29 Mar HOW TO MAKE A 360° VIDEO
“The main idea was to make a film where the viewer could swim into the travel and get teletransported. We wanted people to think about how they are living their life, the changes they wanna make and the dreams they wanna chase”
Vr: behind the trend
Have you ever experienced VR? In case you haven’t, we are gonna explain it to you: Virtual Reality – also known as 360º video – is a term referred to a high technologic new style of video where using Oculus technology and wearing a VR headset allows you to enjoy an immersive, memorable experience unlike any other medium — and brands are quickly recognizing that value.
How do they film in 360º? D-printed camera rigs hold 6 or 10 GoPro Hero4 cameras in a spherical shape. Each camera is mounted at a specific angle so the camera’s field of view will overlap portions of the surrounding cameras’ field of view. That overlap will eliminate any gaps in the footage and allow for flexibility at the seams. When all the GoPros are recording, they capture video at the same time, and it covers the entire 360° by 180° area.
You can hang the rig, hold it, drone it, and more. The most tricky thing is that 360° means EVERYTHING that is in the view of the camera and will be in the shot. This includes you, your crew, any lights, microphones, equipment, every crack on the ceiling, and dirty footprints on the floor. When scouting locations, take the entire space into consideration. Envision the action that will take place, how should that action interact with the camera? And make sure the available lighting is suitable or get creative with camera placement.
How it started
It all started with New horizons VR and Futura VR studio, both technology based creative studios runned by the young and talented Cristian Dominguez, Javier Herreros, Damian Augustyniak and Adrian Ruiz.
We decided that it was time to do something innovative and special. And they were used to work with big companies so they couldn’t really develop their own creativity. Until we met together!
Filming on the road
Its always hard to choose localizations, but we all got it clear since the very beginning: Gran Canaria was the perfect place. The island offers as many different landscapes as you need: sea, sand beaches, rock beaches, dunes, pine forests, tropical lanscapes, rocks, canyons…The planning was clearly defined but open to any opportunity.
The first day we recorded the motorcycle scene at la Carretera Presa de las Niñas – Mogán. It’s a sick road to do with a motorcycle. That same day, we went surfing at el Confital with Alberto García. The water shot was one of the best and most complicated shots of the project as Alberto had to swim holding the rig with his mouth and take it with the hands once taking off.
We also went to film with horses at Sioux City and in a boat thanks to Fanautic Club, even though the sea didn’t allow us to leave the port.
The next day we shot in Guayadeque – in the middle of the island – going down a long road with the skateboards and after we went to the famous Dunas de Maspalomas, where we set up a Glamping chill out in the middle of the dunes.
At the end of the week we camped in the Presa de las Niñas, where we did kayaking. We finished the filming journey at el Roque Nublo where a team of professional climbers like Samuel Calvente, one of the best Canarian climbers, and the guys from Climbo Rocks took the rig to the top of the mountain, and where the dancers Andrea Perez and Margot Ramirez finnished the day dancing and doing yoga on one of the most beautiful scenarios while the sun was hiding in the hills.
Thank you.
We could never be more grateful for all the people we met in this adventure, the ones that helped us giving us a little or a huge amount of their time. They were all amazing people full of life, illusion for life and willing to help. These are the people we want around for all life and the ones we believe in. Thank you, thank you thank you, for helping us and for existing.
Text by Sara Tabraue
Pictures by Xué Gil & Sara Tabraue