In the round

London – Indie rock group Foals have used virtual reality to breathtaking effect in their latest music video.

• Mountain At My Gate was shot using a GoPro spherical rig, enabling in-the-round footage
• When watching the video, the field of vision can be altered with a keyboard’s arrow keys or by rotating a smartphone’s screen

The stunning visual effect was achieved by setting up the camera rig statically, with the band performing around it. Footage from each camera was then combined to create a seamless 360-degree moving image of the performance, with the viewer at its centre.

‘The exciting potential of this space is that we are right in the middle of the performance,’ says art director Tino Schaedler, who collaborated with virtual reality studio United Realities and director Nabil Elderkin on the project. ‘Instead of editing to different shots, like in traditional 2D cinematic space, virtual reality is pretty much edited by the movement of the viewer.’

The Big Picture: For more on how virtual reality is disrupting cinema, social media and mobile gaming, read our Virtual Reality Market.