360 VIDEO

ABOUT ME

Hugh "Smokey" Dyar IV▸ 2nd Year Graduate Student in Emerging Media

▸ Freelance Photographer▸ Thesis on 360 video editing and cinemetography

▸ I Study The Craft Of Storytelling

What I have learned about 360 filmmaking.

So far.

THIS PRESENTATION1. What is it?2. Concepts3. Structure

4. Tricks and Tips

360 VIDEOWHAT IS IT?

WHAT IS IT?

▸ It's video.▸ Rotation not position, inside of a sphere

▸ Viewer-controlled frame▸ Equirectangular projected 2:1 video

WHAT IS IT?

HARDWARE LIMITATIONS▸ Spacial, stereo, or mono audio...?▸ Fixed focus, fixed "zoom".▸ Stitching errors

▸ Annoying to edit, no seamless workflow.▸ Limited Resolution

HOW DO WE EXPERIENCE IT?

▸ Google Cardboard▸ Ipad/phone at arms length

▸ HMD's▸ Web Viewers▸ WebVR

▸ Youtube/Facebook

PLATFORM CONSIDERATIONS

▸ Limited Depth Cues▸ Audio is a Hot Mess

▸ Goldilocks shooting distance.

CONCEPTS

EDITING IS HARD!▸ Did the viewer see what matters?▸ Is the viewer confused?

▸ Do they understand how they should behave?▸ How to prevent a jarring cut

POINTS OF INTEREST (POI)▸ A point of interest is any point in a frame that a user may be likely to

look at, for whatever reason.▸ Visual Weight

▸ Narrative Significance▸ Tension

IN FOCUS THINGS. BIG THINGS. COLORFUL/SATURATED THINGS. BRIGHT THINGS. THINGS CLOSER TO THE CAMERA. CONTRASTY THINGS. THINGS ON A PATH OF LEADING LINES. THINGS THAT ARE MOVING, OR

SUGGESTING MOTION. EYES ARE LOOKING AT IT. PEOPLE. FACES. THINGS WITH EYES. THINGS THAT ARE SPEAKING. THINGS THAT ARE MOVING, OR ONE THING MOVING TOWARDS THE CAMERA, OR ANYTHING BREAKING

A PATTERN OF MOTION (I.E. STATIC PERSON IN A SEA OF COMMUTERS). THINGS THAT WE EMPATHIZE WITH/CARE ABOUT (I.E. THE MAIN CHARACTER). THINGS THAT INTRIGUE US OR MAKE US CURIOUS. (I.E. A LOCKED TOY

CHEST THAT A CHILD SEEMS DEATHLY AFRAID OF WHAT’S INSIDE, WHILE A PARENT INSISTS EVERYTHING IS FINE). THINGS THAT MAKE NOISE. THINGS THAT ARE ABOUT TO CHANGE OR REVEAL SOMETHING. THE DIRECTION

THE CAMERA IS MOVING (EVEN AS PASSENGERS, WE DON’T SIT IN CARS FACING SIDEWAYS; WE LIKE TO LOOK WHERE WE ARE GOING). THINGS NEW TO THE SCENE. THINGS THAT ARE MAKING NOISE. THINGS THAT ARE ABOUT TO DO SOMETHING (ANTICIPATION; A BATTER WOUND UP AND READY TO SWING, A BOMB WITH A

TICKING NOISE). THINGS THAT ACTORS ARE LOOKING AT OR PAYING ATTENTION TO, OR HAVE SOME KIND OF ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP WITH. THINGS THAT ACTORS AREN’T PAYING ATTENTION TO (BUT SHOULD BE/STILL HAVE SOME KIND OF RELATIONSHIP. LIKE A HORROR MOVIE VILLAIN CREEPING AROUND A CORNER).

THINGS THAT TRY TO HIDE FROM US (THE VIEWER CAN “ACCEPTS A CHALLENGE” AND GO HUNTING FOR THE THING). THINGS WITH GIANT FLASHING ARROWS POINTED AT IT. THINGS THAT ARE LITERALLY ON FIRE.

Points of... interest.

TYPES OF SHOTS.

▸ Undirected▸ Directed

UNDIRECTED

DIRECTED

MOTIVATIONS TO EDIT

▸ Jump time▸ Move around a space▸ Change location▸ Show importance▸ Switch linear stories▸ Provide tension

WHEN POSSIBLE, LET THE AUDIENCE EDIT.

WHEN TO GIVE UP CONTROL▸ Visual Saturation/Isolation▸ Intentional Searching (find this)▸ Unexpected Discovery (curiosity)▸ Examination/Atmosphere

STRUCTURE

What do 360 films look like?

THE ONERA single video of a story unfolding around the viewer in real time.

NARRATED ONE TAKEOner with non-diagetic Audio.

THE VACATION SLIDES STORYSlideshow of video content. Narration provides story. Bulletproof.

THE HERO'S JOURNEYCuts between locations utilizing POI in and out points. Not Bulletproof.

TOTALY DIRECTED STORYEvery shot a directed shot. Lose the gaze, lose the story!

LETS BACK UP.

A FILM CAN MOVE AROUND THIS SPECTRUM!

CHALLENGE: GO FROM UNDIRECTED TO DIRECTED.

THE RESET SHOTAny shot that moves an audience from unknown gaze to known gaze.

SO WHAT DO 360 FILMS LOOK LIKE?

TRICKS AND TIPS

YOU CAN TELL MORE THAN ONE STORY.

...do but don't. ▸ Allow for details that not everybody catches that help the story.

AUDIO IS YOUR FRIEND

▸ You know the user is listening. ▸ Voice overs can be very effective.

▸ Audio and video don't really need to match.

OFFSET

METADATA

"Youtube 360 Video Metadata Tool"

PREMIERE VIEWPORT SETTINGS

DONT FORGET MINIMUM CAMERA DISTANCE

DON'T FORGET MAXIMUM CAMERA DISTANCE

DISTANCE MATTERS. MAYBE THE MOST?

CAMERA HEIGHT MATTERS

Use photos and photospheres to help you think

TEST IT IN MULTIPLE PLATFORMS.

Export and upload clips/sections to youtube.

ITS EASY TO COVER UP THE FLOOR AND CEILING SPHINCTERS

With a logo or just black.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO COMPOSITE.

Take a "plate" video of the empty room.Then of your actors and sound people. Overlap and mask out things you

don't want.

DONT BE GIMMICKY.

Tell a story that could exist in other mediums, and tell it WELL in this one.

stuckinspheres.com