Windows Software for LP's etc

Has anybody found an editor that will allow me to create the Little Planets, mirror balls, animations, etc, etc on a desktop computer?

I prefer a Windows based one, as that’s where my main editing screens are but can utilise a Mac one as well so long as it doesn’t require the absolute latest OS.

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Nothing out there then? I’ve done some research and can’t find anything so was hoping someone else had…?

@stubbyd, did you look through this list?

Off the top of my head, most of the Tiny Planet editors are mobile. Then again, it seems to me like making Tiny Planets in Photoshop should be a very straight forward process.

Here’s tutorial for Photoshop:

I have not tried this myself, but it looks pretty do-able. Would using Photoshop on Windows work?

I hadn’t because even though I searched, nothing came back for me.

Thank you.

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Great, hope the list is useful!

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I use two tools to create images in other projections than plain equirectangular such as stereographic (AKA ‘Little Planet’ or ‘Rabbit Hole’), Mercator, Guyou:

  1. PTGui - https://www.ptgui.com/
  2. Flexify 2 - Flexify 2 Photoshop plug-in for panoramas, polyhedra, and maps - Flaming Pear Software

The first runs standalone and is mainly used for stitching. Handling different output projections is just a minor feature of it.

The later is a Photoshop plugin specialised in creating a vast number of different outputs. Most of them are useless (IMHO), but some are really cool (such as Langrange plus). It’s also quite handy for nadir-patching.

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Thanks for posting this @CorLeone. Useful for me.

Thanks for this.

PTGui I know for its power to create panoramas - I hadn’t considered the ability to create alternate outputs as a possibility … hmmmmm!

Flexify 2 I’ve never heard of so shall investigate.

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Ah, Little Planet videos - good point, I was thinking about still images only.

For creating videos with smooth transitions between different projections (incl. LP), I’m using:

Although this free software is designed to work with Insta360’s range of cameras, it handles equirectangular video from the THETAs as well. I was using it with the S and the Z1, before moving to Insta360 for video.

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@CorLeone - is this only in app form for a mobile as I am specifically trying to find a reasonable workflow for my Windows PC or Mac.

When I go to the website I can only see an app or is this app a part of the Studio?

Just scroll down, it’s available for Windows and Mac.

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Ahh my bad - I saw the URL ended with “insta360-evo” and my mind blanked out that you had said Studio…

Got it now - will take a look.

So, the reason for my original request and perhaps I should have shared that is that I was trying to find a way to cut down my video, edit and export it.

The original was approx 1.4Gb and my little phone struggled to cope. So, after reading above, some trial and error, etc I’ve cracked it. And for the benefit of others I’ll share my workflow here and a link to my video for those that care and to provide any critique, advice or even a better workflow.

So, caveat is: this is on my Windows 10 PC but could easily be done via a Mac with very similar steps.

  1. Always work on a copy :slight_smile:
  2. Drop / Open copied file in the ‘Ricoh Theta’ desktop app and allow it to process and save your file. It will add an ‘_er’ to the filename.
  3. Open this new file in ‘Insta Studio’ and trim, keyframe, etc to your heart’s desire and then export.
  4. If you want to add titles, change soundtrack, etc then open in your video editor of choice. I tend to use DaVinci Resolve or Shotcut for my video editing - both free for non-commercial use.
  5. Save and share.

So, following my point 5 advice here is my video - it’s of the steam train, Tornado, that passed through back in July. BTW, there is sound so do put those speakers on.

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That’s a fantastic video. Thanks for sharing. Would like to see more of your work. :slight_smile: :theta::thetadev:

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Yes, this is the typical workflow for the THETAs - unfortunately, as it involes quite a number of recoding steps, that reduce the video quality which is already limited due to the low bitrate (56 Mbit/s for the Z1).

When using an Insta360 camera, step 2 is not required as it is included in 3. When editing with Adobe Premiere, it is possible to even eliminate step 3, as stitching it can be done in Premiere using the plugins provided by Insta360. In addition, you can use a higher bitrate for the intermedia recoding steps.

Good to know if I ever decide to pay extra for Premiere - not sure the amount (or quality) of vdieoing I do is worthy of that extra expense. :wink: