360 DEGREE VIRTUAL LOCATION SCOUTING

Welcome to the future of location scouting – VIRTUAL SCOUTING.

Here at Screen Wexford, we are committed to exploration of new technologies for the development and positioning of our Screen Office. Very early on, we asked ourselves the question ‘How can we future-proof the marketing of our locations whilst preparing for advances in technologies in the area of virtual production?’ Since the advent of covid, remote working has seen the production pipeline change and advance. More and more teams are working remotely with key decision makers inputting on locations both remotely and through the VR space. 

The beauty of 360 degree footage is that it can allow viewers to engage with the footage / environment / location through a VR headset but also through 2D. Key decision makers in the production process have the ability to see exactly what’s in a space and therefore its full cohesive potential. We think that 360 location scouting will literally change the game. 

Advantages:

– It effectively demonstrates scale;

– It’s convenient and cohesive: instead of multiple shots of a location, one compact 360 file (taken as either 360 still or video) can give a really strong sense of a location that the viewer can engage with in an immersive way. In sum, you don’t miss a picture as it takes in the entire space;

– It’s time saving – the speed of capture and the workflow are really incredible. You can document one entire room in under a minute and then share it with your team;

– Health & Safety: Being covid safe is of uppermost importance to crews. The beauty of 360 shooting is that it can negate larger numbers of crew on a recce. IE – instead of bringing a production designer, grip and electric team on a recce, a location manager can remotely communicate (in live mode) relevant location data; 

– It’s portable and fits in your pocket;

– Since it negates large numbers in attendance on a recce, a virtual location shoot is sustainable in terms of reducing our carbon footprint. Less flights and more remote decision making make for greener productions;

– If you’re not sharing in live format, you can transfer the footage from the camera to the Insta360 Studio app on a desktop. For file-sharing, you can lock the position on the video, download and send. You can also review footage with teams over video conferencing or in-person on a TV screen, going through each location in detail in order to break down the specifics.

Earlier this year we tested various 360 camera including the Insta360 One X and the Insta360 Pro 2. Both are incredibly versatile but the One X came out ahead in terms of it’s versatility, size, cost and post-production workflow. We see this experimentation as part of our future-proofing in the area of Virtual Production and hope to integrate these 360 virtual recce shoots into our service offering in the next year.