360Heros Inc., a company specializing in 360 video technology, has announced a rebrand. The rebrand introduces a new company name, 360RIZE, along with a new mission statement and direction.
According to 360Heros CEO Michael Kintner, the rebrand comes as a response to the company’s growth, diversified product line and goals to support a broader range of partners and content creators in the 360 video and virtual reality markets.

“360Heros is now entering the next phase of empowering content creators through our manufacturing of patented products, education, tools (hardware & software) and professional media production. In demonstration of this forward thinking approach, we are moving toward the adoption of a fresh logo, new company name and improvements in our business models.”

In regard to the name change, Kintner stated: “The name 360RIZE represents our goal to help producers rise up, elevate beyond their current market place and support their projects regardless of scope. This falls in line with our original goal to inspire 360 video content creators, or 360 heroes as we’ve always called them, so they can meet the demand for high resolution, cinematic quality spherical content. Our support for the community comes in the form of new 360 video products utilizing a wide range of exciting 3rd party cameras, training, technical guidance and education.”

“Our mission statement has always been inspired by life with no boundaries, so it only seemed fitting to now have Life Without Edges as our new motto that is portrayed in our fully spherical 360 video and 360 photo solutions.”

Founded in 2012, 360Heros has distinguished itself as a leader in 360 video technology. One of the originating brands in the now popular 360 video and virtual reality markets, 360Heros holds multiple patents for its 360 video technology and continues to diversify and grow its product line. The company’s 360-Plug-n-Play™ technology utilizes pre-existing cameras to film high definition (12,000 x 6,000 pixels) 360 spherical video and photos for social media channels, mobile apps, virtual reality head mounted displays and dome projection.

The original product line focused on solutions utilizing GoPro® cameras. The company has since entered the professional market in announcing solutions for Blackmagic Design cameras at the 2016 NAB Show and plans to introduce a line of solutions using YI Technology 4K cameras. 360Heros boasts a product line featuring 20 different solutions for filming 2D and 3D spherical video content with 11,000 products sold worldwide to date. Formerly made from 3D printed nylon materials, these products now feature anodized aluminum cores and injection molded camera holders for filming spherical content on land, underwater and in the air. These solutions are also available with the company’s Bullet360 technology, an automated camera control system for simultaneously operating multiple GoPro® or Blackmagic Design cameras.
The rebrand will officially be unveiled Friday, August 5th in Los Angeles at the Virtual Reality Los Angeles Expo and the official 360Heros Rebrand Launch Party. The party will take place Aug 5th at the Charleston Haus in downtown Los Angeles starting at 8 p.m. PST with event partners including G-Technology, AMD, Blend Media, Polk Audio and UploadVR.

-Company name: 360RIZE
-Tagline: Life Without Edges
-Office locations: Olean, New York, Santa Monica, California
-About 360RIZE:

360RIZE, formerly 360Heros, specializes in 360 video camera systems that capture professional quality spherical video content. 360RIZE also develops 360 video workflow solutions such as 360CamMan™, the world’s first VR media management software. Through years of research and innovation, 360RIZE is empowering content creators to push the limits of this emerging technology and our ability to create immersive content.

New Products + Discontinuations

360Heros has discontinued the Pro6L, 3DPRO14H, 3DPRO12H and 3DPRO12 and replaced these SKUs with the new PRO6LB and 3DPROB.

While traveling for a 360 video production down under, our head of production, Matt Sheils visited one of Australia’s most iconic sites, the Sydney Opera House. Standing on the steps of the Opera House he had the opportunity to capture the architectural marvel and demonstrate our team’s 360 video workflow.

In the video Matt explains how Jorn Utzon’s entry was chosen out of 233 total designs during the 1956 international competition. The educational piece highlights the materials used to build the landmark and covers other interesting facts such as its $102 million dollar final billing.

Workflow

Matt was able to utilize our team’s typical workflow to output a polished spherical piece for 360 video streaming and virtual reality head mounted display (HMD) playback:

1. The first step in this process was capturing the footage itself. Matt utilized a combination of monoscopic and stereoscopic rigs to capture different segments of the piece. This included using a new technique involving shooting monoscopic footage with our Pro12H. Featuring five pairs of cameras on the horizon for capturing stereoscopic footage, the Pro12H can also be used to capture high resolution monoscopic footage with a high degree of frame overlap.

2. The next step was managing the media as quickly and easily as possible with 360CamMan. The fact that Matt was working with multiple rigs (one of them being a 12-camera setup) meant that keeping track of which footage was captured with which camera was critical. Matt utilized this software to import the data from the multiple rigs in the right order and to organize the footage for the stitching process. 360CamMan is a powerful tool for managing VR/360 video media files filmed with multi-camera rigs. This software allowed him to format each card and setup his workflow so 360CamMan would automatically recognize which camera a file was associated with and organize them accordingly.

3. After stitching his footage, Matt used Mettle SkyBox 360/VR Tools for Premiere Pro to add graphics, text and icons. In particular, this Adobe Premiere plugin’s 2D graphics placement tool allowed Matt to place 2D images into the equirectangular file and to present them with the proper degree of warping for the spherical space. This file was then rendered out of Premiere and was fully prepped for uploading to spherical video players such and YouTube 360 and Facebook 360 as well as VR HMDs.

We’re excited to share one of our latest 360 video adventures with you and hope Matt’s workflow offers some tips and insight for your own spherical projects!

A Tutorial on 360 Video Just for You!

Teaching people how to capture 360° video is fundamental to the success of virtual reality. That’s why we are thrilled to partner with Jeremy Sciarappa, to create an end-to-end comprehensive tutorial on capturing 360° video.  

Since 2014 Jeremy has been a full-time YouTuber, creating tutorials and reviews for cameras. Now he is focused on 360° capture and post-production.  

The video titled “360-Degree Video Workflow: 360Heros Mount and CamMan” covers the full end-to-end 360 video production process: 

• Shooting using our Pro6 six-camera rig
• Media Management using 360CamMan
• Stitching footage filmed with different mounting positions 
  
  “I’ve used the rig to shoot several different projects, and the experience was great.” –
  Jeremy Sciarappa on working with the 360Heros Pro6

From 360Heros

We recently caught up with Experius VR, a virtual reality studio working with top brands to create 360 video experiences. Offering full end-to-end production services, Experius VR recently completed projects for Mercedes-Benz and Bentley Motors.

The Mercedes-Benz 360 video takes viewers on an adventure with Kelly and his canine companion Loki as they explore the mountains in Colorado:

Click below to see Experius VR’s Mercedes-Benz 360 video on YouTube:

Read more about the making of the Mercedes-Benz Loki 360 Experience

Shooting a 360 video for Bentley was another high profile production completed by the Experius VR team. They recorded the action in stereoscopic 360 as two Bentley cars and a helicopter raced through the Gateway Canyons Resort in Colorado. Using the 3DPro14H to capture the stereoscopic video and 3D audio technology from Visionics, they were able to create an immersive experience for VR HMDs and monoscopic streaming on the web.  

360Heros is proud to have innovative companies like Experius VR working with our solutions and pushing the limits of 360 video! We’ll be on the lookout for their next big project and we encourage the rest of the VR/ 360 video community to do the same!

Broadfeild New Product Set-Up Alert

360Heros Virtual Reality 360° Video Technology
Click Here To Access Marketing Resources

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360Heros blog We’re proud to announce the launch of our whole new modular product line of virtual reality 360-degree video multi-camera holders.

This new line builds on our current patented 360 Plug-n-Play™ models and its continuation patent utilizing multiple cameras held in a spherical array to capture 360-degree photos and videos.

The redesigned product line features 6, 7, 10 and 24 camera solutions which are now available for pre-order with updated versions of our 3D 360 video holders to be released in the coming weeks.

The new modular system introduces the world’s first interchangeable VR 360 plug-n-play arrays for creating 360 video. Key features of the new holders include:

• Injection molded parts for added strength, durability and modular flexibility
• Hinged camera arms for easy installation and camera protection
• V2 versions of the holders replace existing holders with improvements in design and ease of use
• Electronic versions of each holder feature the Bullet360 control boards for syncing and simultaneously operating cameras
• Anodized aluminum cores provide high strength mounting solutions and make it easy to switch between the Original V2 and the Electronic Bullet360 boards, holders and the assembly

“Not only is this exciting and fulfilling to be introducing a whole new modular lineup of 360 gear, moving from 3D printing to injection mold production was really the next logical step for us,” Michael Kintner, CEO and founder, said. “This goes to show what demand we’ve been facing – we couldn’t 3D print our rigs fast enough to keep our customers satisfied.”

“With this new modular design we can produce more of our holders faster with more robust technology, to help our customers meet their demands for VR content,” he added.

In another move to meet customers’ demand, starting in May we will offer monthly 360 video creation training sessions, alternating between sites in Boston and our office in Los Angeles.

“There’s so much demand for training in this field that sessions we’ve offered in the past, including one through VRLA School, sold out in record time,” Mike said. “Ultimately our goal is to help 360-creators produce amazing content, and training is another component we’re happy to help with.”

The first training session is slated for Saturday, May 7, at the Village Workspaces in Los Angeles, CA. Come see these new solutions in person – visit our booth N8619 at NAB Show in Las Vegas!

from PRWeb.com

360Heros Inc., a company specializing in 360 video technology, will debut a line of spherical solutions utilizing Blackmagic Design cameras at the 2016 NAB Show. These solutions leverage the professional quality of Blackmagic Design’s camera systems to create cinematic 360 video content. Coined 360 Helios, 360Heros’ new products are compatible with both the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera and the Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K and are available in three, four, five, six and seven camera arrays. The 360 Plug-n-Play™ design allows users to easily install and remove cameras as well as offering the option to add additional cameras to achieve greater frame overlap and resolutions.

“Creating professional and cinematic 360 video content is not only a reality, but it’s also an in-demand medium, and delivering on it starts with investing in the right technology,” said Dan May, President, Blackmagic Design. “360Heros is answering the call for high quality 360 rigs with essential features, such as remote control and syncing, and we are thrilled that Blackmagic Design’s Micro Cinema Cameras and Micro Studio Camera 4Ks are a part of that, helping to capture and deliver cinematic 360 video.”

“In creating 360 video systems, syncing cameras has been a huge challenge,” noted 360Heros CEO Michael Kintner. “With Blackmagic Design technology, we’re answering content creators’ demand for higher quality spherical content and genlocked remote controlled solutions,” he added. “This year’s virtual reality head mounted display (HMD) releases, and the growth of YouTube and Facebook’s 360 video platforms have led to massive demand for professional content creation tools.” “Our goal with this new product line is to support content creators and we’re proud to partner with a manufacturer like Blackmagic Design to create these solutions,” Mr. Kintner said. The 360 Helios rigs feature a new version of the Bullet360 control board system already being utilized in the 360Abyss. Coupled with Blackmagic Design’s Mini Converter Sync Generator for genlocking, these boards have the ability to control and sync an unlimited number of Blackmagic Micro Cinema Cameras and Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4Ks. With the Bullet360 control boards, producers can remotely operate all cameras in sync via the cameras’ expansion ports. The 360 Helios systems are capable of outputting 4K (4,000 x 2,000 pixels) resolution content for virtual reality HMDs and can create content upwards of 6K (6,000 x 3,000 pixels) depending upon different lens and camera arrays. These new systems will be on display at 360Heros booth N8619 and B&H Photo booth C11016 at the NAB show in Las Vegas, NV, and will be available for pre-order in early May. Key features:

• Utilizes Blackmagic Micro Cinema Cameras and Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4Ks
• Output up to 6K resolution cinematic 360 video content for VR HMDs and web streaming
• Multi camera arrays can be controlled in sync via the cameras’ expansion ports
• Compatible with the industry’s leading 3rd party stitching solutions