Filming events in 360

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We have all seen events covered by photographers and camera operators but how many events have we seen covered with 360 degree videos?

A few weeks ago I filmed the Escalade, wrestling and other events with 360 cameras and it was fun. In some cases it was the opportunity to play with a new format and in other cases it was the opportunity for proof of concept.

The thing to remember about 360 videos is that you’re placing the camera at a point in space and people can look around as if they were holding the camera. Of course rather than hold the camera with their hands they are holding it with their fingers or even on their heads.

Turn your head instinctively and you see what you’d expect. Look up, look down, look behind you. You are there in full control. You will see a group of runners run towards you and when they pass you can follow them with your gaze.

It’s not just that you follow them with your gaze. In some cases you’re right by the action. When I filmed wrestling I got the camera right by the action rather than on the pilon holding up the ropes. You can look up as one wrestler jumps from the ropes into the opponent below.

Of course I still need to watch this footage and see how effective my experiment was. I suspect it worked well. When I get back to the edit suite I will be able to experiment.