Why your story should be told with 360 video

The technology has never been more affordable, and capturing the full scene is striking. Here are reasons you ought to consider adding it to your toolkit, along with tips for doing so.

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Is your audience getting the full picture?

When our PR firm moved into a beautiful new office space this year, I couldn’t wait to share it with the world.

There was just one problem: Our new setting ought to be experienced rather than described or shown. Standard photos and video weren’t capturing the scene I wanted to depict.

How could I share our story so people could experience virtually what our team was experiencing in real life?

Inspired by a recent journalism presentation on immersive storytelling, I realized that a 360-video camera was probably the perfect solution. I browsed Amazon for options and settled on a name brand model that cost about $99.

It shoots in 4K, has a microphone and takes photos and videos plus time lapse, live video and HDR landscape images. Like all 360-video cameras, it has two lenses—one in the front and the other in the rear. You can shoot from just one lens for a panoramic-style still image or video—or shoot with both—and the camera’s software will stitch the two images together to create a seamless 360° view of your surroundings.

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