FROM 360° TO VR EXPERIENCE (VRE)
For Planetary Encounter, the difference in user experience between 360° video and VR experience—two bookends of content production—can be described as a journey from ‘storytelling’ to ‘story-living’. Storytelling applies to traditional film and also to 360° video—they both present an equally linear experience where the user is a passive observer. With 360° video there’s a level of immersion, but you cannot fully interact with your environment.
Story-living on the other hand applies to VR experience (VRE), where ‘presence’—the real magic of VR—is at its most powerful. The perception of being physically present in a non physical world is an incredibly powerful sensation. Within VREs, you can fully interact with the environment you find yourself in, you can even walk around. You are fully immersed, you truly ‘live’ the story you find yourself in. Traditional film is a window into a story. In VR, you are the story.
IMMERSIVE & INTERACTIVE VR EXPERIENCE FROM PLANETARY ENCOUNTER
Our rich heritage in VFX has given us the skills and artistry to easily transition into virtual, augmented and mixed reality experiences. Our VFX artists have the technical skills for VR, but they also possess another asset: problem solving. We use world class hardware and software to achieve the highest levels of immersion and visual fidelity.
All manner of companies and brands are using VRE to build profound connections with their audiences through unique experiences. Planetary Encounter recently collaborated on a VRE piece to accompany Jordan’s ridge single “Run for your life” as part of her Virtual Reality exhibition, currently touring galleries around the world.
The immersive experience is based around a digital performance of the song, complete with binaural sound, which gives the user the ability to explore the VR world in a multisensory way.
VRE: the Future of Virtual Reality
As a globally recognised VR studio, Planetary Encounter is proud to be at the forefront of VR development, pushing virtual and augmented technology to new and exciting limits.
We constantly innovate through our award-winning team of creative technologists, digital artists, composers, VR directors and developers.
Pushing the Level of Immersion
‘LIFT’, the multi award-winning epic mountain climbing experience REWIND created with the TVP is a prime example of story-living. The 15 minute VRE was created in Unreal 4 for HTC’s Vive, and the content was in part inspired by the Everest training programme and the astonishing experiences of the Polish national mountain climbing team. The ambition of this VR project was to combine a strong narrative and sense of drama with the most incredible impact possible in an immersive experience to encourage and enhance the public’s interest in nature. It puts you at the centre of the story, taking you on an emotional and personal journey whilst delivering beautiful, heart-stopping and memorable moments.
The level of immersion is heightened at live events by the integration of a heart rate monitor that feeds back into the experience, recreating the sound of the user’s own heartbeat in their headset. This is combined with an integrated live mic that is acoustically treated and delivered back into the experience, relaying the sound of their own breathing. A gaming chair is also used to provide haptic feedback to make the experience as real as possible.