Apparently I've been living under a rock at the bottom of a well for the past few months because I have only just discovered that YouTube now supports 360 videos. What does that mean you ask? It means this:
Watch it on your phone if you'd like your mind to be blown more than it currently is.
If you're like then this video probably melted your brain all over your keyboard. I had no idea that 360 degree camera's even existed let alone be a technology that would be supported by a company as colossal as google. After a bit of googling I found that there are quite a few models of 360 camera's available to the tech savvy consumer:
There's the Ricoh Theta, a device that looks as pretentious as it sounds, and costs around $350.00 which with tax included I think we can all agree is the price level equivalent of a terrible pun.
Next coming in at a bit depth of 4 pixels is the Kodak SP360. Priced at $300.00 it may look like an interesting tool to add to ones cinematic arsenal. It also looks like a muffin from the future which is all I've every wanted from a camera.
There are a few more interesting models I've found that I won't go into detail on , but I will say this: The death of the frame is neigh all hail the future muffin.
Taylor
Swift not only released a music video for her new song “Blank Space” but also an interactive app based on the music video. It’s an immersive technological experience. This is the regular music video:
In the interactive tablet
and smartphone app you can explore the virtual mansion for the length of the
song. When using the app you are transported into a recreation of that setting
for the course of the song where you can follow a realistic animated Taylor
Swift and her love as they enter and exit new rooms of the mansion or you can
leave the couple and explore.You use
the phone or tablet as your eyes, wherever you move it is the angle of your vision.
The 360-degree action is very similar to the actual video. Aside from following
the couple there are several trinkets placed in the virtual mansion. For
example, a book on the coffee table includes exclusive, never-before-seen photos
from Taylor’s childhood.
The app was
created right after the video was completed. Once the video was wrapped another
crew was brought in to photograph the mansion and created the interactive
world. Taylor Swift talks about it in a short interview.
After using this
app I was very curious about how they did it so I researched and found a bunch of
interesting information...
Immersive Media
was the company responsible for the 360 camera systems, on set
live-stitching/viewing, and 360 post services. The linear music video
production was shot with a Red Dragon in 6K and used a DJI Ronin for a lot of
the camera work. The 360 crew had the challenging task of recreating the key
scenes from the music video after the linear crew was finished. During a 360
take the entire room must be clear of equipment, lights, and crew. The actors
have their directions but are basically free to move where they want as the
camera is capturing them from all angles. The 360 camera is placed on set and a
cable connects the camera to the primary recorder. The camera used on this
production is a called a Lady Bug and is made by Point Grey. There are
basically two other types of 360 camera systems today including the GoPro
version and the Red Epic version.
GOPRO
RED
None
of the GoPros allow for real time viewing of the stitched image. However, in
some cases the small form factor of the GoPro rigs make them the only chose for
360 video capture. Most of the popular 360 videos online were shot with GoPro
rigs.
The
Red Epic version has way more resolution, allows for cinema lenses. However,
their downsides are that they are very large and that they image plane of each
camera is very far offset. Therefore, they are not ideal for stitching. This
system doesn’t currently allow for real-time viewing of the final stitched
image either.
The
real strength of Immersive’s 360 camera system and workflow, is that you can
view the 360 image roughly stitched together live while you are shooting. You also have control of the shutter, gain, and some other key
controls.
I
think this is a very cool idea and its going to become more prevalent.
Tonight we finished up all of our shots for our poker trailer in Studio A. Overall, I'm really excited to see the final product on the big screen. We have a lot of cool closeup shots and montage scene that are going to make for a thrilling trailer. Our actors were great and we were really fortunate to get in the locations we wanted to shot in. The fresh your mind on the story line, two brothers (Josh and Dan) attend Ithaca College on academic scholarship. Dan loses his money grant due to poor grades, and the two resort to an underground poker tournament run by college graduates. Josh, the better played of the two, decides that he is better off on his own, and takes a loan from a loan shark. It just so happens the two meet up at the final table, one needing to win to stay in school and the other to pay back the loan shark riding on his back. Which brother will end up on top in this thrilling poker adventure.
Below are some pictures I found online that are similar to a couple of shots we used in our trailer: In post, we are planning to do a lot of motion effects, including slow motion scenes and a scene similar to this clip from the famous gambling movie 21.
We also decided to go with an announcer based trailer, instead of a dialogue driven trailer. With a lot of camera movements and zooms, we thought it would be better for the actors to talk over the the shots they are in, almost like speaking about what they are thinking in certain situations.
Over the break, a father asked me to videotape his son's football game and edit the good plays he makes into a high-light real. He gave me a hand held camera and told me the different angles to shoot at for where his son would be on the field, whether it was defense or offense. This was by far the hardest event I ever shoot at. Football is such a quick game and i was constantly losing concept of where the ball and Jon were. Jon played the running back position so he was pretty much on every play. Jon's father wanted me too be zoomed in as much as possible and to always have his son on camera.
Towards the second quarter, my hand was already starting to get tired, and there was nothing i could really do about it. A tripod would have rally been handy. After halftime, Jon rushed for a 47 yard touchdown, breaking three tackles and diving into the end zone. The best part was that he was running towards me the entire time, so the shoot does like pretty cool as i zoom out and refocus during the play.
In post, I added some music and labeled what each short bit was before playing it. Mr Struss, Jon's father, was very please with what I accomplished and said that if Jon's team makes it to the championship, he would ask me to do the same thing again. Then it hit me. There are so many parents that spend a tremendous amount of money to have highlight tapes shoot for their son or daughter. So currently, I am making a website that will be linked on my old school's website for parents interested in a highlight tape for their child's college resume. I already have gotten few phone calls, and have 3 jobs for when I go back home after christmas. I think I might really have something here. Once the site is finished, I'll post again and have a link to the main page.
So I was applying for internships in LA and I came across Social Animal. I didn't know much about the company so I looked into it. It turns out they use 360 degree camera to film for mostly advertising purposes. To call it a single camera is an understatement. it has 9 high quality cameras (something like $22,000 a piece) that reflect off of mirrors to eliminate over lap. Also each camera is hooked up to its own macbook pro. Yes, nine lap tops. They had a clip about it on Attack of the Show.
Now you maybe wondering what how do you view this on a computer? Well this is also ingenious. You drag across the scene and u can see any direction at anytime on the time line. Pretty cool.
If you are wondering yes I did apply, but I have not heard yet so fingers crossed.
In post, we are planning to do a lot of motion effects, including slow motion scenes and a scene similar to this clip from the famous gambling movie