How iQIYI’s New Free‑View Shooting System Cuts Camera Setup from Hours to Seconds

iQIYI’s free‑view technology lets viewers slide the camera angle at will, creating an immersive experience that feels like being on set while also providing directors and editors with richer creative material.

The latest upgrade adds a suite of intelligent tools covering camera deployment, shooting, and post‑production, making the workflow smarter and more efficient. The system now runs smoothly on over 80% of smartphones, lowering playback hardware requirements.

Virtual Camera Deployment Simulation (Feng Bo System)

Traditional free‑view shooting required a one‑time physical setup for each shoot, incurring high operational difficulty and cost. iQIYI’s self‑developed “Feng Bo” simulation system renders a virtual scene matching the real environment, allowing precise placement of a virtual camera array. Each virtual camera can simulate real‑world footage, enabling fully automated, intelligent shooting and production.

Intelligent Camera‑Array Adjustment

During the production of the seventh episode of “爆裂舞台”, 64 cameras were deployed. Previously, arranging and focusing such an array took about a day for placement and more than four hours for focusing. The new intelligent adjustment system reduces parameter setting time from several hours to under 20 seconds.

Real‑Time Free‑View Editing Tool

iQIYI also released a proprietary free‑view editing platform. It presents video streams from all 64 camera positions in separate tracks, allowing creators to preview, select, and control angles and timing in real time. This enables effects similar to the “bullet‑time” seen in *The Matrix*, giving directors immediate creative feedback.

Overall, the systematic free‑view production tools lower the creative threshold, expand audience immersion, and push free‑view content toward industrial-scale production.