This is How NOT to Shoot 360 Video, According to YouTube

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YouTube tells budding VR film-makers what not to do when shooting an immersive 360 in this excellent crash course in this fledgling but ever more popular form of content.

With the production of VR film and 360 video becoming ever more commonplace and access to camera hardware easier, there more and more people out there making content who may not be aware of the cardinal sins and best practices associated with the medium.

To that end, YouTube as part of its ‘Creator Academy‘ initiative has produced this fun and informative video designed to school 360 video newbies on what not to do when producing immersive video content. It helpfully draws attention to the placement of actors outside of stitching zones, urges not to wrestle control of rotational movement away from the viewer and gives tips on viewer comfort when designing shots, taking care not to invade their personal space or indeed making them feel like a gourmet snack.

Go-Pro's Odyssey - a Google 'Jump' Camera Rig
Go-Pro’s Odyssey – a Google ‘Jump’ Camera Rig

YouTube is of course owned by Google, with the latter digging deep on 360 video. It launched it’s Jump 360 capture and processing pipeline, alongside Go-Pro’s Odyssey camera last year alongside a processing and editing pipeline called Jump. In May the company announced it’s wish to make Jump available and accessible enough that established, classic YouTubers would adopt the format for content output. Furthering this intent, the latest iteration of the YouTube mobile application apparently designed for “built for comfort and longer sessions,” including a host of normal functions such as search, discovery, and playlists to keep users watching just like on monitors and smartphones.

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See Also: Google Announce ‘Daydream’ a VR Platform for Android N
See Also: Google Announce ‘Daydream’ a VR Platform for Android N

That app appeared in presentations introducing Google’s dedicated VR platform Daydream, which will will appear inside the latest Android 7.0 “Nougat” release, and clearly 360 video is a key target for early content supporting this latest push into VR in 2016. Android 7 is expected this or next month at the time of writing.

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Based in the UK, Paul has been immersed in interactive entertainment for the best part of 27 years and has followed advances in gaming with a passionate fervour. His obsession with graphical fidelity over the years has had him branded a ‘graphics whore’ (which he views as the highest compliment) more than once and he holds a particular candle for the dream of the ultimate immersive gaming experience. Having followed and been disappointed by the original VR explosion of the 90s, he then founded RiftVR.com to follow the new and exciting prospect of the rebirth of VR in products like the Oculus Rift. Paul joined forces with Ben to help build the new Road to VR in preparation for what he sees as VR’s coming of age over the next few years.
  • q23main

    Informative, short, straightforward. Like it

  • I do like when the pros echo my exact same thoughts. Thanks for sharing. I’ve posted the video on the forum for the 360 Camera I purchased. I hope to see an end to low budget real-estate “walk-through Virtual Tours” made with selfie sticks haha.

  • Peter Matthews

    Totally agree with the Real Estate comment Chris, check out our recent apartment review in Paris

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Gg_9Xtjqg

    This is actually the same apartment building where Jim Morrison died….