THE LION KING Musical Circle of Life In Virtual Reality 360 Video Presented By Disney Theatrical Productions

The Lion King musical is based on the classic and one of the most popular Disney animated film of the same title. Its musical is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions. The Lion King musical debuted on July 8, 1997, in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Orpheum Theatre, and was an instant success before premiering on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theater on October 15.

In 2014, The Lion King is recognized as the top-earning musical in history for both stage productions and films, surpassing the record previously held by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, of which was the first to gross over $6 billion.

Today, The Lion King remains the one of the hottest show on Broadway and theaters around the globe, I missed the chance to see when The Lion King toured the city and the tickets were somehow overpriced… But thanks to virtual reality and 360 VR video technology, now I can view The Lion King ” Circle of Life ” on Google Cardboard or other phone-based VR headsets, via 360 video apps such as Milk VR, Vrideo, Littlestar and Youtube 360.

Check out VR Camera Comparison & Guide

The 360 experience is created and directed by Craig Gilbert and Adrian Vasquez de Velasco from Total Cinema 360, a virtual reality content and 360 video experience creative studio. The musical itself and the amazing 360 experience speak more than words, any description about these amazing vocalist, choreographers and performers would be unnecessary. According to Wired, the 360 experience was shot with 6 Gopro rig, just imagine how this particular 360 experience would be enhanced if shot with a light field camera like Lytro, providing the freedom for audience to choose their viewing focal points.

For an immersive experience, you can watch 360 degree videos with Cardboard via the YouTube app. Once the 360 video is launched, simply click the Cardboard icon on the lower right corner and insert phone into the Cardboard.

Check out 360 Video Archive

Quotes From Craig Gilber – Co-founder of Total Cinema 360

“To me, this is an ambitious piece, a one-of-a-kind piece, not just because it’s the first time we’re doing a Broadway show, but I think in terms of the language of storytelling in virtual reality, it’s really sort of pushing the limits… We wanted to shy away from just putting a camera in the middle and letting it roll. Following the action of the song, which is already such a dynamic and vibrant piece of music, and the absolutely legendary choreography, gave us a really broad canvas to work with.” Craig Gilbert, co-founder of Total Cinema 360 ( via Wired )

“Live theater is still designed for a different audience, you’re seeing flat staging in front of you, all the information is presented forward. It’s designed for a single direction … We worked to make sure we were optimizing each facet of the production for virtual reality. In some cases, that meant cheating the performers a couple of feet in a certain direction, other times it meant adjusting the lighting so that we weren’t blowing out one of the lenses. And then we did some things in the mix where it sounds like you have proximity to the performers. If you’re standing right next to someone and they’re flapping their wings, you want that to sound like you’re next to them.” Craig Gilbert, co-founder of Total Cinema 360 ( via Wired )

“We sort of joke that it’s like when you record in film stock, and you have to send it all off to the lab and get your dailies,” Gilbert says. “We always do a rough stitch so that you can see everything immediately after we shoot. But we don’t see it till after we capture it.” Craig Gilbert, co-founder of Total Cinema 360 ( via Wired )