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delivery of all types of content, including 360-degree experiences. While VR
cameras in the $30,000-plus range exist,
most manufacturers have targeted the
"prosumer" demographic, offering cameras that combine robust features with
high-resolution captures in the $5,000$17,000 range. If the market continues
along the current trajectory, costs will
continue to come down as technology
improves and manufacturers narrow
their focus.
Spatial audio refers to sound that
has been specifically localized within
the experience and that, by accounting
and compensating for the movement of
the user's head, stays true to its intended
position. For instance, if someone in the
VR footage is talking, no matter where
an audience member looks within the
experience, the sound still comes from
that speaker's visual location.
If a camera doesn't provide adequate
spatial audio recording (ambisonics),
then consider augmenting the VR capture system with a standalone spatial microphone and/or recorder. At Baylor, the
Zoom H2N microphone and recorder
proved to be a robust yet straightforward
solution for recording spatial audio that
can easily be combined with VR footage
on a variety of projects. The H2N can record and store spatial audio in the popular AmbiX B-format, has good limiter
options, can mount on a standard tripod,
and has a reasonable price point. Other
ambisonic microphones and associated
recording devices abound, so again, research and decide what makes sense for
your needs. The Facebook group "Spatial Audio in VR/AR/MR" is an incredible
resource on this topic. The members of
this group represent a wealth of knowledge from working professionals, hobbyists, and industry representatives.

Editing Tips and Tools

Once you've captured video and audio
files, the next step is to edit them. If the
color and resolution of the captured footage are immediately viable for distribution, the editing process could be as
simple as cutting shots together and mixing with your audio. Regrettably, this is
almost never a reality. On the plus side,
the world of VR editing affords some incredibly exciting possibilities, especially
for users already trained in the theatrical
art of world-building.

Content from AR/VR theatre piece, Transmission, indicates objects added to VR footage during editing.
The screencap has red arrows showing the added elements. Image courtesy of Ian Garrett.

As with any institution-based work,
of course, software choices may be impacted not only by institutional licenses, but also project needs and budgets.
Baylor found that Adobe's Premiere and
After Effects have been integrating tools
and effects specifically designed to bolster the work of a VR editor. VR-specific
effects that "understand" the unique
challenges of working with video footage
warped to a sphere, and incorporating
stereoscopic depth, have been particularly useful for the projects at Baylor. Within these software programs, users can
easily add text and other graphics into
your VR world, adjusting their distance
relative to the viewer and even warping
them to mesh with physical objects captured within the scene. Most of the color
tools that work on standard footage will
still work well with VR footage; however,
some specific effects needed to be rebuilt
for use in a spherical format, such as
blurs, transitions, and spherical rotation.
These are located under the "immersive
video" headings in their respective categories.
Though the spatial audio captured
alongside the VR footage can also be directly edited via toolsets available within
Premiere, Baylor found that the Facebook 360 Spatial Workstation provides
a more intuitive and robust editing experience. The setup applies the FB360
Spatial Workstation plugin within Pro
Tools Ultimate, which happens to be the
theatre department's Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) of choice. This plugin allows for the adjustment of several spatial
audio parameters such as X, Y, and Z
rotation of ambisonic recordings, as well

as locational positioning of individual
sounds within the experience. The team
has very successfully used the graphical
overlay function to align multiple singers'
vocal tracks with their individual movements around the camera. By leveraging
Doppler, room character, and spread effects built into plugin, the final product
mimicked the theatre's natural ambience
in order for the viewer to feel as though
the performers were truly singing and
dancing around them. It is this level of
immersion that presents a unique opportunity for theatre practitioners to faithfully share theatrical experiences.

Testing Theatrical Uses

Technology will soon make fully VR
productions an accessible and affordable reality, but will investors open that
door? The answer may lie in the how audiences respond to recent endeavors in
this arena, such as Hamlet VR: Thy Father's Spirit, a collaborative effort from
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
and Google. This hour-long experience,
which asks the user to embody the
ghost of Hamlet's father, not only represents the longest VR theatre piece ever
produced, it might also hold the title of
longest run-time for any live-action VR
piece thus far. Will the $500,000 price
tag attached to the production be worth
the effort? Will audiences value the highquality stereoscopic capture, spatial audio, or expertly crafted post-production?
Will they be willing to strap a headset to
their face for an hour of Shakespeare?
Only time and interaction data will tell.
AR likewise presents some interesting potential developments for theatriFALL 2019

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Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2019