About

Instant escapes and a virtual retreat dedicated to Mindfulness, Meditation and Relaxation...

“It’s hard for us to travel. With VR we can escape to anywhere!”

This was the answer I received to my question about why there were so many VR headsets owned by the residents of the specialist paraplegic accommodation I was working at.

I had been commissioned to produce a 360 VR tour of the facility that specialised in short-term and long-term accommodation for paraplegic residents and the answer I received made perfect sense. Travel was incredibly challenging for the residents so virtual reality wasn’t just technology; it was a gateway to the world, a means to traverse boundaries and experience the unattainable. And that got me thinking…

I’m lucky enough to have full mobility and to live in a stunningly beautiful part of the world. I deeply appreciate both. But I also appreciate that millions aren’t as fortunate and don’t have easy access to escape to beautiful spots.

How great would it be to offer instant immersion in beautiful locations to the wider world? How many people could appreciate such content?

And that’s where the idea for SitAwhile360 was born.

The first iteration of SitAwhile360 just featured my ever-growing collection of 5 to 10-minute 360˚ videos with spatial audio captures of the various beaches, rivers, and natural locations I visited. I also added some “sightseeing” videos and captured some of the “experiences” I was lucky enough to have.

Here at SitAwhile360, our mission is to make the immersive experiences we capture as accessible to as many people as possible. We aim to offer an escape, a momentary respite from the daily grind, through the enchanting world of 360 VR.

And so now, we embark on our latest venture: refocusing SitAwhile360 as a Virtual Retreat dedicated to Mindfulness, Meditation, and Relaxation. By providing a diverse array of guided 360˚ experiences along with ‘director’s cut’ 16:9 versions, we aspire to enrich more lives, offering a sanctuary where the mind can wander freely, and the spirit can soar.

Ocean

Water

Nature

Sightseeing

Experiences

Sit With...

About Nigel Miller

Nigel is a producer/director/camera operator with over 35 years of experience working in TV, video and event production. He’s worked for a number of major production companies both in London and Sydney, was the General Manager of a satellite broadcast company and was the founder of a couple of Sydney production companies. Today, he works for both agencies and his own clients with a specialisation in creating story-led, emotive videos for major corporates. Recent clients include Nestlé, Sanofi, Jabra, Art Gallery of NSW and Carolina, amongst others. He is also the co-founder of an online retail training business, The Road to Retail Pty Ltd.

Throughout his career, Nigel has always embraced early the challenges of new media and new production techniques. His experience involves working on projects ranging from large-scale audio-visuals, to industrial theatre productions, to surround experiences. He produced multimillion-dollar multimedias for a London client from Sydney, produced one of the first business websites in Australia in the early years of the internet for Hewlett Packard and was also involved in setting up one of the first broadband video streaming solutions in Australia.

Several years ago, Nigel embarked on his first 360 VR “proof of concept” project for a major Australian bank. Using 7 GoPros on a rig to capture the content and a phone clipped into a headset to view the end product, the technology was cumbersome and complex. Stitching and editing were also an absolute nightmare.

Today, 360 VR creation is still not simple but the content creation process has improved a long way in a short time. The one thing that is undeniable, and one of the reasons Nigel embraced 360 video so early, is that it is powerfully immersive. It is that immersive experience that he hopes to provide you here on SitAwhile360.

Chill out

Take a quick 5 minutes to escape your day. Whether you're in a busy conference, between meetings or just needing to escape the kids. This is the place for "me time"!

Meditate

Bored of looking at the back of your eyelids each time you meditate? Here you can travel to new restful locations. You can still shut your eyes but you'll feel you're next to the ocean or surrounded by nature even with your eyes shut!

Experience

Travel to new places, experience new things. Never sat by the ocean? Never sat by Sydney Harbour? Never been on a yacht? Never been part of a fashion shoot? Well, now you can!

“The incredible thing about the technology is that you feel like you’re actually present in another place. People who try it say it’s different from anything they’ve ever experienced in their lives.”

"Virtual reality is the 'ultimate empathy machine.' These experiences are more than documentaries. They're opportunities to walk a mile in someone else's shoes."

"VR is not a media experience. When done well, it's an actual experience."

"Virtual reality can give everyone, regardless of where they live, a ticket to new experiences. Suddenly, every experience is local."

"If you just look at the medium and what it’s doing, we are basically broadcasting human senses to your conciseness. We are duplicating perception."

Why 360 video

So, what's so special about 360 video?

About "Marvin" and our creation process

“Marvin” (otherwise known by his Insta360 Pro 2 label) is the chap that actually does most of the work in this relationship. Regularly found sporting his Zoom (HR-3 VR) ambisonic microphone hat, Marvin uses his 6 eyes to capture 8k 360-degree stereoscopic video.

What's the production process?

The first part of the process is to identify the subject to be captured. And then it's all about watching the weather. Wind kills the audio capture (check out the Maslin Beach Cliffs video) so ideally we need a pleasant, wind-free day for most of our captures.

How do you capture the 360 video and surround audio?

Marvin, the Insta360 Pro2 camera, is the video capture device. He contains 6 micro SD cards which record each of the camera angles. An SD card also records a low resolution, roughly stitched reference version of the 360 video.

The Zoom H3-VR ambisonic microphone is synchronised with the camera and records 4 separate directional audio tracks.

Once recording starts, Nigel uses a clicker to set the synchronisation point for the video and audio and also to help with the directional synchronisation in post.

How do you stitch the 6 video angles and the audio together?

Once back in the edit suite, the tedium begins. First we have to extract the data from each card - so that's 6 micro SD cards and the SD cards from the camera and audio recorder.

If we've recorded voice from someone featured in the video, that's normally captured on a lapel microphone either feed into a normal broadcast camera or a Zoom H4 recorder.

File management is the key here. The files from each take need to be combined into a new folder containing the 6 camera recordings and the reference recording, plus a data file that contains information on the camera set-up.

Each of these "take" folders are then fed into the stitcher software. Generally, we use the Insta360 stitcher software but have also used MistikaVR for more complex stitches. However, MistikaVR software is expensive so I tend to only subscribe to it on commercial projects.

The Insta360 Stitcher is good enough for most SitAwhile360 shoots so with that, you set if you want the stitched output to be stereoscopic or monoscopic and the resolution you want for the final file. You can tweak the stitch and correct the video prior to the stitch render. Once happy with the settings, the rendering is started and then it's a case of going off to watch TV or sleep whilst the computer chugs away with the stitching.

I currently use a powerful 2021 iMac to stitch the videos but even with this, it's not rapid! I'd love to know how creators go on the new Apple silicon in the MacStudio. Message me if you're doing that.

How do you edit the 360 videos and add the graphics?

We use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the videos together. Although the Mac is supposedly powerful enough to play an 8k video in real time, we find it easier to make proxy files.

Next we set the initial viewpoint and import and synchronise the ambisonic audio tracks. We then add the graphics to the timeline and the nadir (the logo at the bottom that covers the tripod legs). A special effect is applied to distort the graphics so that they appear correctly when viewed in the final file.

As long as there is no need for a headlock channel (a voice-over or music track that doesn't move with the image), we are then ready to render out the final file to whatever resolutions and formats we require.

The Man Who Inspired This Site

The initial seed that started the idea for this site was a conversation I had during the filming of an interview with a lovely man called Bruce Bennedick.

I recently tried to contact him to tell him about this site but learned that he has now passed.

He was a really lovely gentleman with a mischievous humour so I thought I’d post up his story here in memory of a true Aussie Battler.