Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1039130
www.postmagazine.com 32 POST OCTOBER 2018 AR/VR LINKS TO SOME OF GEDULDICK'S LATEST WORK TRVLR Series on Discovery VR www.youtube.com/channel/UCfl1fku1XDoTi9NYPINxwpg/featured Gymkhana NINE VR www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjHws_EyoNI On Stage HuluVR Lil Wayne www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lib_f9ywgYk GoogleVR NYFW rag&bone www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7YRl19GCh4 (These can be viewed on HMD devices through Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, in addition to YouTube or Facebook 360.) How much data are you talking? "Data can scale quickly in both capture and when generating assets. Even though some of the cap- ture solutions are acquiring compressed formats, with some of the larger ones that can do RAW, we can capture in the terabytes if it is a multi-camera shoot. When you add in CG assets from [Maxon] Cinema4D, [Autodesk] Maya, 3D scan data and other sources, you can see your storage needs scaling with the projects." What do you use for storage? "I have been using a lot of the newer micro-SD\SD, SSD, Thunderbolt 3 and enterprise-level storage from G-Technology and SanDisk. That has been a solid part of my workflow for over 10 years now." Is there still a Wild West atmosphere associated with shooting in VR, or are there some best prac- tices that are universal at this point? "I can say there is still some sense of experi- mentation these days, but it has been maturing quickly. I can never say enough about the value of having a good team and pre-production or previs in place for your VR projects. Knowing your intended delivery up front can save a lot of pain points if you know what your viewing platform is — for instance, Oculus Go or Rift, HTC Vive, YouTube 360, Facebook 360 or a larger projection system. During downtimes, you should always test new workflows and systems, and shoot tests or projects to expand on what works and what doesn't work. The same goes for post, VFX and spatial audio mastering. I may not al- ways do a project end-to-end, but I like to know what happens between when I capture an image and when it ends up in front of a viewer — what has been done to it along the way. That probably comes from my background as an editor and visual effects artist." Why is shooting in VR still difficult, or do you not see it that way? "All aspects of creating images, be it a painting, a film or a VR project, have levels of difficulty. If there was not some kind of struggle or complexi- ty to it, if you didn't have to overcome something and learn from it in the process, it wouldn't be as rewarding. I like the challenge of solving prob- lems, and when you surround yourself with other talented people on your team, the end result is something you can be proud of. "VR as a whole is very much about the com- munity and sharing experiences. You have to ask the tough question 'Why?' When getting into a VR project. Are you pushing the medium forward with the project, or is it just checking off a box to say you have done one?" Generally, what are some of the biggest obstacles associated with shooting in VR at this time? "Costs, accessibility, ease of use and workflow are probably still the pain points. I think it's why we also see multiple companies still creating various approaches to capture devices, software solutions like stitching and depth correction and viewing platforms today." What is needed to get over these obstacles? "Well, we still have a few bumps in immersive media and in the mixed-reality space. We have adoption and availability of the content for the masses, the adoption of the platforms and the technology to serve up the experiences at acces- sible costs, as well as the companies and brands to back artists to fund the projects. I think we are getting there, as prices of VR technology come down from Oculus, HTC, Microsoft and others, in addition to new devices and platforms. One of the biggest things is education and showing the viability of immersive mediums like VR & AR. We need to educate large numbers of people to the potential of VR and mixed reality, which have so much far-reaching potential that we have not really broken through yet. Look at education, sci- ence and training in terms of immersive technol- ogy and platforms with an open mind and a little creativity, and you can get pretty excited where that can go." Does a VR shoot tend to take longer? "Not in all cases. We have been live-streaming and broadcasting VR for a number of years now. It Geduldick visiting South Africa. SHARKS