IMMERSIVE TECH
It wasn’t long before she led her own 360° VR project for the UN called Born into Exile , which follows two pregnant Syrian refugee women in the week leading up to their babies’ births. “The UN were putting money into making this kind of content because they found that it made people more likely to engage and donate,” she explains. Since being contacted to work on Apple TV+’s first immersive series in 2023, Mikkelborg has worked primarily in 180° immersive content. This front-facing format captures everything in front of the viewer, without the full wraparound of 360°. It offers filmmakers the freedom to shoot in ultra-high resolution, using tools like Blackmagic’s URSA Cine 17K, while keeping control over lighting and camera movement. ”There’s an amount of choreography that goes into directing for immersive that you don’t necessarily get in 2D,” she asserts. But the payoff? “You get
someone’s complete attention, and that’s such a rare treat. When we’re watching films these days, we’re often also on our phones – distracted. But with this, you’ve got somebody entirely immersed in your content.” An antidote to second screen syndrome is a win in our books, and we’re pretty sure filmmakers will love the prospect of having the audience’s undivided attention. But in a medium where the viewer has the freedom to explore, exactly how to direct their attention to the thing you want them to focus on becomes the new challenge. It’s something Craig Heffernan, EMEA director at Blackmagic Design, recognises from a technical standpoint. When working with a 180° field of view, he points out, considerations must be made for all elements of the scene, both 180° vertically and horizontally. “In traditional filmmaking, editing, camera movement or in-frame action
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DEFINITIONMAGS
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