360 degree video

[Steve Grisetti]

I'm curious to know if anyone in our community is going much with 360 video -- camcorders that shoot in all directions so that, when the video is published on YouTube, the viewer can drag on it to decide which way to look.

I've played around with "pano" programs on my phone that stitch together still photos of a scene to make a 360 image. But I'm interested if there is real interest in 360 video. (Though I also felt the same about 3D a few years ago.)

BTW, CyberLink PowerDirector 15 edits and output 360 video -- which is why I'm curious.

[sidd finch]

Sorry Steve. Not too much interest from this side. It seems like the application would feel like a novelty to me. It is hard enough to think about what is in front of me. For huge outdoor panoramas maybe but how many videos are like that.

Sidd

[Dave McElderry]

The particular 360 application that I'm interested in is when the location is the subject. For example, one of Cheryl's Mexico videos or other foreign land. 360 video taken in a national park would be interesting to me. I sometimes enjoy using Google Earth to "go" to locations and "look" around. You get the idea.

[Steve Grisetti]

I'm pretty conservative about this kind of thing myself. The whole beauty of great cinematography is what the director of photography chooses to show and how he or she lights it.

But it will be interesting to see if 360 moviemakers find great, artistic ways to use the technology.

[sidd finch]

The whole beauty of great cinematography is what the director of photography chooses to show and how he or she lights it

That is it in a nutshell for me.

Now as John says he wants to look around, I think 360 would be the perfect application. I guess that the difference would comedown the lines of storytelling versus presentation. 360 would seem like a difficult place to tell a story. At least from my small brain it would be

To me it is one of thos moments where someone will come up with an idea for 360 that you see and say WOW I never would have thought of doing that...

Sidd

[Dave McElderry]

I think you guys have it pegged. Professional movies or amateur video are used to tell a story as the director/editor wants it told. I also can't imagine 360 being used for that. I see its main utility in making available a venue where one can visit vicariously places or events that aren't practicably accessible.

[MrGrunthunter]

With the cameras advertising video and images in 4K the still images are 'ok' but the video resolution is going to have to get up to 8K, or more, before it'll totally be acceptable IMHO. I watched one 360 video that is posted on 'Jay Leno's Garage' where you ride along with him through the hills of Southern California and thought that was pretty neat.

[TreeTopsRanch]

360 stuff is great for real estate pros, but here at the ranch, I just stand in middle of our pasture and turn around 360 degrees to see it all. But not too fast as I get dizzy.

[Steve Grisetti]

There's definitely potential for recording concerts and scenery.

Imagine how cool it would be to see live HD video of the French Riviera, a major world event or even a Mars landing, with the option to look completely around the scene!

[Steve Grisetti]

Here's an interesting attempt to use 360 video in a narrative film. It's a very nicely made Star Wars movie. And it's amazing how hard they've worked to fill the screen with interesting things to look at.

But it still feels a bit more like a gimmick than a real story telling device to me. After all, even though you can look all over the place, there is really only ONE ideal place to look in each scene.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeDOoLwQQGo[/youtube]

[RJ Johnston]

Steve, where's your 3D VR headset to watch it with?

[Steve Grisetti]

Are you supposed to wear a headset, Robert? That would make it a bit more watchable. I've just been using mouse drags to navigate the views.

[RJ Johnston]

Steve, What browser are you using? I tried dragging earlier, but it just pauses and stops the video. Maybe I missed a YouTube option.

I have an application that will allow you to drag around inside a 360 degree bubble without using goggles. That's just for stills.

[RJ Johnston]

Okay, I got it. I had to go to YouTube to play it. Mouse pointer was 4 arrows and I could drag around.