Absolut Reality kicked off in style with a collaboration with Bob Moses

At 7:00am sharp we arrived at the venue, the smell of coffee lingered in the air as people prepared themselves for a busy day ahead. People scuttled by, running back and forth with props to dress the area. Bob Moses and the rest of the cast were due to arrive at 9:00am so there was no time to lose. Posters were being stuck onto the wall, speakers, amps and cables were scattered along the corridor. Who knew that the placement of a spider plant was such an art? Each tiny little detail had to perfect as there was no hiding when viewing the trailer in full 360°.

The cast and Bob Moses landed, and the walkway instantly felt alive. Bob Moses, for the record, are two of the most chilled guys we’ve ever came across. They were genuinely excited and brought a whole lot of new interesting ideas to the trailer. After all the hellos and pleasantries, our directors, A Common Future, started to assign various roles. Everyone was strapped in, and ready for our very first rehearsal of the day.

At this point it’s worth mentioning our camera rig which consisted of a remote control car with a 360° camera attached. This being a 360° shoot, meant we had to treat it in a different way than you would on a normal shoot. For starters, we were using not one, but 4 cameras, each capturing a different 90° perspective. Each of the individual takes from all 4 cameras would be stitched together to create a full and immersive 360° view.

We would love to show you a photo of the camera and it’s car but we weren’t allowed to take any photos as it’s top secret. Trust us, we tried.

The rehearsals started rolling, Bob Moses walked from dressing room to stage multiple times until we found the right dynamic that worked for the trailer. Another point worth noting which is unusual to just your everyday shoot, is that when filming, absolutely nobody could be on the set. Hidden away in corridors, behind curtains and even all the way upstairs, we ensured nobody was going to spoil the 360° experience. We got it right, we were ready to go and Absolut Reality was about to become a reality.

Bob Moses new single ‘Talk’ blasted throughout the corridor, to ensure everyone was hyped and ready to perform. Bob Moses did their walk over and over again, each time killing it even more than the last. We were kept hidden behind a curtain within Bob Moses’ dressing room watching the whole thing through a small monitor. A particular tricky aspect to the shoot was gauging the speed at which our cameras should follow Bob Moses to ensure when viewed in 360° they wouldn’t appear too close or too far away in the frame. After a few takes, we found the right balance and were firing through at an incredibly fast rate.

Time flies when you’re shooting 360°. That’s the saying, right? Before we knew it, the day was over and we’d shot take after take after take. Bob Moses and the entire team did an amazing job and we were looking forward to see the whole thing start to come together. Soon we’d be looking at our first ever 360° virtual reality video and we couldn’t wait. We said our goodbyes to Bob Moses, and wished them well until we see them again at the live 360° gig.

So that was that, Absolut Reality has officially begun, and we can’t wait to see where it goes from here.