When starting out on this path to 360 immersive video, there was little information as far as the process to create 360 video.  The two options we looked into to process the videos were Video Stitch and Autopano Video Pro software.  In the end, we decided Autopano Pro was the better option for the following reasons.  Autopano Video Pro works in conjunction with Auto Pano Giga.  This allows for correction of the camera orientation, which is beneficial because the video can be corrected to allow for smooth panning left and right by creating a level horizon line.  Also, the video can be corrected in Autopano Giga to determine what portion of the video is shown at the start of the video.  These features are not options in Video Stitch.  I will go in to this in more detail below after I discuss the filming process.

Filming

When shooting with the H3Pro7 360 Plug-n-Play Holder, there are several factors to consider.  The video settings for the 7 GoPro cameras must be set at the following:

• Wide
• 1440
• 48 frames per second*

*You could use another frame rate but you want the cameras to sync as close as possible. Sync the goPro cameras via the goPro wifi remote so they start to record when turned on.  Here are instructions on syncing one remote with the 7 cameras. Place the rig so it is straight up and down to eliminate the rig showing. (If there is a lot of motion close to the camera, the rig can be placed so there are more cameras on the horizon line to eliminate the parallaxing caused by the overlap of cameras.  Also an adjustment will need to be made to pano to create a flat horizon when stitching the videos) At the start of filming rotate the cameras to sync cameras on motion:

 

Exporting

When you are finished shooting, it is important to have an organized process for importing the videos.  You cannot name the video files in the GoPro, so you need and organized file structure to place the videos in the correct order. Import the footage one camera at a time starting with camera one.  Place these video files in a folder named “Camera 1”, etc. You then need to create a separate file for each video.  Copy and paste the corresponding video from each camera folder into the video file.  After the file has been copied over, rename the file by the camera number, i.e. “Camera1”.

Editing

Drag and drop videos in to  Autopano Video Pro.

 

Then sync videos by motion.

Once synchronization is complete, click “Stitch as GoPro” button.  If stitched video does not have a level horizon or the where you would like to video to start is not at the center of the frame, then click the “edit” button.

This will open up Auto Pano Giga.  From Autopano Giga, you can use move image mode and drag the video to have the content you want featured in the center of the frame and you can level the horizon.

 

Once you have the video adjusted how you would like, save the file in Autopano Giga and the changes will take place in Autopano Video Pro.  After this, you can render out the video and place in a 360 video player.