We've been excited about 360 video for a while and the potential uses it might have for businesses...not to mention personal uses as well.

Though you may hear it referred to as 360° video, video 360, spherical video, immersive video or panoramic video. It is basically an interactive video where the viewer can control the angle of the video. That is, while viewing, aim the camera in any direction. Using this immersive video technology  allows viewers to experience what else is going on around the room when shooting.

snapshot of what the raw footage looks like when shooting 360 video

Though there are many different camera types and manufacturers of this technology the theory is the same. Use a special panoramic camera that takes 360° video around itself....shooting with multiple syncronous cameras and then linking that footage together in a spherical projection.

Before we move into the video part, we wanted to start with a more simplistic example and deploy the camera for still photography. We've included several examples in this blog post using a 360 camera called the Bublcam. We set the camera up in several different environments, both inside and out to test it in different locations.

Lets start on the outside. We walked around the exterior of our office building snapping a few pictures in different locations. You can get a sense of the surrounding area, cross streets, exterior of the buildings and the general feel of the area. The one thing you will notice is our cameraman Zack in each picture. Even though he's taking the photos with an app on his phone, it's still unavoidable in some situations not to get the photographer in the shot (unless you hide out of site - which is possible with using the app). 

Now, let's move to the interior of the building and show the office space within the building.

As you can see from the still shots, this technology could have huge potential for businesses, especially real estate companies. We've also used this camera to shoot factories, manufacturing facilities and deployed it in the home services industry as well. 

A visual tour of your business can enhance your appeal to potential customers - giving them a walk-around-the-shop view of the inside of your business with a click of a button. A new, different and completely unique way to engage with customers.

Before we move onto the nuts and bolts of the video side of 360 and how you can shoot and edit with it. Here are a few more fun examples of how we used 360 videos.

1. While doing on street interviews we wanted to show other action going on in the street simultaneously. We mounted  the 360 camera on top of our regular camera and turned it on while doing interviews. Hence, a quick example of how we did that.

2. We used this technology to showcase the large inventory of an outdoor furniture and sheds that Ricks Sheds supplies. Not only can you show the inventory in a different way but we were able to show the interior/exterior of the custom sheds they build.

3. We attached it to a car and took a ride through town. We wanted a way to show visitors unfamiliar with the town various landmarks when venturing in. Viewers can pause the video at any point and spin around to get a different vantage point, identifying landmarks, distance and locations. 

In our next blog post, we'll talk about how to shoot video with 360 cameras. If you want more information about using 360 video for your business, feel free to contact us.