The content dilemma of virtual reality: shooting, production and practical application have been solved

Nowadays, virtual reality is no longer a new topic, but after more than a year of repeated "bombardments", this revolutionary technology, which is regarded as the future of entertainment, still seems to be far from being implemented.

Nowadays, virtual reality is no longer a new topic, but after more than a year of repeated "bombardments", this revolutionary technology, which is regarded as the future of entertainment, still seems to be far from being implemented.

In fact, since Google launched the paper-based Cardboard, virtual reality devices have become a mass product in terms of price. In China, similar products, represented by Storm Mirror, have dropped to less than 100 yuan, and most of them are not inferior to overseas products such as Oculus VR in terms of design, workmanship and performance.

The biggest problem plaguing the advancement of virtual reality technology into the consumer market is not hardware, but content. The core of restricting content lies in cost.

However, some new trends have been trying to improve this situation recently. It may bring some positive changes in the shooting, production and practical application of virtual reality content.

The

first is at the device level for shooting virtual reality materials. Recently

, GoPro and Google released Google Jump, a spherical 16-camera device that can be used to capture virtual reality materials. The essence is to assemble multiple GoPro motion cameras together to support the shooting of three-dimensional materials and the capture of depth of field information, and the upgraded firmware will solve their collaborative operation. At the same time, the above devices can not only be bound to large drones for professional sports recording, but can also be simply fixed on a tripod for static shooting.

In fact, GoPro is promoting its own equipment to become "standard shooting equipment" for three-dimensional content represented by virtual reality, and significantly lowering the threshold for non-professional enthusiasts to enter this field.

In response, GoPro launched its video trading platform GoPro Licensing more than a month ago. The platform allows certified users to upload high-quality video clips and sell copyright to demanders such as advertisers at a price. Combined with the new shooting devices mentioned above and the current "market situation" of the above-mentioned platforms, the cost of a user-generated virtual reality content material may be reduced to US$1000.

In addition to GoPro's civilian devices, Nokia has also recently launched a professional version.

Called Ozo, the 360-degree dome panoramic camera, which is expected to sell for tens of thousands of dollars, will serve the professional needs of Hollywood, media and advertising industries. It can shoot virtual reality content in real time and realize real-time monitoring, which means that the director can watch the shots taken by Ozo in real time through the virtual reality helmet during the shooting process, and can also quickly playback them under low rendering conditions. You know, most current virtual reality materials require hours of software synthesis and splicing after shooting to view the effects.

In fact, whether it is GoPro or Nokia Ozo, their operating thresholds and prices have been significantly reduced for the user groups they target.

After the equipment was in place, post-production became another obstacle.

Just like multi-camera shooting shown at the device level, the splicing and synthesis of pictures, the creation of corresponding depth of field effects, and the implantation of sound effects are quite difficult. At the same time, due to the limited field of view of head-mounted devices, other sensory systems must be provided to adapt to changes in three-dimensional space. Among them, 3D sound simulation can greatly improve the capabilities of virtual reality systems. However, the cost is very expensive, and calculating reverberation, blocking and delay effects requires the configuration of a computer system with powerful computing power.

In this regard, VideoStitch gave a solution to minimize splicing. The French-based software developer creates a 360×180-degree field of view and uses 4K resolution mixed images to stitch previously captured video, and uses algorithms to synthesize image acquisition, image correction, image optimization, etc., and Manual corrections are made through editing tools to finally generate a compatible format that can be played directly on virtual reality devices.

VideoStitch provides a low-cost but effective solution that makes the production of virtual reality content something everyone can do, although the final product is difficult to say is exquisite.

When the threshold for equipment price and production difficulty are lowered, the final question is where to use it.

According to previous surveys by Zhidongxi, in addition to some slightly "simple" game entertainment content and film and television videos realized through transcoding, in China, original virtual reality content is still mainly used in electronic guides and educational courseware of tourist attractions. In fact, before film entertainment giants enter the game in batches and a large amount of content spontaneously produced by users takes shape, it is still too early to talk about virtual reality entering the homes of ordinary people. But compared with the lackluster market applications in China, Disney's recent attempt may give domestic content producers some reference in the "To B" field.

The plan is called "Cave", or Cave. It does not rely on head-mounted displays, uses multiple 4K projectors to project 360-degree images on the walls of the room, and uses motion sensors to track users to achieve perspective conversion, giving users a strong sense of substitution. The actual experience is similar to "Resident Evil 5" The so-called "real-time projection" appears.

For theme parks like Disney, this is a practical solution. This fully interactive scene is also considered to be one of Disney's trump attractions in the future.

Previously, Zhidongxi had an exchange with a domestic content team leader who had years of experience in producing 3D and virtual reality animation content. According to its disclosure, the production cost of the simplest virtual reality scene currently requires at least 20,000 yuan, while most virtual reality scenes that can be used for small-scale "tours" are about 100,000 yuan.

At such a low cost, for many small content teams in China, the investment in producing a virtual reality animation may be a gamble on the assets of the entire company. If with the development of new equipment and new technologies, the cost of shooting and production of virtual reality content can be greatly reduced, it will undoubtedly be a good thing for the current struggling practitioners. At the same time, just as the rise of online video has benefited from the rise of UGC content, the lowering of the threshold will also allow more people to enter the content production process.

Technology comes down to business, and business will eventually fall into money. Simply put, with the price of content falling today, reducing costs is a good path. Otherwise, citing a conclusion previously reached by Zhidongxi, virtual reality is just nonsense if it cannot overcome the hurdle of high costs.

Editor: yvonne