Nokia’s 360-degree camera OZO is a high end device aimed squarely at the professional market. Today the company has announced a new, multi-year agreement with The Walt Disney Studios to aid the creation of virtual reality (VR) content to support Disney’s theatrical releases.
The deal will involve Nokia providing equipment and VR tech, which Disney used recently for two 360-degree videos for the premiere of its latest incarnation of The Jungle Book.
“Virtual Reality represents a new frontier in storytelling, and we’re thrilled to be bringing this VR technology to the team at Disney,” said Ramzi Haidamus, President at Nokia Technologies. “OZO will help Disney bring their film properties to life in new ways through immersive entertainment experiences, and our focus will be on helping them get the most out of VR as they begin to uncover all that it has to offer.”
Nokia launched the $60,000 USD OZO camera in November 2015 with features that include real-time VR preview, 3D 360 degree spatial audio and video capture, compatibility with multiple head-mounted displays (HMDs), as well as the ability to reduce post-production time.
“We are very excited to collaborate with Nokia Technologies to help explore the creation of VR content for our theatrical releases,” said Jamie Voris, Chief Technology Officer, The Walt Disney Studios. “We aim to bring extraordinary experiences to audiences around the world, and specially-created VR content is one more way we can transport people even further into the worlds our filmmakers create.”
Disney has been pushing further into the VR industry with a Millennium Falcon VR experience coming to its US theme parks, and the company led a $65 million investment in VR production firm Jaunt VR last year.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Disney’s VR projects as new announcements are made.
