Here is the link to the finished interactive film on Eevo.
Screenshot of layout in eevo with the hotspot points and flags incorporated
Buttons to go between roomsScreenshots of the mystery room
Used a video we had already pre recorded from filming and then played around with effects. Zach already had a GoPro Reframe plug in which was free to download. This wrapped up the video into a 360° room format and made it really easy to create. Then we played around with other effects on after effects and used things like Gradient, Fractal and Turbulent Noise but ended up using a kaleidoscope effect instead. We used the turbulent noise for the floor and added time points and a hue effect to change the colour throughout the video. We also made sure to add a VR converter to the video and buttons so that it wouldn’t distort .
Today in our groups we started the filming process of our 360° videos. To start we made a quick plot diagram that could be used in an interactive film.
Video Plan
The image above shows the plan for where all our hotspots will be throughout the video. Includes 8 different locations but has 10 pathway options as some of the are repeated. We managed to film all of our footage in one session. The videos are too large to upload to the blog.
Screenshot from one of the videos
The filming part was really quick and straightforward to film, they just took really long to upload onto the computer to start editing because of the size.
I was really looking forward to the introduction on 360° film making. We looked at how to create interactive film using a website called Stornaway.io and another software called eevo.
Then we looked at setting up a 360° camera which connected to my phone through an app called THETA which was easy to set up and use. Once we knew how to operate the equipment we recorded a quick clip of the class room so we could start learning how to do simple edits on Adobe After Effects. Unfortunately I can’t find the video to upload it to the blog 🙁
The introduction to After Effects was quite brief but luckily I’d already used this software in the past otherwise I think it would’ve been a challenge. Even knowing how to use it I still struggle with it sometimes. The lesson covered how to add shapes and colour so we could set up hotspot buttons in interactive videos. Then we looked at how to create walls using squares so we could set up a whole room only using after effects.
We briefly looked at 3DoF and 6DoF (Degree of Freedom).
The number before it shows how many different axes are being tracked. 3DoF is enough for 360 video, while 3D VR requires 6DoF. If you want to make use of 3D environments, a 6DoF headset is necessary. It allows for the tracking of your physical movement.
After we looked at the…
5 simple rules for 360° filmmaking
1. Think of your camera as a character
2. Mind the stitch
3. Don’t forget the sound
4. Move with caution
5. Fill your scene
Lastly we looked at how to branch narrative to work for an interactive film. In small groups we then started to plan a quick narrative structure so that we could start filming footage for our next artefact. A video of the different locations throughout the university.
