The Basics of 360° Content: Main Formats, Sharing, and Content Creation

I wrote this blog so that anyone can reach a strong level of knowledge with 360° content. This is the first post in my educational series on interactive & immersive media.

Interactive media is a huge umbrella, and it’s expanding every day thanks to new tech.

360° media is one category under that umbrella, and it’s a category that I’ve spent years exploring and experimenting with.

Hope I can help you find your place in this new frontier. :)

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What is 360° content?

360° content is an immersive media format that shows a full 360° spherical view in all directions.

Imagine for a second that you have a pair of eyes in the back of your head in addition to your normal set in front.

Looking at the world with both sets of eyes at the same time would give you a full 360° field of view (FOV).

That’s what this content format is like.

Here’s a 360° photo with an equirectangular 360° grid laid over it to show how the field of view is mapped. Photo credit: Caroline Caldwell

And here’s that same photo, embedded in a 360° viewer.

Everything from photos, videos, and web/mobile experiences can be created in 360 degrees.

That’s right, 360° content is more than just photo and video.

[Honestly, the best way I’ve found to think about this whole 360° thing is that it’s a conceptual choice – one that opens new doors for storytelling.]

Creatively speaking, the primary difference between flat content and 360° content is that with 360° content your screen becomes a magic window into a new universe (instead of a static frame that limits your field of view).

This subtle shift in how the media is consumed opens new doors for storytelling that is more interactive.

Types of 360° content

360° content can be made with a ton of different tools like cameras, software, and more.

This means that as a creator, you’re no longer limited to working in a flat medium.

We finally have easy access to tools that can turn our ideas into immersive experiences.

Here are a few different types of content you can create in 360°.

360° Photography

360° photography is like regular photography in that you can take a picture nearly anywhere, with the added bonus of 360° viewing range and a welcoming interactive display.

360° Videography

Videos in 360° have similar possibilities as do 360° photographs. While the video plays, viewers can scroll around and click to interact with any buttons or overlaid links within the space. For brands, this means linking to their site, products, merch, etc., directly in a 360° concept.

For another example of a 360° video, check out this Facebook 360 video that Beaumonde filmed with the Quadrivium Project at NC State.

360° Graphic Design

Over the past few years, Adobe has added a whole suite of immersive editing tools into their flagship programs like Photoshop, Premiere Pro and After Effects. Graphic designers now have an entire new world to explore in terms of spatial design as 360° and 3D design are set to become the go-to trends of the early 2020’s.

360° Web Experiences

Developments like WebXR and Mozilla’s A-Frame make it much easier to create immersive web experiences. 360° websites are a unique way to tell stories and engage users in an impactful digital experience. Since much of marketing & advertising is moving in the direction of the experiential, professionals need to consider how they can seamlessly integrate immersive experiences into their media plans. 360° websites are one way to make that happen.

Here’s a great example of a 360° web experience for a Netflix / Dreamworks series.

Virtual Reality (Headset)

For owners of a VR headset like a Playstation VR or an Oculus Quest, the 360° experience is a sensory wonderland. In addition to the ability to watch & consume 360° content inside the headset, these platforms also have immersive games and experiences galore. In full VR, you’ve got the ability to move around and explore spaces in robust ways. You probably have hand controllers, and the environment you’re in will respond to you directly in ways that make you feel like you’re actually there. It’s very immersive.

How 360° Content Is Viewed

There are a number of ways to watch 360 Degree Video that offer a broad range of experiences. From VR headsets that offer the most jaw-dropping experiences to 360 web players on popular sites like Facebook and Youtube, you can enjoy 360 degree videos whether or not you own any VR equipment. Here’s a quick breakdown of how to watch them.

VR Headset

• The best, most immersive way to watch 360 degree videos is with a VR headset like the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. Although headsets like these can be quite pricey, they offer a totally captivating experience that truly puts you in the middle of the action. With a VR headset, it’s like you’re really there. Turning your head will move the viewfinder and moving your hand-held controllers will move your character in the virtual environment.

• You can also find very cheap VR Headsets on Amazon. A couple options are a Samsung Gear VR or a Google Cardboard.

Mobile Phone

• If you don’t have access to any type of VR headset, you can still enjoy 360° degree videos with your mobile phone. There are two ways to do this. The first is to use your phone as a “magic window” of sorts. In this mode, you point your phone in whatever direction you wish to look, just as if you were recording your own video. The second is to simply tap and drag on the video to control change perspective.

Web Player

• The final way to watch 360 degree videos is with a web player like those available on both Facebook and YouTube. To change your perspective, you simply click and drag on the video. If you’re on mobile then you can move your phone to explore the space. Although this isn’t a true 3D experience, it’s a quick and easy way to explore 360 degree content and get a feel for what it can offer you as a storyteller.

Difference between 360° and Virtual Reality

It’s important to understand the conceptual difference between 360° media and Virtual Reality.

When you’re watching a 360° video, your perspective is fixed. You can look in any direction at what’s going on around you and you may be able to interact with the 360° space by clicking buttons or hotspots. However, in this video you aren’t in control of how you move around.

With VR, your perspective isn’t always fixed, and the experience can be explored and interacted with using a VR headset & controllers where you can walk around inside the world. VR activates a sense of depth by allowing you to navigate that space in real (but virtual) ways.

The same 360° photos, videos, graphics, and experiences you would view on a computer or phone can alsobe viewed using a VR headset (generally speaking).

One shortcoming of full VR storytelling is the lack of accessibility.

Web-based 360° content has a huge advantage in terms of the number of people you can reach.

There are more than 3 billion smart devices on earth that are compatible with immersive web experiences.

How to share and publish 360° content

When viewing 360° content you might think it uses some crazy kind of file format.

You’ll be happy to know that it uses the exact same file types you’re familiar with, such as JPEG, PNG, MP4, MOV, and more.

The only major difference is in the file’s metadata.

If you’ve got the right metadata for your 360° content, then uploading it to platforms like Facebook or YouTube will trigger their 360° content features to appear automatically.

That’s right. These huge platforms with billions of users make it extremely easy to share 360° content.

Thanks to the Internet of Things, it’s easier than ever to connect all these types of media into the places where we spend time on the web.

For example, you can share 360° content on your website and blog posts, as well as on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

And while you can’t directly share 360° media in an email, you can simply use a URL or hyperlink to connect readers with the content

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This has been an overview of the basics in 360° content. If there’s something you’d like to see added or explained here then please leave a comment below or shoot me an email.

360° content was one of the earliest immersive media formats to become commercially available in the 2010s. Because of that, I feel like it hasn’t necessarily benefited from the rising hype that surrounds AR (and VR to a certain extent).

Now that these other immersive formats are becoming more present and better understood by the average consumer, it’s worth a look at how they can all integrate together to craft a more compelling story.

Thanks for reading the first part of this series.

The next post is coming soon.