It was a pleasure to partner with Koncept VR on a number of projects. Most notbably, Absolut Vodka pushed the envelope of their brand in the summer of 2015 via their channel, Absolut Reality. Absolut wanted to achieve a virtual first – a concert on the rooftop of the popular club, Output in Williamsburg, NY – live, in Virtual Reality, live stitched and streamed worldwide.
Live 360 and VR Streaming (especially live music) poses many challenges. Beyond the newness of the medium and the fact that there are only a handful of companies with the skill set and experience to do – several complexities presented themselves. The space was tight. Internet connectivity on the rooftop was sketchy at first. A dedicated upstream was retrofitted to connect on the roof in time for the concert. There was no dedicated lighting setup for a concert there – nor enough power for it, so we rented several self-powered kino flows and guarded them from crazed party revelers! The first heatwave of the summer was in full swing, making setup difficult. The concert was set to start at sunset – just as the dusk sky changes significantly every 30 seconds. And we had a live 360 cam flown from a drone for a dramatic opening shot of the rooftop venue.
Here is a highlights reel of what Absolut billed as the first live VR concert:
We conducted several live streaming tests in the weeks before the concert as well as configured several 360 camera systems and judiciously prepared live stitching via the use of Vahana VR software by VideoStitch. In addition to the camera dedicated for the live stream, we took several Freedom360 setups and various rigging options with us to cover the band and Absolut party revelers in the upper and lower sections of the roof.
After a lot of coordination and great teamwork, the first live VR concert was a success for Absolut Reality. It was a pleasure to work with Koncept VR in this first step forward into a larger world!
