Emerging tech Maya 360 camera
We looked at 360 cameras in the first week as it is a rather easy task but the main point is it gets us thinking about how to make content for VR and the considerations we will need to think about. Since I already have a good understanding of Maya setting up a basic camera was a simple task but having to make a small scene of a box room with simple objects inside allowed me to start thinking about if I was to take this further how would I. You see this method of camera is used in 360 YouTube videos commonly and if I was to use it myself I think I would also make a YouTube video experience of either a music video or a scene that plays around you to educate the viewer. I think these videos can be really impactfull if viewed in a headset as some of the most memorable music videos I have seen are in VR as they allow you to be inside of the world and they can hide Easter eggs for die hard fans around the world that you need to look for that makes another level of engagement.
The task itself only took me an afternoon to do with following an online tutorial. When in the scene I made a simple cube with walls then made some pillars inserting a camera in the centre. I didn’t make a complex scene as this was just a test and once the camera was in I looked around in the test render view and it looked correct with the fish eye effect needed for 360 rendering.
Once I had the rendered sequence I took it into Adobe After Effects to make it a video sine it renders as multiple png’s and then to make the VR effect work I added a cc environment on the video then exported the video.
Rendered video:
This task was very valuable to me as I got me thinking about working in a 3D VR space which is different than normal as the player has the ability to look all around them so you need to plan are you going to have it so the viewer has stimuli all around them or only in a limited view. I think this is the main appeal of VR as you can have the viewer have a different experience on replaying the media as all around them they can be things going on so it keeps the player very engaged.
Gorillaz – Saturnz Barz (Spirit House) 360. (2017). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVaBvyzuypw.[assecced on October 21 2023]
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Maya Tutorial – How To Render 360 Degree Spherical Renders For YouTube and Virtual Reality. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4RK77jspvU [Accessed 8 Nov. 2023].
