To save you the trouble of reading about why these videos are apart of my Top 10 favorite videos to create this year, you can watch for yourself. However, if you're interested I recently announced that I'm starting a web series about previous videos I've created called "TBT For 52 Weeks". I'll most likely talk about a handful of the following videos shared below, enjoy!
Split Borders (360° Video)
Split Borders is a 360° video that was shot on the San Diego/Tijuana border. Directed by David Kano, and shot/edited by myself. We wanted to show what it was like being just a few feet away from the United Stares/Mexico border and how different the two sides are. While we were there, we were approached by a Border Patrol agent who seemed to think we were trying to set him up. It was an odd standoff situation that started our day of filming in a bizarre manner.
San Diego 360°
This is a 360° video. It may or may not work for you depending on what device you're watching it from. On your mobile device if you copy and paste the following link into the YouTube search bar you should be able to playback the video correctly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhUnr-uucEY
In this San Diego 360° video you can go on a virtual tour to many of San Diego's Historic Landmarks and tourist locations. Enjoy!
HOTLINE BLING (Experimental Video)
I made this video for fun this morning. Check it out!
2015 Texas Vacation
Ricoh THETA 360° Video/Review
For the past two months I've been experimenting with the Ricoh THETA M15 camera. It's a camera that captures both video and photographs in a 360° panoramic view. I love the possibilities this camera offers but I think there's a lot of improvements that needs to be done with the software and the technology surrounding the camera! Let's start with what's possible with the camera: 360 degree photography.
The 360 degree photographs you take with the THETA camera can be altered in various apps but one in particular that works for me is Roll World. As you can see in the video posted above -- I was able to animate or "warp" a photo from one perspective to another due to the 360° panoramic view captured by the camera. I've been experimenting with this the past couple months and creating short Instagram videos that can be seen at this playlist. From what I've seen on the internet I haven't seen many people editing their THETA videos, most people are just posting clips to Instagram, which is cool too but I see a bigger potential for the photos and videos captured by this camera.
Above is a 360° video that can be viewed on YouTube on a limited amount of phones and browsers such as your iPhone, and the Google Chrome browser. This is a problem! The photographs and videos can also be seen on the Ricoh THETA website if you choose to upload your files there but it's difficult to share the videos on social media websites like Facebook, and Twitter. Yes, the photos and animated videos you create can be uploaded to YouTube, and Instagram but that leaves no power for the viewer to scan the panoramic view you capture when uploading the 360° metadata video to YouTube unless they are viewing on YouTube on select phones, and browsers. Another big problem is the 360 degree panoramic videos can only be seen ON the YouTube app! Meaning, if you decide to upload and share your video to YouTube, and share the link on Facebook; viewers will not be able to scan the panoramic view you captured in the YouTube app that opens through Facebook. Users must only view the videos directly on the YouTube app that allows you to have a look around the scene. I don't know how well this works on the other phones that allow the video to playback because I've only tried watching a shared video over social media on an iPhone, and an LG smartphone and again the users cannot scan the panoramic video unless it's directly on the YouTube app -- which is terrible for sharing! I guess other apps. and social media platforms need to catch up with what this technology has to offer but until then it's going to be difficult to get users to go directly to your channel and watch your 360 degree videos unless they are hardcore YouTube fans or smart with searching, and finding your channel (I know it can be difficult for some people to use smartphones still).
Lastly, I think editing softwares need to catch up with the technology so those who utilize a 360° camera can have the ability to direct a scene and what exactly the viewers are seeing. This is somewhat possible using the Roll World app I mentioned earlier but you don't have absolute control to pan around the scene multiple times whenever you choose. Using the Roll World app can take time! For instance, I've spent up to two hours at times exporting videos from Roll World just to create the possibility for me to import and edit the videos in Final Cut Pro X. When exporting your videos from Roll World, no audio is saved to the video clips so later you will have to match the audio from the original video files. I think there's so many possibilities of directing the viewer from the videos you've captured but unfortunately it's not made easy as of yet, and there's only 2 options creative filmmakers have to do so. One, you could prepare the scene ahead of time and face the camera in the direction you want to lead the viewers from the start, and manually whip the camera in the directions you want to lead your viewer. Two, open the raw video in the Ricoh THETA app on your computer and scan around the scene in full screen mode while screen recording with Quicktime or whichever app you prefer to do so. The latter option is definitely possible but you will most likely capture the mouse cursor in your screen recording.
Thanks for taking the time to read this rant of mine, it's a bit difficult explaining the troubles of the current technology surrounding 360 degree video. I plan on creating a review of the THETA camera in a few weeks, so if you're interested stay tuned for that!
OCTOBER UPDATE: As of late September Facebook has began supporting 360-degree video in the news feed for Android users. I've now uploaded my "360° Vacation In Texas" video to Facebook.com/RayRomanMedia and plan on uploading more videos as the support for other devices expands.
A Summer Day In New Braunfels, Texas
Filmmakers Try the NEW VHS Camcorder App by Rarevision!
Last week I experimented with the new 'VHS Camcorder' app. by Rarevision. It's a fun app. to use for the old school VHS nostalgic look. I want to thank No Film School for sharing my video on their blog! I'm currently on vacation visiting family in Texas and spontaneously put this video together of my grandparents who recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to their anniversary party -- but this is my gift to them and I'm glad they enjoyed watching it! If you have a moment check it out, and don't forget to download the app. and experiment for yourself. Have fun!
Dedicated To Vernon & Theresa Rodriguez
This video is dedicated to Vernon & Theresa Rodriguez. Video shot on an iPhone 5 using the NEW Rarevision "VHS Camcorder" App.
Underwear Man (2003 Student Film)
This is a short film from sometime around 2002-2004. I recently found the only copy of this I own, I had completely forgot about it! There was no audio on the DVD I found, the assignment might have been to make a silent movie with sound effects, or that may be have been the intention because since there was no dialogue, I'm assuming that was the plan. So here's the edited version with sound effects, the original copy is 4 minutes 8 seconds long; here I cut it down, did minor color correction, and got rid of some jittery frames. Enjoy!