Getting to grips with the Theta S

I've been out walking today with my son and we had a play with our recently acquired Theta S.  We managed to film some of the Pukekos we came across, they were quite curious about us and the camera.

Here's the video...

Not the greatest quality, the Pukeko also seems a long way from us when in fact, it was very close -enough to reach out and touch it.  Something to think about when shooting in 360.

Here's the workflow for getting this onto YouTube Using a Mac:

1. Connect camera to Mac and open Image Capture
2. Transfer video from camera to desktop folder
3. Open Theta app on laptop and convert video (basically stich the two spheres together)
4. Inject the MetaData (Mac or Win) using the Google App  - Instructions for uploading here
5. Login to YouTube and Upload the video

Once it's on YouTube it can be manipulated when viewing in the latest versions of most browsers.  However the really cool part is being able to throw your phone into a virtual reality headset (cardboard being my favourite) hit the cardboard button and immerse yourself in the video.

It think this is such a cool field to be part of... the possibilities for engaging learners ... awesome!  Here are just a few of the ideas I've been playing with for using 360 video...

• Class tours shared with other classes you connect with across the world, and they share back of course.  Students and teachers would really be able to see what it's like to be in your classroom. So much better than just a few photos of your classroom.
• Discover more about ... basically take videos of a space/place and commentate it while you're videoing.  Students need to find out more about what they're looking at.