A few months ago, I had a play with Google’s Cardboard app with a “homemade” VR viewer (made from cardboard, obviously). I loved it, and although it was still relatively clunky, it was great fun.
And I thought about how this could be used to bring musical experiences to young people. Wouldn’t it be great if pupils in Swansea could be immersed in a concert in the Albert Hall, or children in Edinburgh sit in a practice session with a folk band in Cornwall?
Then I stumbled upon this video – a collaboration between the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Google – exactly what I was looking for! The principal is straight forward enough; a 360 camera and mic rig set in the middle of the orchestra captures the performance which the viewer can navigate around either with a headset, or by rotating their device.
So, it can be done, and it can produce a great experience!
My first task – get my hands on a 360 camera…
You can find the video here:
The Musicularium 