Putting VR, Volumetric Video in Refresh Mode posted: 17/08/2019
by Andy Marken
Evolution not Revolution
Hope you caught the news...Amazon Prime just launched their VR streaming. They had to because Netflix, Hulu and YouTube already have the service. Well no most of the stuff you watch isnt really VR but at least you get to use your HMD. If youre one of the few who havent experienced VR immersion youll probably put the unit on and say big deal. But we just had a chance to see what a number of volumetric and VR filmmakers are creating and once you do, youll know why creatives are working so hard to bring you into their content. Its better - much better - than last year and the content and VR games are being delivered, watched and played. Yes its good...darn good! And the number of titles continues to grow.
When you attend film festivals like Sundance, Toronto, Tribeca and most recently Cannes; all of the attention is on:
The important (and self-important) people
The budget-buster screeners
The budget-scrimping shows - short/long
The important (and self-important) people
Tomorrows opportunities
Its easy to see that everyone will have her/his private entertainment channel to watch content in 8K, then 16K HDR.
Im disappointed, not terribly, but still. It should have gone much further much faster. Its okay, though, I know what the problem is.
The roadmaps are pretty clear, and the mass merchants are ready to push aggressively, even though folks are just slowly beginning to appreciate 4K ... almost everywhere.
But whats around the corner, just over the hill?
What will filmmaking look like in 5-10 years?
At every film festival, theres a corner of the lot roped off for the immersive future, VR (virtual reality).
The mass entertainment market prophets keep telling us every year its going to be huge ... in two years.
Friends like Ted - a gaming industry expert - keep hollering, It isnt hot, sexy; wont be and in fact it was stillborn.
Others, like Jon and Mark - who play endless hours of VR games (theyre testing the stuff), tell us its just getting better and better.
Virtual pros dont have much time to chat at film festivals; but at the IBC Future Zone, the cream of the crop will be able to focus on detailing what they have been doing to push the frontiers of creativity and technology to give us a dose of real reality.
Were gonna listen!
These folks are the creative content people who believe the old saying, The best way to predict the future is to create it.
Naysayers like to point out that todays VR content is usually only 1-10 minutes long because ... you get sick!
They dont realize that in the 1890s when British Photographer Eadward Murbridge developed zoopraxiscope - primitive film devices, the projects were only 1-10 minutes long because the work was tough to do and people probably ... got sick.
It wasnt until the 1920s that films were one hour plus in length and the industry released about eight films a year that were shown in tough-to-find cinemas.
Today, we have thousands of short and long films a year produced and shown everywhere on the planet.
Not long ago, we sat through 3 hours, 2 minutes of the Avengers: Endgame ... twice!
Break Time - As people walk around their real world, they need to periodically take a break and just sit back, relax. The same is true in the virtual world which can be intense and jarring. Relaxing can be rewarding
The goal for creatives has been to help people identify/connect with the main character(s) and make the film/show their own.
VR does that, is doing that, will do that ... one segment, one viewer at a time.
Despite all of the hype, negativism and excitement, its still very new as storytellers leverage technology to help people be a part of and control their content.
At Tribeca, producer/screenwriter Andrew Cochrane and cinematographer Andrew Shulkind captured the Tribeca X Award for the 12-min The 100%, the true story of Maggie Kudirka, a ballet dancer, rising star at the Joffrey Concert Group diagnosed with incurable stage four metastatic breast cancer.
Both are recognized volumetric/VR filmmakers and Shulkind has become widely known for his painterly use of lighting.
Focused - When Andrew Shulkind isnt on a project shoot, he spends his free time trying to determine how volumetric/VR can be improved.
Like many in the field, he began in the real/unreal world of visual-effects heavy workflows and a solid tech foundation.
To deliver what isnt there, Shulkind designed his own 360-degree camera array system -- uncompressed 23K-resolution, 12-bit Headcase Cinema Camera.
Seemingly never satisfied, Shulkind finds the present VR lighting constraints to be the hardest part of the art form.
Since the viewer can see in all directions, hes currently experimenting with new ways to naturalize the medium rather than rely on the top-lit experience common in present VR films.
In Cannes, Diego Prilusky, Intel Studios general manager, said his group has been intent on not just having viewers connect with the character but actually create and intensify the experience for them whether its with a brand, sporting event or film.
With the worlds largest volumetric studio at his teams disposal and in cooperation with Paramount Pictures, they produced Grease 40th Anniversary - Immersive Cinema Experience, one of several immersive projects they unveiled at Cannes.
Planning - Intels Diego Prilusky (standing) believes that while the viewer ultimately controls what she/he sees/experiences, VR and volumetric projects also have to be scripted, planned and focused.
Joining Intel with the acquisition of capture specialist Replay Technologies, the visual effects talent has focused on developing and refining what he calls Data Powered Entertainment.
Todays digital films are still frontal, said Prilusky who has done visual effects work on proj
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Riedel Communications today announced its return as a sponsor of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where the company will serve as the Official Connectivity ...
08/05/2026
For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
08/05/2026
ICG is excited to share news of our official launch in Northern Ireland, marking a significant milestone in the agency's growth.
Led by Digital Marketing M...
08/05/2026
Over the past ten years, Thames Water, in partnership with Arqiva, has installed more than 1.2 million smart meters, creating one of the most extensive advanced...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
Putting VR, Volumetric Video in Refresh Mode posted: 17/08/2019 
