-one solution, like an Insta360 Pro, Kandao Obsidian or others, your input could be six input streams to multi-SD/mSD, or getting into some of the larger solutions can be up to 16 streams. It comes down to what your intend- ed capture use case needs. Do you need a plate or capture that has to hold up so it can span across multiple projectors, screens or high-fidelity HMD? If so, your baseline minimum could be 4K or 8K. It's not uncommon these days to capture spherical plates or pano assets that are larger than 20K in resolution. We have seen some of this for the larger locations at stadiums, malls, museums and events." Spherical shot on-location in Mexico. Jim Geduldick