We recently finished a 360° filming project together with The Center for Ubiquitous Computing (UBICOMP) of the University of Oulu, supported by the Finnish broadcasting company Yle. Ameliate Studio had the opportunity to fully manage the production, direction, and screenwriting for this project, which was also made possible through the support of Helsinki XR Center.
The films depicted possible workplace scenarios where conflict may arise, and the purpose of this project was a pilot run of the possibilities of 360° filming and how it can be used in the future.
We first made contact with UBICOMP in Summer 2021 through Helsinki XR Center. UBICOMP had a new device for 360 filming that they wanted to test in a simulated working environment with acted out scenes. We first contacted a director from our network – Eino Antonio – if he wanted to shoot it but unfortunately he had another project starting in Argentina. However, we weren’t too discouraged and with some advice and contacts we received from him, we decided to do it ourselves. From thereon, it was a long back-and-forth while we ironed out funding and schedule but once we got the green light from Yle, things started happening fast.
We scouted a location within Helsinki XR Center and quickly confirmed it as the shooting location. Then we wrote the scripts – some of them written by Kate Belakova and some by Ray Pohjanheimo. After that we recruited actors. We found some of them through our network and one of them was a new acquaintance. The day of filming started with an air of anxiety – we just hoped everything would go smoothly. We did run into some timing issues but nothing we couldn’t solve as we went. In the end, UBICOMP was thankful for putting the production together.
We were excited to be a part of this opportunity and can’t wait to see what more is in store!