To put viewers directly into the action, we needed a camera that was durable enough for high-speed stunts, light enough for actors to carry, and advanced enough that it would not distort the picture when objects got too close. Since nothing on the market could accomplish this, we created a custom camera by pointing a single camera at a convex mirror and filmed the single 360-degree reflection. This camera rode on the back of a motorcycle, was tossed out of a moving van, and traveled down a zip line — all without loss of image quality.

Custom solutions had to be developed for post-production as well. First, our VFX partner had to write unique code and develop new workflows in order to work in the new warped panoramic format. Our digital production partner had to find a way to make the experience work on desktop, tablet, and smartphones, across multiple browsers and hardware devices in order to make the video accessible to all gamers on all devices. This meant coding the experience coded three times so that the right experience could be detected and supplied to the viewer’s hardware. The end result was a video that could be played and controlled directly through a native web browser on all devices, without any app or plug-in downloads — downloads that lead to massive amounts of user drop-off.

The technology used for the 360 Heist should allow for others in the industry to develop iOS-compatible 360 videos that play without any app or plug-in downloads. This means that future 360 videos could have a much larger viewing audience. The film itself also served as an example of what live-action 360 videos can be, complete with camera movement and actor close-ups. This will become increasingly important as VR becomes more of an expectation from mainstream consumers who demand the more intimate and immersive entertainment that VR can provide.