Well - in reality we have invented the word Q-Sphere.

A Q-Sphere is a cluster of images, information and measurements that are necessary for use in Reality Based Visualization. It is NOT only the background, but also a ‘lightfield’, a 3D target and other features. Every item in this cluster needs some specific hard - and software. Spheron and LocationExchange work together to define these hard- and software.
Many retouching companies and photographers already use a ‘kind of’ Q-Spheres to merge CGI with real life locations. Here are some links that you can visit.

- http://www.vinxmedia.de
- http://richardprescott.com/
- http://www.georg-fischer.de
- http://www.cgicars.com
- http://www.clintclemens.com/
- http://www.sb-showcase.com
- http://www.zerone-cgi.de/
- http://www.armstrong-white.com/
- http://www.recom.de
If you have questions, just add your comment down this article !!

Advantages of working with Q-Spheres are very interesting for location professionals. It becomes possible to scout locations and deliver locations to a client without him coming on the location. It is in particular a fantastic system to shoot in difficult locations, when there is a high time pressure or when the budget doesn’t allow to travel.

The advantages for the advertising and imaging industry are big :
- not linked to a geographical location (we can shoot quickly everywhere in the world, especially there where a normal production can’t come)

- season independent choice of locations (on file) - summercampagnes can be prepared in winter time
- broader choice of locations (worldwide, no borders)

- cost effective (no travel costs, no crew, fixed prices)

- fast results (on demand or on file with small Q-Sphere teams)

- unlimited in time : the Q-Sphere locations are for ever !! They can be sold over and over again while the location professional who made it gets a % of the sales… over and over again.
Although it is pretty expensive and complex at the moment, the technique of RBV (reality based visualization) which uses the Q-Spheres will become cheaper and easier to use as it goes. I estimate that half of the productshoots could apply for this new technique… this means a lot of work for us in the next years.

I don’t think this will replace classic photography, but you must see it as a medium aside, simply another medium, like television and film do the same thing but in a different way. Photographers don’t have to fear for their lives or jobs

Last time I told you about new technology. But I was indeed very ‘vague’. So this time : more about the Q-Sphere locations…
Q-Sphere locations are location photographs for Reality Based Virtualization.
Ahem. Virtuality what ??

Reality Based Virtualization (RBV), introduced by Spheron, is the technique that is used to join real life images and a CGI (Computer Generated Image) into an image that is photorealistic. RBV is the thing that many advertising agencies are waiting for…

A ‘Q-Sphere’ is a group of digitaly captured informations that is necessary to put CGI objects into real life locations. If one of the different informations is missing, it will be very hard to get photorealism. The Q-Sphere is composed of :

1. 1. a high res background image of the location with qualified SLR information
2. 2. 3D target measuring
3. 3. the full HDR spherical with immersive measuring

These 3 parameters of the Q-Sphere are of utmost importance to succeed a RBV advert.

The background will be used as a location. The 3D-target is used to position the 3D-objects (e.g. a car). The important full spherical serves to create photorealism in the image (light & reflections). All this comes together in the retouching studio (Maya, Photoshop, etc…) to create rapidly any productshot in location : without a photographer or crew coming into the location !!!

Q-Sphere teams are composed of 2 members :

1. a high res background photographer - a trained Locamundo.Member, a more creative job…
2. a spherocam operator - this is the more technical part but as important as the first one…

LocationExchange will train Locamundo.Members to become or a background/landscape photographer or a Spherocam operator. These trainings are FREE of charge and will be organised every few months, in function of the demand.

But who needs these Q-Spheres and when ??
Q-Spheres can be made in 2 ways : on demand or for the files. For the ‘on demand’ job, you leave with a dedicated photographer and the art director to the location to shoot the background(s) they need. In this configuration only 1 Q-Sphere operator will travel to the location.
For the ‘on file’ jobs, we will work with the inhouse Locamundo.Teams and shoot backgrounds that we will put in a database for sales. Advertising clients will buy these Q-Spheres online for use in their lay-outs and final adverts.

Questions ?? Write it down here in the comments…