Since its inception in the 1960s, virtual reality (VR) has evolved from an exclusive 3D headset experience to a marketing tool used by both established and emerging businesses. Real estate companies may use virtual reality to offer clients home tours if they can’t visit the property in person. North Face created a virtual mountain climbing experience, and McDonald’s even used a virtual reality video for Happy Meals in Sweden.
Examples like these may have you wondering how to create consumer virtual reality experiences for your business. If you are intrigued by how video for virtual reality can work for you, Pretzel Logic Productions has your solution. We’ll break down some trends in the VR world and explain some tools you can use to make VR a reality.
Trends in Video for Virtual Reality
Mixed Reality
You may have heard of virtual reality and augmented reality (AR), but what about mixed reality? This particular trend blends the best of both worlds, using both VR and AR to merge the physical and virtual worlds.
Ford Motor Company is one brand using mixed reality to optimize its business operations. The company used Microsoft’s HoloLens in their Dearborn studios to view proposed virtual design elements, such as side mirrors and vehicle interiors, in actual vehicles.
The result of using that HoloLens technology saved a lot of time. Instead of spending weeks or months evaluating design elements, Ford’s team could pull up full-size 3D designs in seconds. Using mixed reality gave designers more freedom to experiment and made Ford’s engineering and design processes more efficient.
Multi-Sensory Reality
We have senses beyond sight. While 3D virtual reality can seem realistic, being able to feel or smell the sights around you makes for an even more lifelike experience. To engage even more of your senses than sight and hearing, some device manufacturers are creating technology equipped with an array of scents that they can blend to create thousands of customizable experiences. Some believe the devices could even be used for health purposes, like promoting improved memory in people suffering from age-related cognitive decline or retraining the senses of those with an impaired sense of smell due to COVID.
Haptic gloves add touch to VR by allowing users to feel like they are physically touching objects in the VR world around them. The glove works by providing tactile feedback to the skin. That feedback may include object size, weight and temperature so the user feels the object is truly within their grasp.
Multi-sensory reality means a virtual world with more realistic capabilities and real-world implications is well within our reach.
Interactive Reality
As technology continues to evolve, virtual reality will grow alongside it to create an increasingly realistic virtual world with more sophisticated capabilities. Another trend in VR explores interactive storytelling with characters who can talk and interact with VR users. In the case of Untethered, VR users can interact with game or video characters.
This game-changer in storytelling allows for more customized, user-generated experiences. With this new level of immersion, players can put themselves front and center in the VR experience and play an active role in exploring the virtual world.
Video for Virtual Reality Tools
VR Design Tools
If you have experience creating video content, you’re probably familiar with the storyboarding process. To plan out or storyboard your VR video project, consider using a tool like Arkio or Storyboard VR. Arkio allows you to experience designs in mixed reality, while Storyboard VR will enable you to plan and envision your VR experiences, including movies and marketing campaigns.
360 Camera
While it is possible to convert a regular video to a virtual reality format, it’s much easier to film your video with a 360-degree camera from the start of the project. A 360-degree camera may be omnidirectional or feature a group of small cameras that capture multiple angles. You may also want to take advantage of certain camera accessories, like tripods, mounts and anything else that’s likely to make your shoot run more smoothly.
360 Editing Software
Once you have your video shot, it’s time to edit it together. While you may choose whatever editing program you prefer, Adobe After Effects is one good option. Their VR Comp Editor allows you to switch between 2D and 3D edits and view your video as it would appear in a VR headset.
Video Hosting Site
When your video is complete, you’ll need to find a hosting platform to embed it on your website or wherever you want the video to live. Since not every video hosting platform is compatible with VR video, you’ll need to find one with those hosting capabilities. YouTube and Facebook are popular options, but be sure to review the recommended specifications for hosting and embedding your VR video on your chosen platform.
Next Steps
While VR is rooted in a virtual world, it has many practical applications in the real world. For instance, one recent survey found that VR learners train four times more quickly than those in the classroom and are four times more focused than their e-learning counterparts.
The same survey also found that VR learners are nearly four times more likely to feel emotionally connected to the content they are learning than classroom learners, as well as more likely to feel confident applying the skills they’ve learned post-training. On top of all that, the survey also determined VR learning can be more cost-effective than classroom or e-learning at scale.
So, if you want to incorporate this cutting-edge technology in your business operations for training or marketing purposes, reach out to our team of innovators at Pretzel Logic Productions. We pride ourselves on being a team of visionaries and we look forward to helping you bring your video for virtual reality to fruition.