Jaunt, a developer of hardware, software, tools and applications to enable cinematic VR, announed the availability of The Cinematic VR Field Guide: A Guide to Best Practices for Shooting in 360°. Knowing that filming in VR for the first time can be daunting for aspiring and established filmmakers alike, as old rules of cinematography may no longer apply, this guide provides creatives with tips, tricks and lessons learned for entering into VR filmmaking. Starting today and throughout the duration of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, Jaunt will be hosting a series of panel discussions and workshops where the creative community can learn about the company’s hardware and software offerings and receive a hardcopy of the current field guide.
Grant Anderson, executive producer at Jaunt, developed The Cinematic VR Field Guide to help VR creatives focus on melding imaginative stories with the latest advances in virtual reality. Prior to Jaunt, Anderson was executive director and stereoscopic supervisor at Sony Pictures where he collaborated with industry professionals on the creative uses of 3D. Among other roles he’s held, Anderson was also a senior producer at Stan Lee Media, and digital artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is a board member of the Advanced Imaging Society and chairman of its VR committee.
The Cinematic VR Field Guide delves into crucial topics ranging from camera hardware and lenses to software, rendering and distribution. A few key subjects discussed include:
- Camera motion – Understand proven practices for shooting high-quality, action-packed experiences without motion sickness-inducing separation between visuals and audio.
- Directing the action – How does one direct the action when in VR there is no such thing as behind the camera? Everything in the scene – including the crew, lighting, vehicles, etc. – will be shot.
- Lighting and exposure – Lighting is a critical part of any cinematography process but because VR filmmaking requires shooting in a full 360° there are some additional challenges involving contrast, flares, and lighting rigs.
“As VR, AR and mixed realities become more prevalent throughout mainstream cinematic entertainment, it is critical to ensure that the production teams behind these projects are equipped with the very latest and greatest guidelines to filmmaking in VR,” said Anderson. “With that in mind, who better than Jaunt to develop and distribute a complete industry set of guidelines?”
Jaunt’s industry-leading VR platform continues to be the most sought-after end-to-end solution. Its technology enables creators to focus on making high-quality VR content by automating the transcoding and distribution of projects across all devices to ensure VR experiences are available wherever their audiences are. Jaunt will be regularly updating The Cinematic VR Field Guide as new VR technologies and techniques emerge including an upcoming section on post-production techniques.
As an Official Partner of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, Jaunt will be operating the The Jaunt VR Lounge at 580 Main Street, Park City, UT 84060. The lounge will be open daily from 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. featuring content demos, VR production workshops, charging stations, after-hours events and more. The lounge will host daily screenings of 20 different VR experiences including exclusive and award-winning VR content from RYOT, Lily Baldwin and Saschka Unseld, and Conservation International.
The Jaunt VR App, including all content released to date, is available on iOS, Android, Gear VR, Google Daydream, PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and major desktop browsers.
James Earl Jones, Lauded Actor and Voice of Darth Vader, Dies At 93
James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, "The Lion King" and Darth Vader — has died. He was 93.
His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home in New York's Hudson Valley region. The cause was not immediately clear.
The pioneering Jones, who was one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama and worked deep into his 80s, won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors and was given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a Broadway theater was renamed in his honor.
He cut an elegant figure late in life, with a wry sense of humor and a ferocious work habit. In 2015, he arrived at rehearsals for a Broadway run of "The Gin Game" having already memorized the play and with notebooks filled with comments from the creative team. He said he was always in service of the work.
"The need to storytell has always been with us," he told The Associated Press then. "I think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn't get him."
Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in "Field of Dreams," the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit "The Great White Hope," the writer Alex Haley in "Roots: The Next Generation" and a South African minister in "Cry, the Beloved Country."
He was also a sought-after voice actor, expressing the villainy of Darth Vader ("No, I am your father," commonly misremembered as "Luke, I am your father"), as... Read More