Habitat XR creates immersive experiences at the new Ellen DeGeneres Campus with Mistika VR

Published On: January 31st, 2023

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[SPANISH BELOW]

Based in South Africa, the impact-led production Habitat XR studio collaborated with The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund to create two new immersive experiences using SGO's industry-leading optical flow stitching solution Mistika VR. With the support of The Ellen Fund and investment from Leonardo DiCaprio, the 360 Irmelin DiCaprio Theater and the Gorillas in VR exhibit can be found inside the new Ellen DeGeneres Campus in Rwanda, not far from the endangered gorillas' natural home.

The idea of creating this emotional digital experience was not only to bring audiences closer to the gorillas but also to immerse them in their natural habitat and its beautiful surroundings without impacting their natural environment.

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Closer to nature with Mistika VR

The 360 film was displayed at 25K resolution and to achieve flawless results, Mistika VR's edge points played a crucial role in obtaining the best image quality. Part of what makes the immersion in the Irmelin DiCaprio Theater so compelling is allowing people to feel closer and more in tune with nature. By utilizing edge points to the fullest, we ensured that each character or subject was as the human eye would see it, said Karien van Biljon, Cinematic VR Artisan at Habitat XR.

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To offer a complete virtual experience, the Habitat XR team built a whole environment inside the theater controlled entirely by an app screening ultrawide 16:1 footage or superpanoramic films upscaled using AI technology. The flexibility of Mistika VR and its powerful stitching and advanced functionality has allowed them to adjust the images perfectly despite the proximity and convergence difficulties.

The extra functionality Mistika VR provided in terms of edge points and convergence manipulation allowed us to unlock shots previously deemed unusable due to the subject's proximity to the camera. By shifting seamlines, increasing feathers, changing the optical flow parameters, or adjusting the convergence, we enabled the wider eye of the 360 camera, described Karien.

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Creating a unique VR 360 ecosystem

The experience continues outside the theatre with the Gorillas in VR exhibition, where audiences can be virtually immersed in the forest with a simple touch of a tablet using Habitat XR's custom-developed, controller-free VR kiosks. In addition, visitors to the facility can live an interactive and informative augmented reality adventure led by a CGI silverback gorilla, using an iPad housed in a special case made of cornstarch to mimic the volcanic rock textures.

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The Habitat XR team created a truly unique 360 VR ecosystem where Mistika VR allowed them to overcome many obstacles during the post-production process, offering the possibility to show another perspective on wildlife. Mistika VR not only allowed our gorillas to be whole and without the problematic VR proximity glitches but to close the distance between humans and animals and ensure true immersion in this format, concluded Karien.

Experience the power of Mistika VR yourself, download a FREE trial now!

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Habitat XR usa Mistika VR para crear experiencias inmersivas en el nuevo Campus Ellen DeGeneres

LINK:	https://www.sgo.es/habitat-xr/...
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