PixelCounter - Indie Front End Web Developer

Welcome to the New TV Studios. This was part of a prototype pitch put together whilst working at Catalyst Pictures and shortly after Apple introduced their QuickTime VR technology: a way of encoding and displaying 360° panoramic views, and on a more advanced level: a way of combining these panoramas with interactive elements and animated transitions to offer the user a submersive 3D virtual environment.

Sadly this never left the prototype phase and QTVRs died of disinterest from the general public not long after. All the same, the New TV implementation was a visually stunning, interactive 3D environment integrating QTVR panoramas with JavaScript, xHTML and animated sequences.

One of the more intriguing capabilities (and less well-documented) is the use of hotspots: these are great for creating multiple-node VRs and for switching between panorama views. In the NewTV example, I used this hotspot capability to display rendered transference scenes in-between nodes to give a greater impression of movement and submersion within the environment:

Clever use of overlayed nodes also allowed for direct environmental interactivity, in this case allowing the user to switch the stage lights on and off by clicking on the light switch (on the far door after you enter the studio):

This was achieved by overlaying two identical parnoramic nodes – one with lighting and one without – and triggering a switch between the two each time the light switch hotspot was triggered.

Aside from this exchange of nodes to give the impression of interaction, another far more advanced use of hotspots also allowed the QTVR to make POST requests and trigger external functions. Combined with a HTML-based parent page it was possible to add a further level of interactivity to the QTVR by using JavaScript overlays and on-page elements. In the original prototype this meant that the user could click on magazines on the reception area desk, triggering a JavaScript overlay displaying the contents of the magazine or film script:

Using the embedded QTVR and external hotspot calls in this fashion meant that it was possible to integrate the 3D environmental aspect of the QTVR with HTML, JavaScript and even Flash, creating a fully interactive and responsive browser-based system.

Sadly this never went past the prototype stage and I no longer have the HTML and JavaScript assets, although I do still have the QTVR itself. The general idea and look and feel of the pitch was loved by the client but the technology was not so the project was later resubmitted after being entirely rebuilt in Flash.