These tips were provided by Michael Wohl in his webinar Secrets of Success for 360 Video Production that ran in late 2017. This article was updated in June 2018. Recording of his webinar is available below.
There’s a June 2018 giveaway for a free copy of Michael’s book, The 360 Video Handbook.
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In 360 video, the location is ALWAYS a character, potentially the most important character
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Your technique must change based on how you want your audience to interact with the camera. Is your audience a participant or a ghost?
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In 360 video, the camera is the viewer’s head. One angle captures the whole scene. Don’t put the camera too close to the wall or ceiling
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Respect the personal space of the audience. Objects are closer than they appear. Move the camera cautiously to avoid nausea.
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Place the camera in the position of an imaginary person. Don’t stick the camera in the middle of the room.
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Use theater as a metaphor for your 360 movie strategy to help in planning focus, both for fiction and non-fiction
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Use spatial audio as one of your strongest tools for storytelling. Lighting can also guide focus. (turning on or off lights)
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Create a frame within a frame for 360 video. Use building or rooms with strong diagonal lines to guide the viewer’s focus
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Use mono mics for dialogue and special effects and mix into spatial source recording with special software to lock sound to a specific position in video
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Use Facebook spatial workstation (free) or Blue Ripple Sound to lock audio to a specific object in a 360 video
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Use special 360 plugins when you add titles or transitions inside your video
Bonus info from discussion
Apple’s Final Cut Pro to be upgraded with 360 editing features
Zoom H2N used by community to add spatial audio to older THETA cameras
Carne y Arena provides hints to the future of VR storytelling