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Overview
Name of explainer: Create a 360 degree video sequence using Insta360 studio
Creative theme: Immersive Media
Software used: Insta360 Studio
User level: BEGINNER
This is a standalone explainer, published as part of ‘immersive media’ month. Watch for our other standalone immersive media explainers!
The Software
This explainer uses Insta360 Studio, a program for Mac and PC. When downloading this program you are required to enter the serial number of your Insta360 camera, as it’s designed for users of this specific brand of products. The software will accept 360 degree video files recorded with other devices.
The video sequence created in this explainer
In this explainer we import a 360 degree video clip into Insta360 Studio, add keyframes to animate the video and export it as a ‘flat’ HD video file. Here’s how our coastal clip looks at the end of the explainer:
…and here’s what you could go on to create, armed with a recent 360 degree camera and a heavy dose of imagination 🙂
The pre-requisities
This is a BEGINNER explainer. You will need to have a basic knowledge of using Windows and using a web browser to follow along.
Why would I do this?
Insta360 Studio is designed for working with immersive images and video clips. If your workflows require predominantly using ‘flat’ images and video, a traditional video editor (E.g. Premiere Pro or Vegas Pro) will be more suitable.
Insta360 also offers an app for Android and Apple devices. This includes plenty of one-click filters and animation options to apply to 360 images and videos – The desktop app we use here is designed for working with high resolution video files (E.g. 5.7k video) and offers additional control over the editing process.
Let’s do it!
Click the play icon to watch this explainer video. Subtitles are available – Click the settings cog at the bottom right for options. You can watch this video full-screen by clicking the full-screen icon at the bottom right.
Use our coastal 360 degree video clip!
You’re welcome to use the video clip used in the above explainer. This clip is in 4k resolution and has been saved in a low bitrate. The original file from the camera is more detailed. It must not be redistributed online for free or for gain – You are welcome to use it for personal and educational use only.
Good to know
As mentioned in the explainer, there’s more you can do with Insta360 Studio to improve your animations:
To ‘smooth’ the movement between two keyframes, click on the (yellow) line between them. You’re presented with various ‘curve’ shapes. We’ve highlighted the ‘easing’ curve below. If you’re new to easing / smoothing, try the different options to see what each does:
You can also re-speed sections of the video:
1: Click the TIMESHIFT icon (the lightning strike) at the bottom right of the preview window:
2: Drag the ‘red panel’ across the section of the clip you’d like to re-speed:
3: Click on the red panel and select a speed multiplier for the section:
Play back the clip to see the results!
You can also apply motion blur to re-speeded sections of the clip by clicking the motion blur icon to the right of the lightning strike. An on-screen message confirms it will be applied when the video is exported:
Where to next?
Once you’ve got to grips with keyframing the orientation and scale of your clips you’re free to mix and match video clips to create dynamic effects. Combine this with inventive recording methods and the sky’s the limit 🙂
Notes and updates
There are no notes or advisories at this time. This video explainer was last updated in October 2022. This page was last updated in October 2022.
We at pixels.cool are not responsible for the content of any external webpages or software downloaded from third party sites. Any links are included in good faith at the time of writing. All explainer content is compiled in good faith using processes and methods used by the team. Modern software provides users with many ways to accomplish a task, and for reasons of clarity we choose not to refer to multiple options. All computer users must run up to date virus / security software at all times to minimise risks of data loss.
This is just one of our immersive media explainer videos! Make sure you join us for the others!
