3D VR

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fraught
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3D VR

Post by fraught »

I've been getting into making 3D 180 VR movies lately. It has lots of technical issues, but I've had huge amounts of fun making them. I'm currently in post-production on my first 'narrative driven' 3D VR film, called 'You Can Cancel at Any Time'. I'll post the trailer below.

Has anyone else ventured into the world of Virtual Reality? What issues did you come across?


youtu.be/PFxiKoJKhlg
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TimStannard
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Re: 3D VR

Post by TimStannard »

ooooh, you tease.

One problem with widespread takeup of VR is the cost of entry and there's no cheap, "gateway" drug to it (wheras with Playstation/xBox one can become acquainted with the concept of console games first through computer/tablet games before getting into the bigger boy stuff).
I have little doubt at some point everyone will have a VR headset - or maybe not. It may remain fairly niche, like surround sound.

I suspect it will have more staying power (even if niche) than 3D TV which doesn't offer enough of a different experience over 2D to warrant the additional inconvenience.

I suspect your brand of comedy horror will work particularly well in VR. I'll just need to borrow a headset :)
Tim
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fraught
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Re: 3D VR

Post by fraught »

You know you can buy a thing called 'Google Cardboard' which is a VR Headset made from... ahem... Cardboard... that you slide your own smartphone into as the screen. Works a treat. Obviously, a full-on VR Headset is the best way to go (I use a few, the HTC Vive Cosmos Elite and the Occulus Quest). They are coming down in price, as well as improving in quality.

Watching films in 3D VR is a fantastic and nerve-shredding experience. Which is why I love it so!

I am a HUGE lover of 3D TV, so I'm rather gutted that it's becoming increasingly difficult to buy them. On the plus side, I can happily watch my 3D Blu-Ray's via my PSVR headset... so all is not completely lost!
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TimStannard
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Re: 3D VR

Post by TimStannard »

fraught wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 10:20 am You know you can buy a thing called 'Google Cardboard'
Well, I do now. Certainy has its appeal for dabbling (and seeing if it will work with my glasses and newly matched cataract lens replacements).
Any (free) content you can recommend for a dabble?
Tim
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TimStannard
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Re: 3D VR

Post by TimStannard »

By coincidence (OK, only vaguely related) the first thing I noticed on my Facebook feed after reading this thread was this on my local group site: https://tinyurl.com/fxm52922
It's of interest for a number of reasons - (a) it was made by an amateur film group, "Kingston & District Cine Club", (b) it features 3D cinema (c) (from my point of view) it features one of three cinemas my home town Walton-on-Thames had at the time - The New Regal (for most of my childhood and adult life a furniture store and now a JD Wetherspoon's) .

Made in 1950 it's considerably better than many we see nowadays and it's worth staying for the end.

Enjoy.
Tim
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fraught
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Re: 3D VR

Post by fraught »

TimStannard wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 2:55 pm Any (free) content you can recommend for a dabble?
This is a link to a short film I shot at the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland - https://youtu.be/_J97OV66hVY

YouTube is full of cool VR films and animations. :-)
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Michael Slowe
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Re: 3D VR

Post by Michael Slowe »

Oh dear, just when I thought that 3D had disappeared for ever you youngsters are at it again!
I'm sure that things won't stand still and eventually we will all be having our entertainment brought to us in the round as it were, but I do like a lovely flat picture on a good screen. The audio can be as fancy as you like but the current picture quality and form is so satisfying that I want to preserve the experience for as long as possible.
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Re: 3D VR

Post by TimStannard »

Michael, in case you're not familiar, this isn't 3D as you recall it. This is Virtual Reality. What this mean is you wear a headset (like a pair of goggles) and the image fills your whole view. As you turn your head, your motion is detected and what you see changes accordingly. Imagine you are in an image of a room. As you turn to the right and look down, what you see shifts left and up to compensate - as if you' are really there. What you are looking at (or at least the angle at which you are looking at it) is not dictated by the director, but by you.
It's very different from film as we know it. It's a much more immersive experience.
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Re: 3D VR

Post by Michael Slowe »

Tim, thanks, I did sort of realise what it was but I still dread it. I don't want to be surrounded, I want to look at a big screen and I can get immersed in that, whilst enjoying fantastic (?) pictures. Film is very largely a visual art, pictures enhanced and supplemented by audio. For action in the round, with true immersion, the theatre provides that does it not?
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Re: 3D VR

Post by TimStannard »

Michael Slowe wrote: Sat Sep 18, 2021 11:58 am For action in the round, with true immersion, the theatre provides that does it not?
Not quite (other than in some experimental theatre) as you are still seated and looking mainly in one direction. With VR you are in among the action.
I don't think anyone expects VR to replace traditional large screen viewing or that that is the intention. It's surely just another form of entertainment which shares some common ground with film.
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fraught
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Re: 3D VR

Post by fraught »

Tim is right. VR will never replace traditional viewing methods... at least not for a long time yet. It does however provide a unique experience that traditional viewing will not touch. It's worth experiencing for sure, even if it's not to your taste. :-)
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