INTERACTIVE 360° VIRTUAL TOURS
What we do.
Professional photography and processing
After the careful capture of the required images at multiple exposures, we process and combine them to create an HDR (High Dynamic Range) panorama that is sharp, clear and error free.
High resolution and full 360° tours
We produce high resolution full-screen tours that can be panned fully in every direction, giving the user most immersive experience available.
Advanced interactivity
In our tours the user is given a richer interactive experience . Embedded "hotspots" allow the user to seamlessly change location without closing any browser windows. Floor-plans, external links and relevant information can also be included.
Audio and video
Audio and video can be included in a Panoco tour, allowing an increased amount of information to be passed to the user. A virtual tour guide could provide a commentary on the current location, or a field recording or music could help create an atmosphere or mood.
Flexible design
The tour interface and elements can be designed to fit in with your existing website design or colour scheme if required.
Scaleable tours
We process our full-screen tours so they can be downloaded quickly without compromising on image quality. In some cases though, bandwidth considerations may be more important than resolution - if this is the case, or if you would prefer a smaller tour to embed on an existing webpage, we can tailor the tour to your required needs.
We use Flash Player
Flash Player is our delivery method of choice. It is already installed on 98% of computers, and enables us to offer our advanced interactive features. Other delivery options such as QuickTime and Java are available though, and if you would prefer one of these for any reason we can accommodate you.
Display options.
Option 1 - JavaScript media viewer
This is a slick and contemporary option, which has the added advantage of the user not having to navigate away from the linking page.
Option 2 - Full browser
Here the tour fills 100% of the browser window, automatically giving the user a rich, immersive experience.
Option 3 - Embedded low-resolution
The low-resolution tour is created to your required dimensions in order to be embedded within a webpage.
Option 4 - Embedded high-resolution
This option is also designed to be embedded within a webpage. The user can choose to see the tour in full-screen if they wish.
How we do it.
1 Pre-production
After contacting us and discussing your needs by telephone or meeting, we will make a proposal including costs and a rough outline of the tour. On approval of the proposal we will arrange a convenient time to shoot the required images.
2 Shooting
The images are shot in the RAW format using a Digital SLR camera with a fish-eye lens. As conditions vary from location to location this can take from 15-30 minutes per 360° image. No additional equipment such as lighting or reflectors are used. For each 360° image, 8 images are taken at 3 different exposures - 24 in total. The purpose of this is to capture an increased amount of dynamic range, so the shadows are more exposed and the highlights are not "blown-out".
3 Processing
The captured images are then processed and then stitched into 360° images - one for each of the different exposures. These are then blended to create the HDR image. Additional processing includes patching the top and bottom of the images, masking of any "ghosted" elements (caused by moving objects that appear in more that one image), noise removal, colour correction, final adjustments and sharpening. The final 360° images are then converted to a format suitable for web delivery.
4 Interface development
In this stage, the interface is created and the interactive features are programmed. Due to the technology we use, the interface and features can be designed to fit in with your existing website design or colour scheme. During the development stage a web page will be created containing the tour, enabling you to provide feedback and comment as the project progresses.
5 Delivery
The finished tour in the required format can be delivered on a CD/DVD or by FTP. Support in implementation of the tour will be provided. If you do not currently have a website, hosting can be arranged.