Quick Tutorials

Different ways to work with 360 video

360 cameras are here to stay. Shooting 360 video used to be a daunting process of rigging up multiple cameras (remember the rigs with 6 separate cameras?), syncing them up and then stitching six different video files to one 360 video that may or may not look good. Luckily those days are long gone. The modern 360 cameras make the process much easier and some of them will stitch the footage in-camera, giving you a single file to work with. But even with a single file working with 360 video can be a little overwhelming if you’re not familiar with the process.

Getting started – different ways to utilize 360 video

Shooting with a 360 camera gives you an equirectangular file which is basically a full 360 sphere showing everything around the camera. How you use it is up to you and there are two main ways to go about it.

You can use this file to create a VR video where the viewer is either using a VR headset to look around or using a 360-supported video player on a computer where they can look around by either clicking with a mouse or using their keyboard. The other option – and this seems to be more popular these days – is to use your 360 video file and reframe it into regular video. This gives you endless creative freedom in post-production since you’re working with a full 360 view where you can basically frame your camera after capturing the moment. Because you have a full 360 to work with you can get a wider field of view compared to regular cameras, you can frame your shot showing the action at an ideal angle or you can change the framing throughout the shot.

Invisible selfie stick – how does it work?

You’ve probably seen the shots where someone is shooting on a selfie stick but it looks like the stick is invisible. This is always a 360 camera and the setup is more simple than you’d think. You align the camera straight on a narrow pole, that’s it. Modern 360 cameras use two lenses on each side of the camera to capture the full 360 video and because there’s a little bit of overlap in the area each lens is capturing, it allows camera manufacturers to calibrate their cameras in a way that the selfie stick is automatically removed from the footage. No need for editing tricks, the camera does it all for you – as long as your camera is aligned properly with the stick.

Is it hard to learn 360 video editing?

Watch the tutorial linked in this post and you’ll see editing 360 video is surprisingly simple. It does require a few extra steps compared to working with regular video footage but once you get familiar with the process and the tools required it’s easier than most people think. This tutorial is using footage from a GoPro Max 360 camera in Adobe Premiere. You can download the free GoPro FX Reframe pluging for Premiere and After Effects here.

Products used in this tutorial

GoPro Max 360 camera: https://amzn.to/3rjkTwP

#270Pro Backpack Selfie Stick: https://amzn.to/3Pn5qDQ

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