From Zero to #100humans
Taking the next step in human communication with volumetric 3D video
In 2015, we set out to record the first 100 humans for virtual reality in volumetric 3D, with 8i software. We started with Ashley and her six-month old daughter Reese. Ashley held Reese in her arms and shared a heartfelt message for the future. Six months later, they returned to our studio days before Reese’s first birthday, and we were all in awe as she took some of her very first steps across our studio.
Reese’s growth and development was as evident as the progress in our technology. When we began #100humans, we could only record a partial torso. Today, we’re excited to share a technological breakthrough in virtual reality with the introduction of fully volumetric 3D video — you can now walk completely around Reese toddling in VR and experience an unprecedented sense of presence. The experience is so real and visceral that, when you remove the headset, you need a moment to recalibrate that Reese is not really in the room.
“I feel like I was there again that same day,” said Ashley Martin Scott, seeing 6-month old Reese in VR for the first time. “I can see how her thighs have changed and her hands have gotten bigger, and her hair color has changed. It’s like a time warp.”
Taking #100humans to where it all began
As we wrapped up our #100humans project, we were thrilled to learn it was accepted into the 2016 Sundance Film Festival as part of the New Frontier exhibition. It’s where the resurgence in VR began four years ago with journalist Nonny de la Peña (a #100humans participant). Nonny wanted to tell her story “Hunger in Los Angeles” in the most realistic way possible, so she combined original real-life audio with CG humans in VR.
It’s exciting to be able to offer our new volumetric technology to storytellers like Nonny to see what they will create with it.
In #100humans, Nonny recalls the challenge of showing “Hunger in Los Angeles” at Sundance at a time when virtual reality headsets were $40,000 apiece. One of the people who solved her problem was her former intern, Palmer Lucky, whose duct-taped solution later became the Oculus Rift.
The next step in human communication
The Oculus Rift and other headsets set to launch next year are incredibly promising. Exciting advancements in high-end devices — beginning with the HTC Vive — include positional tracking, a complementary hardware solution for volumetric 3D that lets users move around VR experiences. This freedom of movement allows storytellers to shift control to the audience — the viewer takes the driver’s seat and chooses their own perspective, ultimately directing their experience. Many call this true VR, and we believe that all headsets will eventually have positional tracking in the future.
It was only a century ago when we had evolved from single recordings (microphone, photograph, film camera) to stereo recordings (theatrophone, stereoscope, stereo film cameras). Today, we have entered a new phase of combining many simultaneous recordings (positional audio, photography and volumetric video). As we explore this new medium of virtual reality through #100humans, it’s become clear to us that volumetric 3D is the next step forward in the evolution of storytelling and human communication.
By Linc Gasking, Cofounder and CEO of 8i
