Elton John: Farewell Yellow Brick Road

To kick off the announcement of Elton John’s Farewell Tour,  Synchrony Studios/Spinifex approached The Astronauts Guild to head up the capture of the Live-Action portion of the Stereo VR Film “Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Legacy.”  This film recreates two iconic shows which Elton performed in Los Angeles in the early days of his career: The Troubadour (1970) and Dodger Stadium (1975).   In order to immerse audiences into these iconic shows, to-scale sets were built on a 360 degree green screen stage, in order to composite in these shots into a CGI recreated world. The vision of Director Damian Fulton was that the camera would be seamlessly floating through these worlds. In order to shoot with a 30-years younger Elton, shot with an Elton John body double where facial replacement was done through the use of motion capture of Elton John himself as well as Visual Effects.  The result is a stunning and visceral  experience where audiences fly through a surreal whimsical world emblematic of the Elton John's legacy.

Virtual Reality Film
Production Companies: Spinifex Group / Synchrony Studios
Client: Rocket Entertainment Group

Meta: "Together" by Terrence malick

"Together" is a virtual reality film by Terrence Malick, featuring Jon Boogz and Lil Buck ,which fuses dance and technology, putting the viewer in the middle of an emotional narrative about breaking down barriers and bringing people closer.   In this project Malick collaborates with  award winning Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto ASC, AMC ("Wolf of Walstreet," "Brokeback Mountain") to create a stunning virtual experience which was a featured installation at 2018 SXSW Film Festival.  Facebook approached the filmmakers to create an innovative immersive experience to show off the power of their new Facebook 360 VR Camera.  The Astronauts Guild was brought on to integrate between Facebook's engineering and development teams, the filmmakers, and Framestore's post-production team.  Guild Partner Scott Connolly acted as the Director of Technology on the film, heading up the camera and on-set technical departments.  

Virtual Reality Film
Director: Terrence Malick
Director of Photography: Rodrigo Prieto
Production Companies: Superprime Films/Framestore Pictures
Client: Facebook

Mercedes-Benz "Halo"

The new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta houses the largest LED screen in the world - the “Halo Screen,” standing 6 stories tall, continuously wrapping around the stadium.  The Astronauts Guild were challenged with creating 360 degree cylindrical live-action video of a fleet of new 2018 Mercedes-Benz vehicles flying around the camera.  In order to deliver the 20K Hyper Resolution 360 content, we had to modify a 6 camera RED Weapon Helium 8K VR custom rig to capture the 48K of resolution necessary.  The result is a collection of commercial spots which are as graphic and aggressive as the Mercedes-Benz vehicles are themselves.  Every week, 75,000 people get to experience the shock and awe of the incredible Halo screen featuring our Mercedes-Benz spots between the greatest plays of the home team - the Atlanta Falcons.

Location Based Experiential Production - Hyper Resolution 360 Video
Production Companies: The Astronauts Guild, The Artery
Agency: Merkley + Partners
Client: Mercedes-Benz

From The Basement

Visionary music producer Nigel Godrich captures a bevy of influential artists in a uniquely intimate performance series: FROM THE BASEMENT. The Astronauts Guild was challenged with producing Season 3 for Sony, 3Net, and Crackle. This season featured shooting Stereoscopic 3D. The artists include: Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Shins, Foster The People, Feist, Aimee Mann, Father John Misty, Moby, Delta Spirit, and more.

Stereoscopic Television Series
Production Companies: The Astronauts Guild, DillyGent & Son
Executive Producer: Nigel Godrich
Networks: Sony Pictures, 3Net, Crackle

Fannovate: a Warriors and accenture VR Experience

“Fannovate: A Warriors and Accenture VR Experience” takes fans on a behind-the-scenes tour of “a day in the life” of the Golden State Warriors in virtual reality.  Our team was challenged with delivering this 360 project in just 5 days from capture to final delivery in time for 20,000 Google Cardboard Viewers to be distributed at the Warriors’ next game.  The final 360 video was released on the GSW Mobile App on December 1, 2016 to 20,000 fans lucky enough to go home with a Google Cardboard handed out at the Oracle Arena. After all the hard work “Fannovate: A Warriors and Accenture VR Experience” proves to be an excellent way for sports fans to have a more intimate relationship with their favorite professional athletes.

Virtual Reality Film
Production Companies: Superfiction Studios, The Astronauts Guild
Agency: iON Creative Studios
Client: Golden State Warriors/Accenture

Chevy: new year. New Roads

Chevrolet's campaign “New Year. New Roads” follows the stories of five individuals from around the world as they attempt to conquer their fears and achieve life-changing goals. Evan Pesses signs on as the Cinematographer bringing The Astronauts Guild on to supervise the VR capture  for a M ss ng P ec es production. The team traveled around the world to Dubai, Busan Korea, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, & Boston for this production.

360 VR Commercials
Production Company: M ss ng P eces
Agency: The Story Lab, Commonwealth, McCann

Jeep: “Champion of Adventure”

Working closely with Jeep and Inspira Marketing Group, The Astronauts Guild Produced an immersive 360° dome film for the 2019 Winter X-Games. This cinematic experience takes viewers through mountain passes, lush valleys and desert river beds, complete with “sensory punctuations” like cool breezes and earthy pine and grass scents. The audience was surrounded by the sights and sounds of a visceral experience that perfectly captures the Jeep Wrangler lifestyle. Working closely with Lumen & Forge, the projection mapping company, the Guild was able bring the excitement of a true off-road experience in a top-of-the-line 2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon to the masses. The 30 foot Dome was built at the base of Buttermilk Mountain in the X-Games Village and offered the audience a cinematic “4D” experience complete with surround sound, scents, wind, and heated Jeep Wrangler seats.

Immersive Dome Film
Director: Ian Spohr
Producers: Scott Connolly, Evan Pesses, Roham Rahmanian
Agency: Inspira Marketing
Client: FCA / Jeep

Unbeleafable

Unbeleafable is a 3D short produced in partnership with the Levi's Film Workshop. This stunning film features beautiful stereoscopic slow motion imagery that pushes the boundaries of advanced image making. Click here for the Behind The Scenes Video

Stereoscopic Short Film
Production Companies: The Astronauts Guild, Filmmakers Entertainment, A Skateboard Girl
Client: Levi's Film Workshop, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)

Purely Peru

Clean and readily available water is something we take for granted, but there are places around the world that aren't so fortunate. Safe Water is an initiative that empowers communities like Piura, Peru by giving them the tools they need to make their water drinkable again. Partner Ian Spohr takes on this project as the Cinematographer pushing the bounds of how Virtual Reality can immerse audiences and truly make a difference.

VR Documentary/Branded Content
Production Company: Ryot Films
Client: Clorox 

Girl From Nagasaki

'The Girl from Nagasaki' is a 3D feature film production of the classic Puccini Opera 'Madam Butterfly,' directed by world renown photographer Michel Comte. It's a modern day tale that starts with the young Madame Butterfly emerging from the ashes of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki. By a subtle meshing of reality and fantasy, Michel Comte and his team bring to the screen a visual orgy of modern ballet, opera and narrative film-making.  The film was an official selection of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Stereoscopic Feature Film
Production Companies: M4 Films, The Astronauts Guild