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A picture says a thousand words, so launch this link vr360.sweb.media on your Android phone (Samsung S6 or other) via the Chrome mobile browser, click the goggles in the lower right corner, put it in your Google Cardboard, and view immediate headset-based VR from a cloud-based website. Get an introduction to the immersive world of VR now – it’s for everyone!

ASSIMILATE announced today it is the first company to effectively stream VR content to a headset from a cloud-based website through a standard browser for review and approval.

ASSIMILATE is expanding its SCRATCH Web cloud-platform capabilities to offer the first professional, web-based dailies/review tool for reviewing headset-based VR content anywhere in the world. SCRATCH Web empowers content creators and post-production artists with VR technology that offers the most secure, easiest, and fastest reviews of 360 VR content.

Once you’ve launched your SCRATCH Web review link for the VR content, you can playback VR imagery, pan around imagery or create a “magic window” so that you can just move your smart phone around, similar to looking through a window to the 360 content behind it. The VR content, including metadata, is automatically formatted for 360 video-headsets, such as Google Cardboard. The reviewer can then make notes and comments on their mobile device to send back to the sender. It’s that simple. Watch for future announcements about support for other mobile devices, headsets and browsers.

SCRATCH Web is a key product component of the end-to-end SCRATCH 8.4 data-workflow and ecosystem used by filmmakers and post-production artists in the creation of films, videos, and TV episodes -- from on-set through to color grading, reviews, compositing, finishing, and mastering. SCRATCH Play also comprises this first professional production/post-product workflow and toolset to support VR content. Content creators can also review VR content on any computer with SCRATCH and SCRATCH Play. Just add a tethered headset, such as Oculus Rift, for a more immersive impact.

“SCRATCH Web is all about bringing professional, secure tools and workflows to the VR content creators. And along with SCRATCH 8.4, creators gain a jump-start in the VR market while streaming their VR workflows to headsets for greatly increased productivity, decreased costs, and faster time to market,” said Jeff Edson, CEO at Assimilate. 

Edson added, “With a single VR workflow, creators no longer need to cobble together tools – they can stay focused on the content to create innovative imagery that will have a strong impact on the VR experience and the overall growth of the VR market. Creating exceptional imagery deserves an exceptional workflow and toolset, and we deliver that in SCRATCH and SCRATCH Web.”

Highlights of SCRATCH Web VR

SCRATCH Web give creators and post artists a highly effective review and collaboration tool they can use anywhere in the world. This gives them a significant leg up in the rapidly growing VR markets, enabling them to innovate and create high-quality, immersive VR content that packs a punch for viewing audiences.

Features

• Set up your personal SCRATCH Web channel and create multiple accounts for projects or clients. All accounts are secure and you can choose to publish content privately or publicly.
• Set passwords to publish privately to clients and specific reviewers, or publish publicly for all to see.
• Gather and prepare your VR content with SCRATCH Play and then publish to your SCRATCH Web account at your convenience.
• Watch, review, and collaborate on VR content via an Android smart phone (such as Samsung Galaxy) with Google Cardboard and Chrome Browser. Support for additional smart phones, headsets and browsers are in your future.
• Mix VR and non-VR footage

See a SCRATCH Web demo at https://vimeo.com/141861471

What Users and Partners Are Saying

Leandro Marini, founder and supervising colorist of Local Hero, a high-end post facility in Santa Monica, is a pioneer of post-production for VR media. In early 2015, his studio developed the VR workflow in SCRATCH and did the color grading and finishing of “Kaiju Fury”, a short-film production of New Deal Studios and JauntVR.  Marini has completed many high-profile VR projects, such as “Scream Queens” VR for FOX, and is currently in post-production for a new VR project by an A-List director to be released later this year. 

“SCRATCH has proven to be the most effective and powerful post toolset and workflow for me, and I’ve found it to be the same case for VR content. And SCRATCH Web is a first-class review tool that streamlines client and technical reviews, which can otherwise be a time-consuming process,” said Marini. “With the SCRATCH Web VR update, I now have a complete end-to-end VR workflow that enables me to be highly productive and to create high-quality results for my clients, which gives me a competitive edge as well.” www.localheropost.com

Zeality (app) - 360º video player in the palm of your hand: “SCRATCH and SCRATCH Web were an integral part of the post-production for our Zeality videos,” stated Dipak Patel, CEO at Zeality. “The web-based review capability gives us, for the first time, a quick and easy way for clients to review VR work-in-progress.” Download the Zeality app to see videos and more at www.zeality.co

SCRATCH Backgrounder

SCRATCH 8.4 is the latest version of ASSIMILATE’s advanced, real-time post-production tools and workflow. It offers the latest advancements in digital cinema technology that DITs, post-production artists and all filmmakers need to be creative, productive, and competitive. SCRATCH 8.4 provides content creators with an abundance of advanced features that enable them to excel at what they do, and at a price everyone can afford.

SCRATCH 8.4 is the first professional production/post-product workflow and toolset for VR content. SCRATCH Web is the first professional, cloud-based dailies/review tool for reviewing immersive VR content anywhere in the world.

Price and availability:

SCRATCH Web VR is available immediately, starting at $79 per month for a private channel. Go to http://store.assimilateinc.com/products.php?product=SCRATCH-Web-Channel-%252d-Subscription. For more information about SCRATCH VR, SCRATCH Web, SCRATCH Play, and SCRATCH, go to products at www.assimilateinc.com

About ASSIMILATE
ASSIMILATE is the premier provider of real-time post-production and workflow tools that have proven essential to the successful creation of 2D/3D/VR studio and independent feature films, documentaries, TV episodes, and music videos. The SCRATCH product line, running on Windows and OS X, equips directors, DPs, on-set DITs and post-production artists with the state-of-the-art, cost-effective, data-centric solutions they need to meet the challenges of increased creativity and productivity amid ever-shrinking budgets. SCRATCH is resolution independent, supporting multiple formats, including ARRI RAW, KineRAW, Sony F5/55/65 and Cyber Shot s700, Phantom, Panasonic Varicam 4K, Canon C300/C500, Canon 3DGoPro, as well as enhanced support for all RED cameras. SCRATCH is the only post-production tool to support native Kinefinity RAW (KRW and DNG) files. SCRATCH enables mixing and matching of any camera format, resolution or color space (including ACES) on the same timeline. Learn more at www.assimilateinc.com.