Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/691968
Drones 28 cgw m ay . j u n e 2 0 1 6 Generating a Buzz DRONES CAPTURE FLYOVER FOOTAGE FOR A UNIQUE VR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN BY KAREN MOLTENBREY W hat happens when creatives and artists use two of today's cutting-edge technologies – unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and virtual reality – to create an advertising campaign? The innova- tive and buzz-worthy "The Art of Patron: VR Experience." New York agency Firstborn, which had developed VR initiatives for a number of iconic brands in the past, did so again, this time for spirits maker Patron. Working with various partners, including Direc- tor Mark Kudsi (aWhiteLabelcompany) and Legend VR, the group devised an interactive tour that takes viewers through the tequila-making process – from the viewpoint of a virtual bee as it flies across agave fields and through the Patron distillery. The goal of the virtual-reality experience, which is being used at Patron-sponsored road shows, is to educate the public about the handcraed process used to make the tequila, providing a firsthand experience from the point of view of Patron's signature bumblebee as a guide. "We developed a creative concept around the Patron bee, an iconic part of Patron's identity, as well as a natural part of the tequila-making process," explains Seth Tabor, Firstborn's vice president of content development. The project was fun and unique, but groundbreaking as well, with Firstborn and Legend using drones to film most of the shots, and then devising new techniques for merging the spot's live-action footage and computer graphics into one seamless, moving, 360-de- gree VR experience. At the time, this had never been done before, and it presented many production challenges. "There was a lot of cool technology used for the project," says Matt Akey, executive vice president at Legend, which has extensive expertise in stereo conversion and integrated VFX. SKY-HIGH VIEW "The Art of Patron" is a longer-form advertisement that provides a four-minute, unedited journey to Patron's Hacienda and distill- ery, where people are handling batches [of tequila] throughout the distilling process, similar to bees in a hive, but systematically and organized, says Akey. The film footage needed to be from "bee's-eye" level, and the best – and, most likely, only – way to achieve that was through the use of a UAV. A customized drone from Aerial MOB in Carlsbad, California, was used to film on location in Mexico, with a local group there enlisted to operate the drone. Legend, meanwhile, rigged the UAV with its own 360-degree camera system needed for the VR aspect. According to Akey, the group used GoPro cameras mounted onto a seven-camera rig they had developed, and shot at 60 frames per second in 4k resolution. The cameras were lightweight, thus making the drone as nimble as possible so it would mimic a bee in flight. In addition, Legend developed a proprietary node that stabilizes all the cameras on the drone, ensuring a steady image from each. "Basically it's a rotation killer," says Akey of the soware called R-Kill, which digitally removes all rotation from a VR rig's motion, whether it is mounted to a car or being flown on a UAV. "It gives you a set horizon line and allows you to have a clear, processed view of all the cameras." As Akey explains, a UAV bobs and weaves, jostling the lenses of the cameras onboard. R-Kill post-processing soware is used aer the images are captured, so it will work with any UAV camera footage. In essence, it locks those cameras in place, so the camera footage is consistent per shot, as opposed to footage from each having a slight range of motion. As a result, all the cameras produce one fluid motion. "The tool was integral to the VR project," Akey says, noting the company is in the process of patenting the soware. With the exception of two instances, all the shots used for "The Art of Patron" came from the UAV footage. This includes outdoor sequences of agave field flyovers and indoor sequences throughout the Patron Hacienda and production facility. Prior to filming, Legend previsualized the entire experience. And while the crew was setting up between takes, the Legend team did a rough stitch of all the live-action and VFX plates. "On many occasions, we had extensive use of helicopters and UASs on the same day. There were instances when we did the first half of a shot with a helicopter, with a takeover to the drone," says Braben. "It worked very well. We used that principle on a number of movies, such as Captain America: Civil War." A shot from Into the Woods started out with a crane reach- ing through the treetops, and followed the actors through the woods. Then, Helicopter Film Services took over the shot through the trees to the forest canopy. The company also recently acquired shots for Now You See Me: Second Act, with an interesting outside/ inside shot in a large casino with various actors. Braben has used UAVs to film in the UK and China. However, there are still regulations in place there, too. "The biggest challenge we face is where the filmmakers want us to fly and film, because there are still regulation challenges and restrictions," he says. C O M M E R C I A L S Because of the reasonable price of using a UAV versus a heli- copter, many from outside the realm of high-end feature films