The aim of the film was to put the audience next to free solo climber Alex Honnold as he ascended the 3,000 foot tall El Capitan without a rope, allowing them to feel the magnitude of the rock’s size, and the sensations of anticipation, fear, and accomplishment through every push and pull.

The medium of 360 video was a magnificent fit for the rock climbing environment. When you are climbing there is no floor. The world around you takes on another dimension and you don't perceive yourself on a flat plane.

The 360 film complemented the award winning feature version, and was able to place viewers in Honnold’s shoes to experience these sensations as he climbs. Through a voiceover, Hannold walks viewers through his emotional journey, explaining the significance of free soloing El Capitan, how he prepared for the feat, and what drove him to undertake the challenge.

In order to shoot this, we had to physically place a 360 camera rig on El Capitan, which was an extremely difficult experience. Our camera crew, composed of elite rock climbers as they had to be right alongside Hannold, captured footage during his climb. It was crucial to make sure the equipment was reliable enough to last the entire climb as replacing it mid-climb was not an option due to the lack of accessibility of the location.

Stitching the footage was a great challenge as sometimes the subject, Alex, came within inches of the camera. We employed cinematographic techniques like slow tracking shots to enhance scale and depth for the audience to put distances into an even better perspective.

Post-production required a meticulous process in order to create the sense of realism needed to evoke a physical and emotional response from the viewer. The team worked primarily in Nuke, but leaned on custom tools for assembly and editing, as well as Maya for camera projection setups. Additionally, the 360° tools in Adobe Premiere enabled the editorial team to orient the action in a continuous way and lead viewers around the frame.

Strategic sound design drew the viewer’s attention to the action, encouraging them to follow the story while exploring the full visual space. The goal for the music was to exemplify the scale, regalness, and permanence of Yosemite's natural landscape, while also capturing the adrenaline and raw humanity of climb. The music incorporated an intense, extreme 'wall-of-sound' approach, which is meant to capture Alex's struggle, and shuffled-in orchestral instruments embodying the naturalism and scale of the landscape.

The final film was made for the Oculus Go headset, and was also available on the NatGeo website and YouTube for viewers without the hardware.