360 Camera Techniques FPV

Are you a 360 Genius? Take the Insta360 Go 2 Teaser Challenge!

Are you a 360 Genius? Insta360 Go 2 Teaser Challenge!
Are you a 360 Genius? Insta360 Go 2 Teaser Challenge!

If you can figure out how I shot this video, then you are a 360 Genius!  Bonus points for thinking of the easiest and cheapest way to do it (not including the cost of the drones)!

Are you ready?  Here is the video, which is BTW a loop video (on the desktop, right click and select Loop):

Post your guesses in the comments (no peeking at other people’s responses) and win bragging rights!

This video was of course inspired by the teaser video for the Insta360 Go 2.  This video is my take on their video, using drones, most of which are under 2 inches tall (the DJI FPV drone is a notable exception).  I don’t know if Insta360 did the exact same technique, although my technique can be used to shoot a video like their teaser.  Something to ponder is whether this video could have been shot with a GoPro, and why or why not?  In any case, I will post the behind-the-scenes tutorial video for how this was shot.

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Mic Ty

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  • Uhm. You have a 360 Go 2 Mounted on a selfie stick, the selfie stick is horizontal and mounted on a dolly traveling alongside the drones. The 360 camera hover over the drones a few inches away. The zig zag movement is created in post production changing the framing of the 360 video for the cropped output. I also do these thing with my Insta 360 EVO.

    • Thanks Sergio! Yes I keyframed. One question is, how did I make the camera pass by so precisely beside the drones? Sometimes less than 1cm away from them, on left, right and bottom?

  • i think you used a selfiestick running the camera just above the drones in liner path; then you duplicated the footage, the second part in reverse mode, and then you reframed the first part oscillating the view toward the single drones! (sorry for the bad english!)

    • Great ideas Guido! So one question is, how did I make the camera pass by so precisely beside the drones? Sometimes less than 1cm away from them, on left, right and bottom?

    • A skate or bike is definitely smoother than walking but the problem is how do you move the camera with extreme precision…

  • If the drones are placed near a straight line you can use a thin robe where the Go 2 is fixed at and roll this robe over two ground-fixed rolls.
    Basically like a slider technique or like the Wiral LITE system.

    • Thanks Grabbitch! In this case the path is curved (not sure if it’s noticeable, but if you look at the last drone, the first drone is visible on the right side). The other issue is that a cable camera system like Wiral is not steady enough to provide a fixed path that has less than 1cm clearance on each side.

      • I think you used a long pole attached to a fluid head tripod and rotated the whole thing in a very stable and precise arc of a circle.
        Good luck and thank you for sharing your passion.
        Frédéric from France

        • Thanks Frederic! That is a very creative idea. One issue is that if the pole is very long then it has to be very stiff to avoid bouncing up and down, because as you saw in one part, I passed less than 1cm the drone with orange prop guards / ducts.

          • The sun reflection at the top right at the start disappears at the end, so I assume that the camera axis has moved and therefore the path is curved.
            In the Insta 360 go2 promo, the trajectory is straight and one can easily imagine a rail over a short distance, but in your case it is obviously several meters.
            Frankly apart from my proposal from my previous message,
            I don’t see how you can do otherwise.
            A carbon tube of several meters, no wind, a gentle push and some cables to stabilize the whole, and “c’est dans la boite” 😉

          • Thanks Frederic. Indeed the path is curved 😀 You are one of the few to notice it. Yes it is several meters, about 4 meters total or maybe more. You can see the solution when I post it in a few days! 😀

            Best regards,
            Mic

  • My guess is that you first set up the camera on a boom that travels alongside the intended path swinging in a very wide arc from a pivot point, with the business end supported on a wheel to prevent bouncing then while slowly moving the rig by hand, position the drones one at a time so that the camera gets as close as possible without hitting, then when they are all in position run the rig and record. (oscillations, etc applied in post)
    ?

  • My new idea even simpler and not expensive :
    A fixed point on the ground several meters away, a string twice as long as the radius of the arc of a circle connected to the ends of an old ski or skateboard without wheels recovered at the bottom of an attic which slides directly on the ground .
    This assumes a relatively flat ground as is the case here and we forget the sound recording 😉
    Come on, tell us everything!

    • Thanks Frederic. I promise I will reveal it. But I’m showing other tricks too in the same video, so it’s taking a little more time to do the video.

  • Do did you just add a wheel (or skid) to a selfie stick then walk it through the drones, very slowly to get close without hitting) then speed up and add oscillations in post?

  • I’m guessing you used a selfie stick screwed to the charging case and ran along side of it.

    you placed the drones with the perfect alignment for the shadow to be hidden.

    but the crop might be the reason to hide the shade from the stick in some way 😀

    • Thanks Tiago! Good guess, although my method was different. This video is super overdue but I am almost done with it. I’m curious what you think of the way I did it.

        • Oh Yes, this thing is becoming boring !!! I continue to get email nofitications for any answer to this thread, but no explanation yet !! And also consider that I am not interested at all in the insta360 go2, given its poor resolution… I’m just curious about this video.

      • Don’t want to let you escape without an answer regarding this topic! 😀
        More than 7 Month gone! Would be kind if you would give at least a verbal feedback if no video will come.