By Logan Parsley
In the world of film, technology is always evolving. Something new today is irrelevant tomorrow. These new developments, such as 360 video, allow filmmakers everywhere to create stories and visuals that were never dreamt of years ago. However, this evolving technology comes with a cost. New challenges arise and new criticisms are spoken. 360 video makes the director’s job twice as difficult by shifting power from the director and putting it in the hands of the viewer, no matter how unqualified they are.
Sky – Missing You
On my first day as an intern at ECG, I was asked to shoot and produce a behind-the-scenes edit for a new music video. They were shooting a 360 video for Southern rapper, Sky and his song Missing You. Though ECG’s team has shot, directed and produced many music videos, this was their first 360 music video, meaning new obstacles and learning experiences for their talented director, Jason Sirotin, and Director of Photography, Brandon Peterson.
Director’s Perspective
Directed by Jason Sirotin, the video did not turn out as he had expected it would due to 360 video being such a different medium. It drastically changed the directing process, forcing Sirotin to really step outside of his comfort zone. When I interviewed Sirotin, he stated that he failed in conceptualizing the video, “I was thinking about it as a normal video just in 360…none of the things I wanted to do in the original cut worked.” Though the video met the needs of Sky, Sirotin wanted the video to really tell a story rather than be gimmicky. “When you’re learning something new, you’re not going to do it right at first and it’s not always going to be what you want,“ he said.
Trusting the Viewer
A major barrier to 360 video is giving the viewers complete control of the camera’s orientation. “If I’m doing my job right, the viewer is going to look where I want them to look.” said Sirotin who feels that 360 is, “better with live performances” since it is such a difficult tool to use to tell a narrative. “I just don’t think the technology is there yet and I just don’t think people have had enough experience to be great at it yet. I think you’re going to need people like [ECG Productions] to take the risk and keep trying to figure out how to to do it.”
DP Perspective
In the behind-the-scenes I shot, DP Brandon Peterson, goes into detail about the process behind shooting a 360 video.
Behind the Scenes of SKY – Missing You from ECG Productions on Vimeo.