Sherri Hill 360

360RIZE Productions Takes NYFW for Sherri Hill

 

Mirjeta Shala, Miss Universe Kosovo 2013, pictured with the Pro7.

The undeniable success of virtual reality and 360 video has really impacted the mainstream media this year. We all know that. But what makes a VR experience truly powerful? Access. The possibility to go literally anywhere in the world at any given time.

Sherri Hill recognized the special ability VR possessed and wanted to give everyone a front row seat to her show at New York Fashion Week (NYFW) this past February. How does one invite thousands of attendees from all over the world to a venue that would only hold so many? I’m sure you guessed it, by taking advantage of new innovating technology and shooting it in 360 degrees.

Production Overview

The show was on a cold Friday evening at Gotham Hall in NYC. We arrived at 9:00am even though the event started at 6:00pm to be sure we had enough time to prepare for the shoot. We established a home base backstage and set up our workstations. This event would last just twenty minutes from the first dress to the last but with 360 video there is more to plan than a typical production.

The second PRO7 was located by the Press at the end of the runway
The second PRO7 was located by the Press at the end of the runway.

In order to keep the viewer engaged we decided to capture behind the scenes (BTS), the red carpet, and arrange two different camera positions for the show. The Client wanted the viewer to feel like a true VIP so we set-up a camera in the middle of the runway directly across from where Laura Marano, co-designer of Sherri Hill Spring 2016, would be sitting. To make sure the models were in the perfect sightline of the rig it was positioned 5ft in the air just above the stark white runway using an Alta Pro tripod- a staple in our productions. We also set one up at the end of the runway near the press.

Since the cameras would be running for the entire show we quadruple checked that all the GoPro batteries were fully charged (with spare charged batteries on deck), lenses were clean as can be and all the settings were correct (ex. dropping the ISO on the GoPro cameras to compensate for the dark atmosphere). Thanks to my killer crew the shoot went well.

Post-Production Overview

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Nina Page preparing to capture some BTS.

We used 360CamManV2 to organize all the files before ingesting into Kolor Autopano, Giga and Video. We compiled the piece together in Adobe Premiere using some fun editing techniques with speed ramping, morphing, and minimal patching/compositing. Sherri Hill even licensed music from Borns such as “American Money” to really set the stage.

We were met with the challenge to squeeze every dress into a five-minute video. Post-production was tricky because most VR experiences are only a few minutes long. If the viewer gets bored then the piece won’t resonate with them. However, the final deliverable ended up being eight minutes in length due to longer cuts but still made for an exciting piece.

Matt Sheils quick stitching on set in preparation for the NYFW shoot.
Matt Sheils quick stitching on set in preparation for the NYFW shoot.

NYFW & VR in 2017

Fast forward to September 2016 and 13 different fashion shows will be live streamed by Voke this week to anyone with a Gear VR. In fact, you can even purchase clothing right off the runway in the virtual store through a virtual shopping cart. These elite shows are no longer just for private clients and buyers but for the masses. All thanks to 360 video.

Thanks for joining us, until next time.