A Brand New View is a collection of 360 interactive video experiences for Carnival Cruise Line. Tying in with the launch of their new vessel, the Carnival Vista, the videos were created by Bipolar Id, a full service virtual reality production company founded in 2015 by leading VR director Gevorg Karensky.

“Virtual tourism offers a unique opportunity for VR, enabling travelers to preview a vacation before they book it,” said David Karapetyan, Executive Chairman at Bipolar. “For the Carnival Vista, we wanted to offer viewers more than a traditional 360° video tour of the ship. We worked closely with Arnold to create a fully immersive and interactive experience that incorporates narrative storytelling, fun visual effects and a gamified hunt for viewers to find Easter eggs located throughout the ship.”

Custom Camera Rig

Bipolar built a custom VR camera rig with four Sony a7S IIs, offering a small footprint to easily move throughout the ship, while still capturing in 4K. Each camera was equipped with a 180° field of view lens, customized S-logs for increased dynamic range performance, and all cameras were fully synchronized to get frame-by-frame accuracy for the VR post-production process. The team also developed a proprietary live stitching system that enabled the director and crew to review all footage on set in real-time through an Oculus Rift.

“Although you see multiple characters on screen together and interacting, in reality, they were never actually filmed together. Sometimes they never even saw each other on the set,” said Post-Producer Dylan Harris. “Each character was shot on separate plates. During post-production, all of the plates were composited to create one seamless 360 degree scene. In final edit, the scenes were cut together to create a series of flawless and fully immersive VR experiences.”