When it comes to virtual reality headsets, their remit so far has
primarily been for use in gaming or for game-like experience, but soon
you could be able to watch whole movies with one of these devices
strapped to your head. This is thanks to a new 360-degree camera called
the Panopticam developed by a team of British VR experts.
Mounted on a tripod, the Panopticam is a 5kg spherical device covered
in 36 cameras, and looks a bit like a bumble ball -- one of those
colourful children's toys popular in the early 90s. The camera comes
with a custom-built editing plugin for Adobe After Effects, which can be
used to create films that can be watched using headsets like Oculus Rift and Sony's Project Morpheus.
This would put you, the headset wearer, right in the middle of the
action, with the freedom to inspect the world around you at will. Much
as is the case with existing virtual reality experiences, this could
either be enchanting or terrifying, depending on the genre of the film
you're watching.
It's likely though that initially the camera will be used to shoot and
create commercial and advertorial content, in order that companies can
create bespoke experiences as part of their marketing campaigns. The
issue is obviously that not many people own virtual reality headsets at
the moment, which would make it hard to justify the cost of filming a
blockbuster in this fashion.
The company creating the Panopticam, Figure Digital, comes from a
background creating augmented reality and virtual reality experiences
for advertising purposes, but is also already working with Oculus Rift.
"We hope that content creators looking to design mind-blowing VR
video-based experiences (or hybrid video/CGI VR content) will, in
future, be shooting with a Panopticam to create truly cinematic-quality
VR," says Figure Digital's creative director Joe Kletz.
If you can imagine yourself filming with the Panopticam, don't get
carried away just yet -- the camera is still in development at the
company's London studio. There's no price or release date available yet
either, but keep your eyes peeled and start cooking up some ideas for
how you would want to put the camera into use.
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