Production Costs

I have used a article by Henry Stuart on ‘Visualise’ to gain an understanding of how much an editorial client would pay for VR. The website lists three example costs of VR productions:

Example project costs

• Voxi Unframed with Sigrid – £15,000
• Walk with Penguins – £40,000
• Dublin in the Dark – £90,000

‘There are a huge number of factors that contribute towards whichever end of the scale this falls on. Broadly speaking though, once you’ve understood the objectives of creating a piece of immersive 360 video content, there are two main approaches in scoping out a VR 360 job – on a tight budget or for highest quality. If there is a tighter budget then we work out the best solution to scale back so not to compromise the user experience. This ranges from reduced size team, perhaps hiring less lighting, minimising time on set/location, using simpler cameras and spending less time in post. Naturally the opposite is true for shoots that focus on quality and output over budget.’

 

This company’s pricing suggests that they are offering state of the art Virtual Reality which is something that I would not be able to achieve. However creating some sort of VR is possible and depending on the quality and length of the video I think I would be able to charge between £500 – £3000.

If it was a short low budget video then the price could be reasonably low as I would rent a cheap 360 degrees camera off FatLama (which I would add to the invoice) and the production of it wouldn’t be too different to working with normal video.

However if it was a bigger production I would probably require an assistant to help with the lighting as well as renting the lights and the VR Camera (potentially the Nokia OZO).

Unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to rent out the Nokia OZO just to practice creating VR video. However as I stated in my previous post I could possibly rent a cheaper 360 degrees camera for a few days and see what I come up with. If I create something of a decent standard it may be of interest to me to pitch it to some companies.

Photographers working with VR

Do I think that photographers will be required to generate VR footage in the near future and would I be willing to undertake commissions that require me to generate VR?

My immediate response to the first part of this question was that I do not think photographers will be ‘required’ to generate VR footage. However I think it would be an extremely beneficial skill for any photographer to be able to offer a client. I also think that now would be a good time to start learning how to create VR footage before it becomes too popular, however I think that theres still quite a long way to go before it becomes mainstream.

After researching into VR and experiencing some of the videos on the NYT VR and Guardian VR App I would definitely be willing to undertake commissions that require me to create VR. Not only would it be a intriguing experience, at this stage in my career I don’t think I would turn down any commission unless they were financially taking the piss.

The only problem that I would face would be getting the required equipment. I am aware that there is a 360 degrees camera available to rent at my Uni however I have heard terrible things about it.

Looking on FatLama I have just found that the £45,000 360 degrees camera the Nokia OZO is available to rent at £450 per day. This is a very realistic option especially if I was being commissioned. However I would really need to make the most of the time I had with the camera.

The Ricoh Theta S is available to rent at just £12 a day. Renting one of these could be a good way to get to know more about creating VR. The Kodak Pixpro SP360 4K Action Cam is also on there at just £20 a day. This could be a very beneficial experience to attempt to create my own VR during the summer. If I managed to create something of decent quality I could even pitch it so some of the clients I have worked for.

https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/how-to/vr-video.html?origref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F – This tutorial explains how to edit VR footage using Premiere Pro.

 

How it is made

Virtual reality began in 2010 when a teenager from America – Palmer Luckey, created the first VR headset that has now become the Oculus Rift, a leading VR headset in the industry. He launched a $250,000 Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign he ended up receives $2.4 million. Two years after this Mark Zuckerberg bought the company for $2bn.

VR headsets are head mounted displays which intend to immerse you in a visual experience making it so real that we forget the header and act exactly as we would in the real world

The aim is to create what a 3D virtual environment without the boundaries we usually associate with TV or computer screens. Whatever direction that you look in, the screen mounted to your face follows you unlike augmented reality, which overlays graphics onto your view of the real world.

VR headsets use two displays, one per eye with lenses also between your eyes and the pixels. The lenses create a stereoscopic 3D image by using the two 2D displays to create a vision similarly to the way which eyes views the world.

A feature called ‘Head tracking’ is used which makes the picture shift simultaneously with your movements. This system is called 6DoF which stands for six degrees of freedom.

The motion tracking creates an almost perfectly realist virtual reality however the addition of eye tracking would take it a step further.

In terms of creating my own VR, a professional standard camera capable of filming Virtual Reality (Nokia OZO) comes in at the relatively steep price of 45 grand. However a more feasible camera such as the Samsung 360 spherical camera costs only £350 but only films 180 degrees

There are lots of other 360-degree cameras available such as the Ricoh Theta S, Kodak Pixpro SP360 4K Action Cam and the LG 360 Cam.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/10/virtual-reality-guide-headsets-apps-games-vr

 

The Guardian VR App

The Guardian VR App

The first video I watched on the Guardians VR app was 6×9. I managed to find my cardboard VR headset for this bit of research which allowed me to get full VR experience. It was the most intense yet impressive experience I have had so far with Virtual Reality. The video positions the viewer inside a solitary confinement prison cell and does well to convey what it would be like to be inside one. The narration along with the ambient lighting sets a haunting atmosphere. I thought that it was brilliantly done however it made for a painful viewing. The ambient flashing lights and the stories from previous prisoners who have been inside these cells made it quite terrifying. Also after taking off the headset after watching the 9 minute video I felt horrible and it took me a couple of minutes to get my vision back to normal. It was also quite uncomforabtle having to constantly change position in order to see what was going on in the cell. However all these negative elements only added to the realism of the video which was to try and convey how horrible these living conditions are.

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Next I watched ‘The Party’. This was another brilliant VR experience as once again it made me feel very connected to what was going on. The purpose of this video was to try to convey what its like to suffer from autism and to promote how autism is not identified in females as much as males. As a viewer you are positioned at a birthday party in the shoes of a young girl. The girl narrates whats going through her mind throughout the video and similarly to the 6×9 video its quite an intense experience. However I think that it was brilliantly done and was very informative as to what it is like to suffer from this condition. For me this is another example of how great VR is as if this was a regular video I would’ve been far less concentrated on what was going on.

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I think this is the greatest benefit of VR. People in modern society are so use to seeing videos and photographs that they often pay very little attention to them. With the additional feature of VR, people are once again fully concentrated on what they are watching.

Finally I watched another video on the Guardian’s VR app called ‘The Wilderness’. I have to say this was the least impressive of the videos. It featured landscape shots from Patagonia in Chile. Despite this obviously being a stunning place I felt the video failed to capture the beauty of it due to the low resolution. When 4K was first introduced I was obsessed with this beautiful video shot in Norway. The 4K resolution is what blew me away and ‘The Wildernesses’ low quality failed to capture my interest in the same way.

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After a while I became distracted and bored.

I think that the importance of the resolution is solely dependant on the subject. In the other videos I watched the quality was not important and it was the stories and the people that made it interest. Whereas in this video it is mainly about the beauty of the landscapes which the VR fails to truly capture.

NYT VR App

VR Research

NYTV

The first video I watched as part of my Virtual Reality research was ‘The Fight for Falluja’. I picked up a Google cardboard virtual reality headset from outside of Brighton Station on my way up to Uni for free last year which was a really nice surprise however I could not find it in time for my research. Therefore I watched this VR video just using my phone to look around.

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I found it incredibly engaging and immersive experiencing this refugee crisis situation through virtual reality. The location of Falluja provided a very intimate setting for a virtual experience. Personally I find this a far better way to watch videos as you are physically unable to take your eyes of it. I am guilty of often getting distracted whilst watching a film or video on my laptop but by having to constantly physically engage with the video I was able to fully concentrate.

The second video that I watched was ‘The March for our Lives’ which was a far shorter however it was still very impressive. You are positioned on a balcony watching an anti-gun protest. Type appears on your screen and for me was the most impressive part of the video. I think this could be a fun thing to play around with if I was making my own VR experience. Despite this video not being as immersive as the ‘Fight for Falluja’, I still felt that it was a far more interesting experience than if it was just a regular video. In comparison this video would’ve felt flat and distant compared to the VR format.

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Problems that I faced with these videos were the buffering was quite frustrating. I am aware that the Guardian Virtual Reality App only allows you to download the videos which despite taking up precious storage space, will prevent any buffering. Another problem I encountered was the fact I was unable to sit down and get comfortable whilst watching the videos. I felt I always had to be standing up in order to keep looking around and see whats happening.

The final video I watched on the NYTV App was a Gucci advert/film. This was possibly my favourite of all the videos that I watched. It is short and sweet, full of style and looks visually stunning. I was full of admiration for the bright and bold colours used. I think that the location works perfectly with the video and unlike the’ Fight for Falluja’ video I was excited to turn around to see whats happening as interesting new things kept appearing.

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The main benefit of using VR for this video was that it enabled the creators to show the audience the whole room at once. Everyone who watches a Virtual Reality video will experience it in a different way depending on which directions you look in. I like the idea of this however I find it quite stressful as I always want to be watching the most important bits.

The shoot

Today I had my Editorial shoot.

The night before I had been working at a festival which went on for far longer than I had anticipated.

I eventually managed to get to Ravensbourne by 9:30 at which point the models had just began to arrive. By 10:00 I had the MUA, the hair stylist and Madeleine who supplied her fashion collection working on getting the models ready outside the studio.

This took longer than I had expected and the first model, Daisy, was not ready until about 10:45. This gave me only 45 minutes to do my shoot. I therefore made the decision to abandon 3/4 lighting diagrams and just stick with my main one.

Daisy looked better than I could’ve possibly imagined and I was also in a great admiration of the outfits. I shot Daisy for around 10 minutes before the second model was ready – Sandra. Unfortunately she didn’t look quite as good however they look great together. I was pleased with the dramatic lighting in this shot. If I could do the shoot again I would’ve arrived much earlier and prepared more lighting set ups. Unfortunately I didn’t engage enough in my first year and lots of the stuff we learnt regarding lighting hasn’t stuck with me. In my next tutorial I plan to ask my tutor to recommend some good lighting set ups that I can practice in the studio. I am aware that it would be a huge mistake to leave Ravensbourne without learning far more than I already do about lighting.

Finally at around 11:00 my third model was ready – Zahra. She added something new to the shoot and I think the three of them looked great together. Zahra clearly had some good experience in modelling. She knew what expressions to pull and how to hold herself. Similarly to Daisy who I was also really impressed with.

As I managed to create a bit of hysteria amongst the Make up Artist and the stylist due to arriving late, I attempted to make up for it by sending the edited photographs over by the next morning. They were very appreciative of this and loved the shots.

I also have my assistant Jenna to thank as she set up everything before I had even got there which was a great help. I also tried to make up for this by helping her as much as I could with her shoot including offering advice on the lighting/focus as the photographs came into capture one through the tethering lead. I was also able to offer her my support when it came to having a good moan about one of her models.

I am quite pleased with how my photographs have come out. I am gutted that I was not able to experiment with the lighting more or change the back drop during the shoot. Despite being fairly pleased with this shoot I still know I can do better. It is very rare that I am happy with my work. This can be a good thing as it always helps me to improve by being so critical of my own work. However I do know that I could put more work into the preparation. The main consequence of having such limited time was that I was no able to experiment with other lighting set ups that I had planned. Photographing the models in multiple outfits would’ve been another factor that would’ve improved the shoot.

This project has been the first studio shoot that I have done that I have found inspirational in terms of getting back in the studio and learning more about it. I think in my third year I will be far more engaged with studio photography. My attitude towards my course has drastically changed over the past couple of months and I am strongly intending for this to continue throughout the summer and my third and final year.

 

 

MUA and Hair Stylist

Another person who responded to my Facebook post is Vivian Dang – a Hair and Make up Artist from London. Fortunately she suggested that one of her friends ‘Poppy’ should come along as she is a Hair stylist. This will allow the Hair and Make up stylist to run faster.

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Models

My first model is a girl named Daisy Grace Oliver. I found her via instagram and she looks like a really interesting model. Coincidentally she is also a student at Ravensbourne and shouldn’t have to worry about her finding it or arriving on time.

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My second model I found via Facebook and her name is Zahra. She respond to an add I put up on ‘London Models’ page on Facebook. She also looks like a great model and I am hoping that these two models will contrast each other very well.

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The third model that I have contacted also responded to my Facebook post. I don’t necessarily need a third model however I have learnt from past lessons and have arranged for her to come just in case one of them doesn’t turn up. Her name is Sandra and although she doesn’t look like quite as good of a model as Zahra and Daisy do, I’m hoping to be able to make her look more edgy using my make up artist and stylist.

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Madeleine Smith

Today I contacted a 3rd year fashion student at Ravensbourne named Madeline Smith. She informed me that she has a fashion collection that she is wanting to be photographed. I thought that this could be a perfect opportunity to collaborate for my editorial project.

 

 

These are the stunning outfits that I will be shooting at Ravensbourne on the 31st of May. I hope that I am able to photograph the outfits well so that its not just the outfits that are making the photographs look good.

Change of shoot

In my sign off session my tutor recommended for me to research how to acquire a gobo as well as a spotlight to achieve what I wanted in my editorial shoot.

I visited WEX photo in London who informed me that it would cost 50 pounds per day to rent the spotlight as well as a very high deposit. I needed to do a test shoot in order to learn how to use the spotlight/gobos which meant that I was not able to take this shoot forward any further as I am in a very limited financial situation currently and the rental costs were too much.

I therefore have decided to contact fashion students at Ravensbourne to try and get some outfits for my models to wear in the shoot.