Category: yi halo

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NFL Debuts Season 2 of ‘NFL Immersed’ Immersive Football Documentary

Google and the NFL today announced season two of Immersed, the multi-episode docuseries following NFL players on and off the field. The first three episodes are available today on Daydream through YouTube VR and the NFL’s YouTube channel.

According to Google’s announcement, the second season of Immersed aims to give football fans an even greater in-depth look at some of the NFL’s most unique personalities. Departing somewhat from the first season, which was a more general slice of football culture, the second season focuses “on players who are making a difference on and off the field,” says NFL Films Producer Jason Weber.

Episodes are broken up into three multi-episode ‘arcs’, which feature a number of players. The first three episodes follow Chris Long, defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles. Future episodes will feature Calais Campbell of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and players from the 2018 Pro Bowl coming soon. Pro Bowl voting is now open, so there’s still no telling who will be featured in those future episodes.

image courtesy NFL

Google has worked with NFL Films to not only help produce the series, but also demonstrate the power of Jump, Google’s platform for VR video capture that combines high-quality 360 cameras and automated stitching. The second season of Immersed was shot with latest Jump camera, the YI HALO, a 3D 360 camera composed of a total of 17 individual Yi camera units.

image courtesy Yi

“VR is such a strong vehicle for empathy, and we wanted to focus the segments on players who are making a difference on and off the field,” says Weber. “Chris Long is having a tremendous season with the Eagles as part of one of the best defenses in football, but his impact off the field is equally inspiring. Calais Campbell is a larger-than-life character whose influence is being felt on the resurgent Jaguars and throughout his new community in Jacksonville. And the Pro Bowl is a unique event where all of the best players come to have fun, and the relaxed setting gives us a chance to put cameras where they normally can’t go, giving viewers a true feeling of what it’s like to play with the NFL’s finest.”

Weber says the Yi Halo’s unique upward-facing camera makes a big difference when capturing football in 360.

“[T]here’s a lot happening in that space that would get lost without it. We can now place a camera in front of a quarterback and have him throw the ball over the Halo, giving a viewer a more realistic view of that scene.” Not only that, the upward-facing camera better captures the pregame flyover. Woosh.

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Google VR Series Explores Supermodel Closets

The world of the supermodel holds a certain fascination for many people. High fashion, make-up, glamour and globe trotting make that world very attractive to some, and Google is offering those people a glimpse into that world with a new virtual reality (VR) series available on Google Daydream.

The series is titled Supermodel Closets and will be available on YouTube 360 for the Google Daydream, with the first episodes going live on 15th August, 2017. The series goes inside the closets of some of the worlds mast famous models, with models such as Kendall Jenner and Cindy Crawford making appearances to look through their clothes collection and discuss the stories and memories behind some of their favourite clothes.

The series is one of the first 360-degree video productions to use YI HALO, Google’s upgrade to the Jump cameras. The new cameras offer 4K quality and full 360-degree views, allowing viewers to look in every direction, even upwards, without seeing distortion or stitching seams. Executive Producer Julina Tatlock was able to use the new camera to access even very awkward, tight spaces with no problems.

Other features such as close-ups of the clothes being discussed and unique graphics will also be added to the video to present a unique, immersive view into the lives of supermodels.

Supermodel Closets is viewable on YouTube 360 using a google Daydream or Google Cardboard. Further episodes will be released over the following weeks.

VRFocus will continue to bring you news on upcoming VR and 360-degree video projects.

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Google Upgrade JUMP Camera into YI HALO

Tech giant Google launched the JUMP programme back in 2015, its aim being to give average consumers the tools for making high-quality virtual reality (VR) films that were usually the domain of well-funded Hollywood film-makers. Google have now announced a new version of the key hardware.

The new camera weighs less than eight pounds, lighter than the original JUMP camera and has 100 minutes of internal battery and is controlled by an Android app that acts as a remote control. The unit has no less than 17 4K cameras to capture scenes as immersively as possible.

Derin Turner, Production Director at VR Playhouse, noted “This camera and Jump ranks as one of the best and easiest pieces of equipment and platform to use on the market.”

Production is handled using the Jump Assembler, which stitches together the footage in a few hours, almost entirely free of artefacts by utilising Google’s computer vision algorithms and using the processing power possessed by Google’s data centres to speed up the rendering process.

Google are also launched an initiative called Jump Start, which allows certain eligible filmmakers and creators free access to a Jump Camera and Jump Assembler to make a VR film. Applications are already open, and film-makers can apply through the Jump Start website until the 22nd May 2017.

A short video detailing the capabilities of the YI HALO camera is available to view below.

YI HALO will be available for sale sometime in summer 2017, though some units are already being made available to certain creators selected by Google. A price point has not yet been confirmed.

VRFocus will bring you further news on YI HALO and other 360-degree hardware products as it becomes available.

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Google Announces Next-gen ‘Jump’ VR Camera, 8K x 8K with Seamless Stitching

Google today announced what the company is calling the “next-generation” of its ‘Jump‘ 3D 360 camera initiative. In partnership with Google, Yi Technology has created the Yi Halo, a 17-camera clock-synchronized array that is designed to be optimized for Google’s automated Jump stitching process which creates impressively seamless 3D 360 output.

Update (4/24/17, 11:34AM PT): Google reached out to correct the price of the Yi Halo camera to $17,000, having initially stated the camera’s price as $18,000. The article below has been corrected.

Original Article (4/24/17): Google announced the Jump initiative back in 2015. Originally it was intended to be an “open” camera design that laid out the ideal camera geometry for the Jump Assembler, Google’s cloud-based automated stitching process. Over time however, the company found that an ideal 3D 360 camera for the Jump Assembler required more than just the right geometry. Having dialed back the open part of Jump, Google is today announcing the first major update to the initiative in some time.

Next-generation Jump Camera

Having worked originally with GoPro to design the ‘Odyssey’ camera for Jump, this time it’s Yi Technology who have worked with Google to create the Yi Halo, which the companies are calling the “next-generation” of Jump cameras. You can see footage captured with the camera here:

The Yi Halo shoots up to 8k x 8k at 30 FPS, or 6k x 6k at 60 FPS, and, thanks to the Jump assembler, outputs 3D 360 video. Based on the Yi 4K Action Camera, and using the Sony IMX377 sensor, the Halo houses 17 individual cameras which the company says are clock-synchronized to “work as one.” That means that when you hit the record button, all the cameras are activated simultaneously, eliminating what’s effectively a rolling-shutter distortion caused by different frame timing between cameras. An inbuilt time-lapse mode can make for some cool long-term captures.

The Halo has its own ad-hoc WiFi network which allows a smartphone to connect and control the camera through an app. The app provides preview & remote control functions, including monitoring and settings & firmware updating which are distributed to the 17 cameras all at once. The Halo also has an on-board touchscreen display which can control all the camera’s functions.

Designed for Reliability and Portability

Priced at $17,000, the Yi Halo is relatively inexpensive as far as professional cameras go, and Google says the camera is made to be a reliable workhorse for mid-level 360 productions; the companies are touting the Halo’s operating specs: rated for continuous operation between 0° and 95°, along with a 100 minute shooting duration on the single internal battery (and there’s also an optional AC input when direct power is an option). On-board bubble-levels make it easy to ensure a level horizon with each shot.

Derin Turner, Production Director at VR Playhouse, notes “This camera and Jump ranks as one of the best and easiest pieces of equipment and platform to use on the market.”

Google says that part of what makes the Yi Halo a reliable field-camera is its impressively light 7.7 lb (3.5 kg) weight, and what comes in the box. Included in the $17k pricetag is a hard-case kit full of tools, replacement parts, chargers, memory card readers and more. The Halo is designed to be field-serviceable; the kit has two spare cameras which can easily be swapped into place so that a single camera failure wouldn’t stop progress on a shoot—the kit even comes with the screwdrivers you’ll need to make the swap. Also included in the kit is an SD card reading array which makes it much easier to pull all the data from the 17 SD cards than doing things 1 SD card at a time.

Those paying careful attention might note that the Yi Halo has one more camera than its predecessor (the Odyssey). Indeed, the Halo has a single upward facing camera where the Odyssey did not. This makes it easier to capture action happening above the camera and eliminates the need to fill in the top view with post-production touchups.

Continued on Page 2 ‘Seamless Stitching’ >>

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