In recent years,360° videos have taken off on social networks. These videos are not like any other! They allow you to see an environment as if you were there. On the web, on a smartphone or with an immersive headset, you can change the viewing angle to any direction: above, below, behind or to the side. You are completely immersed in the environment and experience it to the full!
360° video is becoming more democratic
This type of video has been democratised thanks to the techniques for capturing and broadcasting these 360° videos.
Social networks have gradually made it possible to upload and watch these videos. The precursor was the Youtube platform in 2014. Then followed the Twitter network in 2016, and the giant Facebook in 2017. The other social networks (LinkedIn, Snapchat, Instagram...) will in turn offer this functionality that has become indispensable.
As for the production of these 360° videos, many cameras have been created and have arrived on the market at very accessible prices (Kodak, Samsung, Go Pro, Ricoh, Garmin and many others).
Starting at €230 for Samsung, the other players offer cameras around €500. The quality of the images, the functionalities, the connectivity, the number of pixels... are characteristics that will make the price evolve and justify it. The price of professional equipment will rise to between €2,500 and €3,000. Thanks to this simplification of capture and broadcasting, 360° video has become accessible to all! Democratized, these videos have inspired professionals in all types of sectors: firstly events, then real estate, industry, culture, or even retail.
360° videos in virtual reality
The 360° cameras will allow you to capture a real environment, and to broadcast it as you have filmed it. But in certain sectors or for certain occasions, we see more and more virtual 360° videos appearing.
These are not real captures, but a totally simulated and digitally created world.
In some sectors, particularly in industry or real estate, capturing the real world is complicated or impossible: inaccessible, non-existent, dangerous sites..... Professionals then choose to create or reproduce the environment digitally. Each image, detail, decoration, camera path, etc. can be personalised and chosen with care. With the development of technologies and skills, the virtual world becomes graphically almost identical to the real world.
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the real and the virtual:
The 360° virtual reality video has many advantages that marketing professionals have understood. They can create a high quality video, in their own image, and with full control of every detail.
Immersive 360° videos
WHAT IS IT?
360-degree videos can be broadcast and viewed through a variety of hardware (or devices): you don't need to be a highly equipped professional to do this!
First on the web (Youtube, social networks...), you will just have to direct the point of view with your mouse. Youtube has even created a specific "virtual reality" channel. On a smartphone or tablet, you can either move your mobile to discover all the viewpoints, or simply navigate with your fingers. The last medium on which you can watch these videos are virtual reality headsets.
IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSETS
In recent years, virtual reality headsets have been booming. The first consumer VR headset was theOculus Rift. A wired headset connected to the computer, it has controllers that allow you to interact with the virtual world (and perform actions such as moving around, modifying elements, changing rooms, decorations, characters, etc.)
Since then, many other headsets have appeared: HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR, Cardboard or even the Playstation VR headset. All of them have different functionalities and graphic qualities: it is the use and your wallet that will guide your choice.
360° video in real estate
When a property developer wants to sell a new building (which is not yet built), he must be able to help his future buyers to project themselves into the flats. And to do this, this sector of activity has adopted virtual reality and 360° visits. By modelling the rooms of the flats, these 360° visits The 360° visits allow future buyers to immerse themselves in the living room, the bedroom, the kitchen, to modify the decoration or the covering materials. This is an ideal tool to help in the decision making process and increase sales of new flats.
immersive visits in the industrial sector
360° videos in the industrial sector are regularly used: visit of production lines or factories, projection of a future site, forecast of a development, or the visit of an inaccessible site (forbidden to the public or abroad)...
REAL 360° VIDEOS
Manufacturers are increasingly interested in giving tours of their production sites.
Indeed, consumers, partners or employees increasingly want to be informed and know the production processes of certain goods. However, for reasons of hygiene or confidentiality (e.g. recipes), the sites are not always accessible to the public.
Video capture seems to be a good alternative. 360° videos are ideal for total immersion.
360° VIRTUAL REALITY VIDEOS
For projects that have not yet been completed, or production sites that have not been built, virtual reality is ideal. From simple plans, it is possible to model an entire production site, adding machines, processes, employees, etc.
The 360° immersive visit is very often enhanced by interaction points with access to content: videos, images, descriptive sheets, details of a process..... The visit thus becomes didactic and instructive. It can be presented to future employees, to foreign investors who cannot visit the site, or to consumers who want to know more about the future manufacturing or waste treatment process.
These 360° videos are very often used to present a project and illustrate a tender submission to local authorities or future investors.
immersive visits in the cultural sector and museography
Unfortunately, some museums are not accessible to everyone. Protected works, rooms closed to the public, lack of facilities for people with reduced mobility ... there are many reasons why museums may have to make immersive videos.
What could be more impressive than putting on an immersive headset and being immersed in this secret universe, as if you were there!
360° videos: a media to integrate into your applications
Many manufacturers, municipalities or real estate promoters create customised mobile applications to promote a product, present a project or market a real estate programme.
This type of interactive and intuitive application can be used by the general public as well as by professionals.
360° videos (real or virtual) are ideal to illustrate or enrich this application.
Give your customers a unique experience and stand out from your competitors!
Find out more about augmented reality for real estate with the complete guide to 3D.
