Power, Speed, and Extensive VR Features Make ASSIMILATE SCRATCH VR Tool of Choice
Both Virtual Reality (VR) 360 and 3D have the power to engage audiences in the action and emotion of a film narrative or performance, but combine the two together and you can create a compelling and highly immersive experience that brings the audience directly into the “reality” of the scenes. This is exactly what film producers and directors Fred Beahm (www.fredbeahm.com) and Bogdan Darev (www.bogdandarev.com) have done in “The Cabiri: Anubis”, a 3D/360VR film, now showing at the Seattle International Film Festival’s (SIFF) VR Zone (www.siff.net) on May 18 through June 10.
The Cabiri, a Seattle-based performance-art group (http://www.cabiri.org, creates highly stylistic and athletic dance and entertainment routines that awe audiences at theater venues throughout North America. Now audiences around the world can enjoy their breathtaking performances by dancers, aerialists, and acrobats in an immersive 3D/360VR film that can easily be streamed from the Pixvana app (www.pixvana.com) to the new a Oculus Go headset (www.oculus.com/oculusgo), which is specifically designed for 3D and 360 streaming and viewing.
“Other than a live show, 3D/360VR is the ideal medium for viewers to experience The Cabiri’s highly creative and breathtaking performances. Because they have the feeling of being within the scene, the viewers become so engaged in the experience that they feel the emotional and dramatic impact,” said Beahm, who is also the cinematographer, editor, and post-production artist for the Cabiri film. “I’m driven by creativity every day, so for me it’s truly thrilling to see audiences actively respond to this medium of performance and entertainment.”
Beahm has a long list of credits to his name in the roles of editor, producer, director, and post-production artist. But he also has a strong affinity for the post-production process that requires a keen sense of the look and feel a director or producer is striving to achieve in a film. The digital post-production process is a series of artistic and technical functions that take a film from raw footage to a good film result, and with the right post artist and software tools, to a great film.
“I put a strong emphasis on the post-production process because along with a great story and cinematography, it’s a key component of a noteworthy film. VR and 3D require several complex steps and you want to use tools that simplify the process so that you can save time and stay within budget,” said Beahm.
“For The Cabiri film, I used the Kandao Obsidian S camera, filming in 6K 3D360, I then used SGO’s Mistika VR for their Stereo 3D optical-flow stitching; I edited in Adobe’s Premiere Pro CC 2018; and I finished in Assimilate’s SCRATCH VR (www.assimilateinc.com), utilizing their powerful 3D/360 VR painting, tracking, and color grading tools. I then delivered in 4K 3D360 to Pixvana’s Spin Studio,” said Beahm.
The Cabiri group is very pleased to bring their live performances to a broader audience via a 3D/360 film. "Being part of a VR shoot I was very aware of how the cameras were part of the story, as if another character was present with us. It was also very interesting to get to connect with the camera and acknowledge its presence – something we have to work hard not to do in traditional film. VR is a wonderful tool for inviting the viewer into the otherworldly realms we create,” said Charly McCreary, performer and managing director of The Cabiri.
Learn more about the Seattle International Film Festival at www.siff.net.
company
Stephen Arnold Music Collaborates With WETA to Create a Memorable and Adaptable Sonic Brand
WETA Arts, the award-winning, magazine-style arts and culture series returns for its 10th season on the PBS flagship station with an elegant new sound. The latest collaboration between WETA, PBS’s Washington DC-based flagship station, and Stephen Arnold Music (SAM), the new music package reflects the show’s insightful take on DC’s diverse art scene in an understated and memorable way. “It’s a unique sound,” says WETA creative director Dylan Wilbur. “There’s a lovely calmness to it that perfectly complements the show’s new art deco visual look. I first listened to SAM’s demo while driving in my car. I hit play and instantly fell in love. I thought, wow, that’s beautiful.” WETA Arts is also the first show to leverage WETA’s first ever sonic branding. Created by SAM, the world leader in sonic branding, last year, the classically inspired signature sound is designed to give WETA a unified, instantly recognizable audio identity across each of its sub-brands and all touch points, broadcast and digital. It can be heard in different stylistic and mood treatments in promos, IDs, teasers and other marketing media for WETA PBS, WETA UK, WETA PBS Kids, WETA World, WETA Metro, and WETA Classical. “The sonic branding evokes our values: trust, intelligence, quality and enrichment,” observes Wilbur. “WETA is different from commercial broadcasters in that many of our viewers are also supporters. We wanted to convey the pride of ownership they feel for the station.” WETA’s sonic branding is also integrated into Signal in the Static, a longform spot celebrating the station’s historic leadership in news, documentary and educational programming. Airing in prime time through the fall political season, the spot features clips from... Read More