Learning VR Photography and Video

Explore the exciting new worlds of virtual reality photography and video: what to watch, how to watch, and how to make your own VR videos and images.

Virtual reality can transport you across town or around the world. And it's easy and inexpensive to test the (virtual) waters—not only as someone who views VR content but also creates it.

In this course, photographer, educator, and author Ben Long introduces the essential concepts and tools behind photographic- and video-based VR. After detailing a brief history of VR, Ben shows a sampling of inexpensive VR viewers (such as VR apps and VR goggles for your smartphone) and where to go to check out great VR content. He also reviews the tools and techniques for creating your own VR photos and videos, and dealing with challenges in post-production, such as moving media to the computer, stitching and mapping 360-degree images and video, playing back VR video, and sharing VR content online.

Introduction

• Welcome
• About the Price Tower location

1. Definition and Exploration of VR

• What is VR?
• Viewing VR on your smartphone
• Adding goggles to your smartphone
• How does VR work?

2. Composing for VR

• Choosing a point of view
• Shooting VR with a Theta

3. VR Post-Production and Sharing

• Understanding VR file formats
• Sharing VR

Updates in VR for Photo and Video

• Update introduction to new VR info
• Facebook and VR
• Using the street view on the iPhone
• Looking at additional VR cameras
• Exploring other headsets for VR

Conclusion

• Next steps