A course to teach Film University students the basics of Unity to create interactive VR videos

In September 2021, the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF held a course to shoot 4 Virtual Reality films with the technical help from MeKiwi.
The aim of the project was to create a cinematic virtual reality experience with light interactive elements sparkled in. MeKiwi collaborated with the Film University during the virtual production and post-production work, with Riikka Kilpeläinen holding a course on the basics of VR development with Unity and Susana Marquinez introducing the Mixed Reality/Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality video productions done at MeKiwi. The students’ task was to create 360° VR videos, and to also write the screenplay and scripts. The 5 lessons covered the basics of Unity and the tips and tricks for shooting 360° videos for interactive experiences.

Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf

Riikka Kilpeläinen

Project Manager

It was a pleasant change of pace to my normal tech-heavy workdays, helping the students combine game development and filmmaking. Working together on bringing their creative visions to life forced me as well to get creative! Their expertise lies mostly with filmmaking and video editing, which means the students had a very different angle when being confronted with challenges during development.
They really did think outside the skybox! Of course creating VR experiences that utilize 360° video, or really any interactive experience, needs some artistic insight to make it all work.

Susana helped the students (and me!) to understand what you need to consider when creating these kinds of experiences. She prepared them for shooting their footage and what to take into account when shooting for VR, how the camera can be moved, composition, lighting, and how all this differs from normal filmmaking. I hope the students feel empowered to use these techniques in the future, and can consider interactive VR media as a part of their skillset now.