ARTE 360: Edge of Space

Documentary, 11 min, dir. Thomas Wallner, Canada, ARTE360, DEEP Inc, Koncept VR

VR filmmaker Thomas Wallner and 360 cinematographer Joergen Geerds document the flight of one of the largest stratospheric balloons into near space and capture the first 360 degree images ever recorded in the upper atmosphere.

A production in cooperation with the Canadian Space Agency CSA and the french space agency CNES.

Experience this with the ARTE360-App- available for Android and iOS!

More info about the film on Kaleidoscope VR web site — http://kaleidovr.com/project/edgeofspace

Koncept VR has a great case study about the film. Here are some extracts:

“In Timmins, Canada on August 27th, 2015, a camera traveled an altitude of 40km for 3 ½ hours, yielding record-breaking 360 video images of the earth captured in the upper stratosphere.”

When it came time to build a structure that could withstand the challenges of the upper stratosphere, Wallner called in a true expert — Koncept VR’s CEO Joergen Geerds. Founder of Freedom360. Geerds is not only the inventor of the original 360 rig, but also has a background in art, advertising and film as well as a tireless drive to push VR’s cinematic boundaries. He equipped a balloon with two custom spherical camera systems. One system sported 15 cameras, the other 6. The cameras had to survive near-vacuum conditions and temperatures ranging from -80 to +50 degrees Celsius, requiring heavy modifications to ensure they’d still capture the footage needed. Needless to say, this VR documentary was a success and the first of its kind.

I could add that “Edge of space” was a hit at our EMC VR Film Festival leaving almost everyone impressed. Some of the audience asked to show them the film again as they wanted to watch again another “story” of 360 storytelling.