IMMERSIVE VIDEO PRODUCTION Project 1 360° video experimental

ZHOU YUTONG / 0378676

Week1---Week2   (21/4/2026---28/4/2026)

IMMERSIVE VIDEO PRODUCTION/ Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media 

 Project 1  360° video experimental


TABLE OF CONTENT
INSTRUCTIONS

LECTURE

PROJECT

FEEDBACK

REFLECTION


          INSTRUCTIONS


          LECTURE

          Week 1: Course Introduction and Basic Understanding

          Core: VR Space Construction, VFX Emotional and Interactive Experience Shaping

          Course Significance: To cultivate creators capable of designing spatialized, immersive experiences, integrating visual design, interaction, and immersive workflows.

          Core Issue: Can visual effects bring emotions and feedback to VR that cannot be achieved through mere spatial manipulation?

          Key Tools: Gaussian Splash (Live-Action Capture), Blender (Assets/Animation), Godot (World Building/Interaction), HMD (Experience Testing)

          VR VFX Characteristics: Triggers Presence, Uses Effects to Enhance Emotional Immersion, Expressing Subjective Feelings of Dreams/Memories Rather Than Simply Recreating Reality

          Assignments: Project Proposal, Project Deliverables

          Course Rhythm: First 4 weeks: Theory (VR/VFX → Immersion/Presence → VR Narrative → Perception Theory); Last 6 weeks: Practical Application (Tracking/Interaction → Assets/Scenes → Effects Integration → Output)


          1. Immersion

          Definition: Deeply engaged in an experience, with attention drawn in and reduced perception of the outside world.

          Immersion methods in different media:

          Novels: Language, narrative, emotion, imagination

          Film: Moving images, sound, shots/editing/color, emotional involvement

          Daydreaming: Inward focus of attention, self-generated scenes

          VR: Sensory closure, spatial perception, interactive embodiment

          2. Presence

          Definition: Feeling "truly there," treating the medium/virtual space as a real-life location.

          Difference from Immersion:

          Immersion = Deep engagement

          Presence = Being physically present

          Three types of presence:

          Spatial presence: Feeling physically present in the environment

          Social presence: Feeling the presence of others/characters

          Self-presence: Feeling that the virtual body/perspective belongs to oneself

          3. Design Direction

          Goals: Enhance immersion, support presence, reduce discomfort, make the virtual world "habitable"

          Methods: Unify visual style, reduce distractions, guide attention with environmental cues, use special effects purposefully

          Creative thinking: From dreams to VR, from personal experience to universal expression


                  PROJECT 
                  VR Lab Experience





                  360-degree camera

                  I took pictures of the school's open space.


                  FEEDBACK
                  Although it's a 360-degree scene, the scene is the same throughout. So now everyone knows that for a 360-degree camera, regardless of the direction, as long as the scene is the same, the effect will be the same.

                  REFLECTION

                  After learning the first week’s course content about VR space construction, VFX design, immersion and presence, and completing my initial shooting task for the course project, I have gained clear insights and reflections.
                  First of all, I have a deeper understanding of core VR concepts including immersion and presence. I learned that immersion refers to deep mental engagement in an experience, while presence is the sense of physically being inside the virtual space. Unlike novels, films and daydreams, VR relies on sensory closure, spatial perception and interactive embodiment to bring users a unique immersive experience. VFX in VR is not just a simple restoration of reality; it is supposed to shape emotional atmosphere and express subjective feelings like dreams and memories, which is also the core value of this course. The overall course arrangement combining theoretical learning in the early stage and practical creation in the later stage also lets me know I need to lay a solid theoretical foundation before starting hands-on production.
                  In my practical attempt, I shot 360° footage of the school’s open space as my preliminary project material. Combined with the teacher’s feedback, I realized an obvious problem in my work: the whole 360° scene lacks visual changes. A fixed and identical scene in all directions cannot give full play to the advantages of a 360-degree camera. Such content fails to create rich spatial perception, and it is hard to arouse users’ sense of immersion and spatial presence, which runs counter to the VR design goals we learned. I merely completed basic shooting but ignored the spatial diversity and visual layering required for VR content.
                  Besides, I also reflected on my creative thinking. I only recorded the real scene mechanically, without applying the course ideas of combining personal experience and emotional expression, nor using visual effects to enrich the atmosphere. The material is too plain and cannot deliver emotional feedback through VFX, which is one of the key research questions of this course.

                  For my subsequent creation, I plan to make targeted improvements. I will redesign the 360° scene layout, add diverse visual details and spatial changes in different viewing directions. Meanwhile, I will combine the theoretical knowledge of VR narrative and perception theory, properly use post-production effects to set off the atmosphere, and try to inject personal feelings into the scene. I will also make full use of tools such as Blender and Godot in the follow-up production to optimize assets, scenes and interactive experience, so that my work can better enhance users’ immersion and presence, and truly present the unique charm of VR and VFX.





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