Click for Previous blog > 1:2 Planning Wall Layout In 360° Immersive Spaces…

In contrast to conventional animation or design with a single viewport, we now possess four. This presents an exhilarating prospect seldom available in traditional 2D design. Here, we can unveil what would typically remain obscured behind the camera, enabling us to guide the viewer on an immersive journey through 3D space, or “around the room”

*As you embark on the early planning stages, consider the objectives for your content. Ponder the narrative journey you intend for the learner and other factors, like the audience size. Whether a grand collective experience, smaller subgroups, or an individual encounter, such considerations will guide decisions on the simultaneous allocation of content across different walls in the room.

Art gallery layout example:

Fig.2> Monet art gallery 3 dimensions example

Planning an Art gallery example workflow…How to begin the planning process

1. Choose your Artist or Movement of choice

2. Decide the running order of the Art on the walls, maybe by year of creation, or simply by the artwork size

3. What will be the focal piece of my gallery? will I make this an entire wall?

4. Will the gallery be linked to others forming part of the lesson, if this is the case maybe we can use a separate gallery to showcase one large piece of art in detail

5. How will the pieces be viewed? if in small learning groups then maybe it would be a good idea to curate each walls collection for individual group focus/discussion

6. Background image of the gallery, we could link this to be themed around the actual real world art gallery where the artwork hangs (continuity)

7. Will tasks be initiated for your learners after seeing the galleries? with this in mind you may want to embed QR codes or interactive links within the content itself so students can easily access further work book material’s

Simple animation loops

At this early stage we always recommend you learn the basics with “static” creations as in the above gallery examples, but adding in some basic looping animations to drive the narrative around the 360° space can enhance your fundamental building blocks preparing you for more advanced immersive creations.

*In our next example we have simply created an underwater scene where a looping animation of a Whale is swimming around the immersive space. This is a good start to understanding how objects when animated on a flat surface loop through the scene.

Example of flat looping animation scene ©New Realities Lab 2024

Example of room wrapped looping animation scene ©New Realities Lab 2024

*In Content Creation Basics 1 through 5, we are only scratching the surface of building the fundamental blocks for animating and creating engaging content in immersive environments. Don't be discouraged by the slow progress at this stage; laying this foundational animation & layout knowledge is essential for you to successfully tackle more advanced creations further down the line.

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]]>1:3 organising and animating visual elements in a 360° scene…Content Creation basicsNew Realities LabWed, 31 Jan 2024 11:45:45 +0000https://www.newrealitieslab.com/blog/planning-wall-layout-in-360-immersive-spaces64ca1c6b16c2721febbef045:65b110dfb4775c668f8b0416:65b382ae9442a010f98f368d

Hopefully, you've checked out our intro to equirectangular maps (if not click the link below this section). Now, let's dive into how this relates to the walls in our immersive space and how we'll craft content to fit seamlessly. Ensuring text and focal points align perfectly with the room walls ensuring an ideal experience for our audience.

Click for Previous blog > 1:1 What Is Equirectangular Projection Mapping?

First, let's examine the overlay template in detail, then explore how to leverage it for planning our 360 content creation.
Download our compositing template below for FREE

As seen in Fig.1> by overlaying our template onto a 4K - 2:1 aspect ratio 360° image (3840x1920) we can now analyse what fits in our scene and plan for navigation, corners, and focal points. Let's break it down to one wall for a clearer understanding!

*Remember we are working in 3 dimensions so everything you can see above the templates green lines is effectively “ceiling” and below the lines “floor” so unless you are working with floor or celling projection you will not see this part of the content field.

Fig.2> As evident in the one-wall cross-section, our layout features a circular focal region with a central focal point or horizon line, a blue safe text box, and a green outer scene frame. When shooting or creating graphics for one wall, our goal is to keep focal elements centred within the circular area, ensuring the overall scene fits neatly within the green box. The blue safe text box minimizes text warping, as explained in our equirectangular blog (link), whilst also maintaining legibility away from room corners. We can see how this translates into a 3D space/environment below.

When addressing the bleed section, a full corner to corner canvas may not always be available or needed to extend into the room corners, especially when creating a seamless background just for the room walls. In the example below Fig.4> where the plan is to wrap a seamless space image around the room walls then when we create the canvas there is no need to fill the whole canvas as it will not be seen. But we should always take our image to the furthermost regions of the red bleed area to ensure we are taking the image past the edge boundaries of the room walls (this will never be seen as there is no projection on these areas of the wall).

Fig.5> Now looking at the space canvas in an immersive room we can see the bleed area is not visible, but it gives us a couple of hundred pixels play with upper and lower edges, in case of projector or physical room wall movement.

So what part of the image appears on each wall in the room? well lets look at Fig.6> Fig.6:1> and as we can see the room is broken down into 4 x 960x540px walls with F as the focal wall or main wall, then L & R as left and right wall. The key to your planning is BK1 & BK2 which are back wall 1 & 2. These walls are effectively your back wall (or entrance wall with door) they will join together seamlessly to become the back wall, creating the immersive sphere/environment.

Fig.7> Overlaying the template on an equirectangular image and then looping it in a 360° video player we can see the seamless nature of the grid, and what parts of the video will fall outside of the viewing area in an immersive space.

Fig.7> Example of layout grid applied to seamless video loop ©New Realities Lab 2024

Now that you've got the lowdown on how your equirectangular images and 360° videos fit into your immersive space, it's time to get creative and start arranging objects and text in your scene to construct your lessons or immersive experiences. Stay tuned for our next blog, where we'll dive into adding these elements using the grid and space layout knowledge we've already covered!.

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]]>1:2 planning wall layout in 360° Immersive spaces…Content Creation basicsNew Realities LabWed, 24 Jan 2024 15:48:01 +0000https://www.newrealitieslab.com/blog/what-is-equirectangular-projection64ca1c6b16c2721febbef045:65b110dfb4775c668f8b0416:65b131315e44b104eee9803f

Equirectangular projection mapping is a technique commonly used in the realm of immersive content creation, particularly in the fields of virtual reality (VR) and 360° video production. This method plays a crucial role in transforming spherical imagery into a format that can be accurately displayed on flat surfaces, enabling immersive experiences for users.

At its core, equirectangular projection is a mapping technique that represents the entire surface of a sphere onto a flat plane, creating a rectangular image. This projection is specifically designed to cover the entire field of view in all directions, capturing a panoramic view that can be navigated in a virtual environment.

The term "equirectangular" is derived from the fact that the width-to-height ratio of the resulting image is 2:1. In other words, the horizontal extent is twice the vertical extent. This specific ratio makes it easy to map spherical content onto a flat surface, facilitating the creation and distribution of immersive content.

*Remember using this “un-wrapping” technique comes with distortion attributes we need to remember when using text in our creations. As shown above the heat spot deformity clearly show us where distortion will occur in our scene.

Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tissot%27s_indicatrix

One primary application of equirectangular projection mapping is in 360° content creation. When capturing images or videos with a 360° camera, the raw output is typically in equirectangular format. This format preserves the entire spherical panorama, making it compatible with online platforms, and various immersive spaces.

You may have scene this type of “un-wrapping” technique before with the Mercator map projection, this however uses a slightly different technique than equirectangular, as the Mercator projection preserves the shape and direction of small features, but distorts the area and distance of large regions.

In the realm of immersive classrooms and educational content, equirectangular projection plays a pivotal role. Educators and content creators can use this technique to develop immersive lessons and experiences that transport learners to virtual environments. Whether exploring historical landmarks, scientific phenomena, or cultural sites, equirectangular projection allows for a seamless and distortion-free presentation.

TOP TIP: In the below example on YouTube we get to clearly see in the preview thumbnail how media players store the video in a FLAT unwrapped format, and when we press play the player wraps the flat image into an immersive sphere.

Educational lesson example: NASA’s Commercial Crew Program VR 360 Tour, NASA STEM Engagement Specialist Rachel Power gives you an overview of the astronaut training required for living and working on the International Space Station. This video is a 360° immersive tour of the facilities inside Johnson Space Centre.

The process of creating content using equirectangular projection involves specialized software for stitching and editing. After capturing the spherical imagery, creators use these tools to ensure a smooth transition from the curved to flat format. This meticulous process ensures that when learners engage with 360° content they experience a cohesive and immersive environment.

A great place to start making content is by buying a 360° camera which come with really simple editing software, we recommend a good starter camera as - Buy X3 - Waterproof 360 Action Camera - Insta360

In conclusion, equirectangular projection mapping is a foundational aspect of immersive content creation, serving as the bridge between spherical capture and flat display. This technique enables the development of captivating educational experiences, allowing learners to explore and interact with virtual worlds. As technology continues to advance, equirectangular projection remains a key tool for shaping the future of immersive learning and virtual experiences.

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]]>1:1 What is equirectangular projection mapping?