6 Things You Need To Know Before Your Next 360 Shoot

 In Product News

Everything you read about producing 360-degree video will say it’s a whole new beast when it comes filming and postproduction. Achieving the VR-like format that lets you look up, down, left, right, and behind, not only requires investment in a special camera or custom multicamera setup, it also demands a large dose of patience.

You’ll hear that to capture wraparound views, you can’t think about filming in the same way as traditional video. You’ll be told to throw all the rules of multicamera shooting out the window and to accept that due to the complexity of the set up, convenience usually has to take precedence over quality. You’ll be led to believe guesswork is the best that can be expected when it comes to capturing content.

SyncBac VR changes this

Surrendering quality and control goes against every instinct of professional filmmakers. Our SyncBac VR solution has been designed with top-end VR content producers in mind, giving 360-degree filming the certainty and control of a professional standard workflow.

Here’s what you need to know…

1. Sync doesn’t have to be a disruptive, manual process

Visually timecode-slating cameras using the clap of a slate (or another visual or audio cue) disrupts the creative flow of filming and is universally detested by everyone from the artists in front of the camera to the producers and DOPs working behind the lens.

SyncBac VR makes the convenience of using timecode to wirelessly synchronise multiple content sources over RF, compatible with 360-degree filming methods. So you can start and stop recording all day long without the hassle of having to disturb filming to manually slate cameras, knowing all cameras are synchronised at the point of shooting.

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2. A new 360RIZE rig neatly integrates our SyncBac PRO solution into 360-degree shooting

A new range of modular, 360-degree multicamera holders from 360RIZE allows GoPro HERO4 cameras with SyncBac PRO units attached to be used in a spherical array of between six and 24 cameras. This allows each camera in a VR rig to generate its own frame-accurate timecode, creating the ability to wirelessly sync multiple HERO4 cameras over RF, with no additional manual effort required.

3. It’s not just for GoPro rigs

The new UltraSync ONE brings new opportunities to integrate our wireless synchronisation solution into custom, multicamera VR rigs using other brands of cameras. It also makes using professional genlock sync for 360-degree filming an achievable reality.

 4. You can synchronise 360-degree video with separate audio too

Using a custom multicamera 360 VR rig that incorporates cameras with SyncBac PROs or UltraSync ONE units for timecode, allows you to sync with separate sound sources that are also using our products for timecode (e.g. a :pulse, :wave or UltraSync ONE with the sound recorder).

 5. Guesswork is not the only option when it comes to camera control

Do all the cameras have sufficient power to last the shoot? What about the SD cards? Has every camera been configured with the same settings? Are they all recording? Just how tightly are your fingers crossed when you start recording using a 360 multi-GoPro VR rig?

Multicamera VR rigs can be toilsome to configure and control. Using a :pulse to connect the SyncBac PROs in the rig to the BLINK Hub app makes it easy to identify and eliminate errors in camera settings promptly, monitor camera performance, extend battery life, and group sets of cameras to work together as one. This significantly reduces the risk of content being lost due to incorrect camera settings or malfunction of a camera.

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 6. Stitching doesn’t have to be a long, manual process

Anyone who has produced 360-degree video will understand the difficulties involved in relying on a clap or visual cue to match up video in postproduction. Stitching together the footage from each individual source of a 360 VR rig can be a time-consuming manual process. A new sync feature, included in the version 3.0 update to Autopano Video Pro, incorporates full support for MP4 timecode generated by Timecode Systems’ products. This allows the cameras’ media files to be automatically timecode aligned in Autopano Video Pro at the push of a button, massively streamlining the postproduction of 360° video.

Interested?

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