FMP: Illustrated VR Attempt

I decided to develop my idea for a VR piece based on what I learnt in my experiment, now that I have a clearer picture of how it could be used. I wanted to create an image that I was actually happy with to realise the full potential of an illustrated VR outcome. To get the ball rolling I chose to make an image based on Phuket in Thailand, that could be applied to online travel editorial content, combining both illustrative and graphic processes. 

Reference Imagery:

My main aim of this piece was to create something that was immersive, using colour to create an atmosphere. This process was once again purely for experimental purposes, to help me define if VR would be an effective route to take for the rest of my project, leading me to do more research into the technological elements. 

My final images ready to be developed - I think these are quite effective because of how atmospheric they are, and how they communicate a relaxing feel as felt in the Santorini magazine spread. I think the concept of the floating type amongst the islands is a nice concept and communicates the unique visual elements of Phuket all in one decorative image. I felt inspired by my previous post about Google Doodle, as I thought it was an excellent way of combining illustration and graphics, whilst maintaining a function as a logo. I created this piece to be used as a visual header to decorate an article, however I feel that this element could be developed into a complete immersive user experience using VR:

My attempt at turning my image into a VR environment: I thought that using VR would be an interesting way to make the viewer engage with editorial content on a completely different scale. This is my original image that has been converted into an equirectangular format to be uploaded to a VR viewing platform. 

Unfortunately this test didn't work after many attempts of following the steps I used in my experiment - I think that you can get a feel for the immersive element in the panoramic image above, however I would've liked to experience the full thing. I spent quite alot of time fiddling around with the technological elements and still it did not work - After 2 attempts I think I can say that VR is a no go, because of technical difficulties that I do not know how to overcome. I wasn't thrilled with the idea to begin with as it involves basing my user experience around Facebook, which doesn't seem very professional and appealing. 

This test got me thinking about other ways to make my content immersive and interactive, leading me to try animation - 

I uploaded my composition into after effects, where I was able to add a variety of motion effects to bring my image to life and make it immersive. This is a more realistic direction that I can see my project going in, creating animated typographic outcomes that act as headers for articles, making them eye catching and communicative on another level. By adding a credit to an author, you can see the context I am using my image in, that would really push the concept of screen based editorial content. I really like this outcome, but I feel like it could be a bit more subtle taking inspiration from cinemagraphs - also I feel like an animated outcome like this could be quite distracting for the reader whilst trying to read an article.