The last few years have been difficult for the creative field: many productions were shut down, we had to work with a barebones crew and learn to work with minimal in-person contact. This dramatically changed the shape of the industry. Through this pandemic, communication with clients and working from home really pushed technology at a very fast rate.
One area that advanced rapidly was virtual tours. The technology was there before the pandemic but was only utilized by the real estate industry. This technology is not “new” by any means. Advancements in lidar technology made the virtual tour experience more realistic and accurate than ever before.
3D virtual tours have been widely used in real estate to showcase properties. During the pandemic, this sector had to adapt to the new lock down restrictions. The use of virtual tours essentially replaced traditional open houses. Agents were able to show properties to buyers from the comfort of their own home. It was a great way to give buyers a true representation of the living space without the risk of personal interaction and all of the sanitizing and cleaning needed. Virtual tours have also been excellent marketing tools for interior designers, contractors and landscapers to showcase their work.
Amanda Tobin
The unique needs of the post-pandemic world opened other industries to utilize and customize virtual tours for their respective fields. For example, retailers have turned tours into virtual showrooms. Shoppers can now see products in an actual space and have a better idea of the product’s real size and colour. Products are no longer bound by traditional 2-dimensional images. Shoppers can fly around and view products from different angles and information tags can be attached to each product containing additional text, images and videos that change the shopping experience to a complete presentation experience.
Gladys Orozco
Virtual Showroom Challenge
For this particular virtual showroom, we wanted to showcase Figure skating costume designer Charlene Bailey’s work on ice. The concept was to present her figure skating outfits on professional figure skaters on ice.
We opted to capture her designs in a practice rink so production could be done in a shorter time frame and we would have more control over the space, as opposed to a full-size skating rink.
For lighting, we selected broncolor LED F160 and Move with mobiLED. Broncolor is the preferred choice because of their high true Color Rendering Index of 97+ which produces accurate colours and skin tones on both garments and skaters.
These LED lights are flicker free which allows us to setup only once for 3D, photo and video production. broncolor lamps share the same light modifiers for both photo and video which keeps production costs lower and simplifies setups. One light does do it all.
LED F160 is powerful at 160w (600w tungsten equivalent). Colour temperature can be adjusted from 2800 to 6800 K. This is crucial because some virtual capturing devices have no kelvin temperature adjustment and correcting in post processing is not always feasible due to time constraints. Therefore, everything needed to look right in the camera during the capture process.
The F160 can be powered by an optional lithium battery. This entire setup is lightweight and can be mounted entirely on one stand. By removing cords and cables from ice level, there is no tripping hazard so the skaters can move freely on ice. This also ensures on-set safety for the crew plus the set can be setup and torn down faster, which also reduces production time.
Matthew Markell
Results
We managed to complete the entire shoot from setup, virtual tour capture, photo, video and load out in under 5 hours. A complete capture of the practice rink with figure skaters in bespoke costume for the virtual tour was fully customized with colour, menu and point of interest tags in place throughout the space. The tour also features a behind the scenes video where viewers can see the lighting setup: how the skaters were lit with each modifier and how each piece of equipment was used in production with full text description and links to regional retailers with rental information.
Tips
Even though this is not our first collaboration on ice, we still found additional tips to make production more efficient:
- Stay warm and have plenty of hot drinks and snacks for the crew. Working in a cold environment drains you of energy. A warm belly makes everyone happy which makes the creative process a bit more pleasant for everyone.
- Always communicate with your crew. Plan and coordinate your colours in advance, but also leave extra room for impromptu changes.
- Keep your equipment dry. Always keep power packs off the ice and in their cases – strap them to light stands if possible as they double as weights for stability. Power packs do generate low heat after a period of operation leading to ice melt – the melted water can seep through and damage your equipment. broncolor cases for Move packs have rubber feet to minimize this plus the packs could be hung on light stands as counterweights.
- Triple check your electrical setup and have plenty of backup batteries on hand. Lithium batteries do work in cold environments, however battery life is cut short with exposure to cold. Warming batteries in your jacket can help extend battery life.
- Always opt to work with professionals. For this particular shoot, we were very fortunate to work with professional figure skaters. Not only are they accomplished in their figure skating career, they are also experienced performers. They knew how to conserve energy and stay warm in between takes, hold poses on ice and were able to emote in cold temperatures.
Conclusion
The final production, with 3D rendering, information tags and video production was completed in a few weeks. Thanks to the consistency of the broncolor LED lighting, post-production colour grading of stills, video and 3D renders were minimal. Other LED lights, with less accurate colour outputs, would have made these tasks far more difficult to match each light and each skater. The homogeneous quality of the broncolor lighting, while more of an up-front investment, saved hundreds of hours of post production time.
The end result was threefold. A virtual showroom was created that can be used to show the skills and abilities of the figure skaters. This is a unique portfolio piece for them to share. A separate virtual showroom is available for Charlene Bailey’s “cb” line of figure skating clothing. Product tags and links to her sales platform allow potential customers to inspect the outfits from all angles while learning more about each design and each product. A third virtual showroom was created for broncolor – showing the products used and allowing customers to not only see the lights but also see them in use. The quality of each light is apparent as you fly around the space.
Where to Buy?
Purchase from an authorized broncolor Canada dealer: Dealers & Rental – Broncolor Canada
Credits
This couldn’t be possible without the help and dedication of our entire team, but it all starts with the creative genius behind the clothing and design, Charlene Bailey of CB Design @cb_official
Huge thanks to our incredible skaters, who braved the cold whilst not moving!
Gladys Orozco @gladys_orozco
Amanda Tobin @amandatobinn
Matthew Markell @matt_skating
Michelle Long @themichellelong
Production Team
Silistudio Sam Tsang, Silvia Li @silistudio
Videographer/Digital Tech/Video Editor
Jake Wagler @jacob.wagler
Lighting Assistants
Brian Simon @tarsipix
Samuel Lee @mediadistrictca
Lighting
Will Prentice, broncolor Canada @broncolor_canada
YouTube Direct Link: BRONCOLOR 3D Showroom – YouTube
Enter 3D Home Tour
Author : by Sam Tsang & Will Prentice
A portrait, fine art and commercial photographer for 30 plus years, Will Prentice is not just a contributor to PHOTONews magazine, but also host of PHOTONewsTV, owner of Captura Photography+Imaging and Technical Support/Brand Manager for Amplis Foto, Canada’s largest distributor of photographic equipment.
Will teaches photographers of all skill levels how to improve their craft – from creative photo projects to picking the right gear for their needs to flattering lighting to getting the best expressions to creating final images for screen and print. His unique style of highly detailed images with perfect tonality, wide dynamic range and stunning colour is instantly recognizable. Commercial clients rely on Will’s creative eye and mastery of lighting.
When he’s not behind the camera or in front of a class, you’ll find Will outdoors in any weather – usually on one of his bikes or enjoying time with his grandchildren.
