Coop seeks learners with 360° virtual reality videos

The 360° technology is intended to show the everyday working life of three apprentices in an exciting and entertaining way. The videos can be viewed in 360° using a YouTube app on a cell phone and VR glasses and give the viewer the feeling of being right in the middle of the action, i.e. in the professional world. The clip is intended to encourage people to look around, because something is happening everywhere and at all times. Like last year, real apprentices and Coop employees are featured in the videos. The professions are presented with a wink. This is intended to create a playful incentive to engage with the content. Three professions are shown (retail trade, system catering and logistics).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/3XMlYMTq4hE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/MFvGcTKxk_4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/AnfrL1cLinI

Challenging production

The production is deliberately not just a tour of the ordinary working day, but a somewhat whimsical journey through the Coop world. There is always something new happening at different corners, so that the viewer has to look around and cannot discover everything there is to discover the first time. This should encourage people to watch the films several times without getting bored even the second or third time they dive in.

This brought the following challenge for the film crew: staging became a process of figuring out. How much action does it need? How much is too much? How close do I get to the actors? What happens on the soundtrack? In addition, this approach required a lot of extras - all the participants were organized within the Coop.

Another sticking point, according to the press release, was the time pressure. Filming had to take place before the store opened so that it appeared authentic without disrupting normal business. Producer Flavio Gerber: "With this 360° film production, Coop is showing itself to be very courageous and a pioneer. There are not yet many 360° videos that are staged. Accordingly, it was difficult for those responsible to imagine this at the beginning."

Cameraman Silvio Gerber on...

...the specifics of shooting a 360° video:

With 360° videos, everything is filmed. That means classic discussions about image details give way to decisions about travel paths, angles of view and construction options for the camera. In addition, you work even more closely with the people setting the light and, above all, the equipment. After all, a good picture needs a lot of light and properly positioned light. Compared to a conventional film set, however, we can't put it anywhere because it would be visible. That means we have to integrate our light sources into the set. In the logistics hall, for example, we mounted stronger neon tubes in the existing fixtures so that the hall is bright enough.

... the number of takes that were necessary until everything was filmed perfectly:

We were pretty pressed for time, because everything was filmed before the stores opened their doors. We had to film early in the morning, because that's when the shelves were filled and the set seemed authentic. Accordingly, we only had a good hour per subject for the actual filming, so many takes were not possible. The rehearsals were therefore all the more important. We rehearsed a lot. The rehearsals were also the only way for the director to have an influence. Because in this project, the films are so-called one-takers. That means that from the beginning to the end, the film is not edited. When filming began, everything had to be just right.

... the difference of working with the director on a 360° shoot:

The intense collaboration is not so much on the shoot itself, but is in the preparations. Rehearsals and preparations become essential on a 360° shoot. Not that they aren't important on other shoots. Whereas in the classic process there is still influence to be exerted during the shoot itself, filming a 360° film is a matter of calling up the measures that have been prepared. The light, the timings, the distances between the different positions, all this has to be defined and tested in advance. On the shoot itself, it's mainly the camera technician who has to deal with technical problems with the cameras.

Director Samuel Morris on...

...the reason why this project was shot in 360°:

There were several reasons for this. Firstly, it is the ideal medium to show the many different levels and the versatility of the professions at Coop. It's perfect for letting someone take a look behind the scenes. Secondly, the target group, young people, have a great affinity for this relatively new technology. They can now immerse themselves in the Coop world and actively choose what they want to see. They are no longer passive viewers of a video, but are in the middle of it and part of the action. And Coop itself is perceived as an employer that is exciting and at the cutting edge of what is possible.

... the difference in directing on this set compared to traditional film sets:

As a director, you actually become quite limited. I'm used to guiding the viewer's gaze. Here, that doesn't work, because the viewer chooses where to look. It's more like a theater, everything happens simultaneously in real time. Accordingly, the rehearsals are very important. During the rehearsals, I was able to walk along with the camera and see what the viewer can actually see, what's going on everywhere, and at what timing we can best have the various scenes start. During the shoot, everything from A-Z is just called off. Then the story tells itself. The viewer chooses which of the individual stories he wants to pay attention to.

...about the special features on a 360° set:

Filming 360° is very different from a traditional shoot, refreshingly different. There is no big camera on the set and we don't have discussions about the right quadrage or which lenses and filters to use. Instead, there are cute little cameras that just capture everything as it happens. It was exciting!

Since September 1, 2016, the videos have been available on Youtube to see. On the Coop website the videos are linked to a competition in which great monthly prizes can be won. Coop is present at all major job fairs in Switzerland with its booth and shows the videos with the Samsung Gear virtual reality glasses.

Responsible at Coop: Benni Lurvink (National Training Manager), Annika Keller (National Vocational Training Manager), Andreas Begré (Project Manager, National Vocational Training Coordination). Responsible at Filmgerberei: Flavio Gerber (Producer), Paula Liszko (Production Manager), Silvio Gerber (DoP), Samuel Morris (Director), Philippe Bleuer (pb-steadi, Technical).