Episode three of our 360˚ Video Top Tips series has landed! The aim of this series is to provide useful 360˚ video tips to teach you how to shoot in this immersive format to the best of your ability. 360˚ video and immersive content creators can apply these tips and tricks to any future productions. In this series we advise on the optimal 360˚ video camera height and touch on 360˚ video resolution.

Real or virtual camera height can make or break a 360˚ video or virtual reality experience.

There are many resources which advocate that eye-line is the optimal 360˚ video camera height and the foundation for an immersive video setup. This is often justified by a variety of rationale with the main reason being that the viewer is experiencing the 360˚ video through a ‘virtual body’ and therefore must be of average height to avoid feeling diminutive or enormous.

What is often not explained is the importance of fixing the 360˚ video camera height based on the type of distribution or method of which the majority of the audience will experience this immersive video.

Different practices for the optimal 360˚ video camera height apply to different methods of distribution. For example, if a 360˚ video is going to be published on a website or social platform such as Facebook, and is intended for an audience that’ll  watch the immersive video on a mobile device or desktop display, then it’s crucial to realize a horizon line which allows a subject (on-screen person) to be framed so the upper half of their body occupies the 360˚ video frame. This is so that the end-viewer doesn’t need to look down for the subject to  occupy the majority of the 360˚ video frame when at a reasonable distance from the camera (4-6ft).

The recommended 360˚ video camera height for the optimal framing of a 360˚ video which features a subject (on-screen person), intended for viewing on a mobile or desktop display without a virtual reality headset, is around chin to shoulder height of the subject. There are many particulars which must be taken into consideration when determining optimal 360˚ video camera height, some of these include: all subjects’ distance to 360˚ video camera, type and quantity of subjects, gradient, and the overall size of the location or virtual environment.

Fixing the 360˚ video camera height at eye-line for 360 video consumed on mobile or desktop displays will determine a horizon line which includes too little of the subject (on-screen person) within the framed 360˚ video. This will therefore require the end-viewer to look down so that the subject occupies a sufficient portion of the frame, resulting in an unnatural observation due to the lack of parallax.

We strongly encourage tests to be produced in advance of production with stand-ins to determine the correct 360˚ video camera height, horizon line, and optimal framing to realize your creative for the hardware which the majority of your audience will experience the 360˚ video.

Live-preview on 360˚ video cameras such as the Nokia OZO, Jaunt ONE, Z-Cam S1, and many more professional 360˚ camera systems is extremely helpful for efficiently realizing the optimal 360˚ video camera height and framing for your 360˚ video.

Always take overlap into consideration when calculating your maximum output resolution.

It’s important to understand that the total output resolution of your 360˚ video is never equal to the combined maximum resolution of each of your cameras which combine to create a 360˚ video. Overlap between cameras within a confined 360˚ array can be as much as 50%, therefore reducing your maximum output resolution accordingly.

It’s also very important to understand the resolution of the end-viewers’ FOV relative to the total resolution of your 360˚ video to ensure maximum legibility and clarity of your primary subject/s. If a 360˚ video is 4K (4096 x 2048 pixels), the end-viewers FOV or frame will range from an resolution of 1K  to 1.3K based on a FOV from 90º to 120º as featured on the majority of this generation’s virtual reality headsets. To achieve a true 4K FOV or frame akin to the quality of a flat (2D) 4K video, your 360˚ video would have to be 12K (12,288 x 6,144 pixels)!

Our 360˚ Video Top Tips are based on the experience of our Production Team and are subjective, we recognise that there are often different opinions on these topics. Please get in touch if you ever want to chat about our perspective and suggestions on any of these subjects.