Virtual Reality differs in its core to the traditional cinema. However, one of the important parts of it is the process of stitching. In cinema, the film is edited and the scenes are cut and modified in order to create a unified and linear end product but each scene is shot by on specific camera providing one point of view. In the case of VR, before the editing stage, there is a new category of editors that could be called the “stitchers”.
The Falcon Camera by We Make VR
In order to have the needed spheric environment for VR, you have to stitch together the amount of cameras rolling at the same time and recording the scene from different perspectives. The range of the cameras’ number can reach up to 25 lenses which overlap and thus should be organized accordingly to get the best image quality but also prevent VR sickness as it’s called. Thus, the stitching phase is similar to puzzle solving because you have to put all the pieces in the right place. This process gives the editors a better control of their own footage by closely observing every provided angle. However, the filming process has to face different obstacles such as a camera failing during shooting or starting later or earlier than the rest of them. The program that can perform this kind of complex stitching is called Auto Pano and it is a French software dominant in the market for the time being. However, as VR evolves ,there will hopefully be new editions of the software or more companies creating updated programs.
Learning to use this software gave us a better understanding of how Virtual Reality works and made us more aware of the infinite possibilities that this new medium brings with it.