Kodak 360 Cameras

The Kodak 360 cameras are capable of filming footage in a very wide 360 degree panorama. The aim of this section is to give you a guide to get you started in the world of 360 filming by guiding you through the process of creating a 360 video and uploading it to YouTube.

Setting up the Camera Ready for Recording
Record: Camera settings, connecting to the iPhone / Android.
Import: Getting the data from the camera into computer.
Stitch the footage together using the PIXPRO 360 VR Suite - Available here: https://kodakpixpro.com/support/downloads/
Upload: Export from Premiere to YouTube, correct container, codec and metadata.

Setting up the Camera for Stitched 360

Before we begin there's a few settings to check so that the camera is set up to capture footage suitable for stitching together and making 360 videos for YouTube. Before you take the cameras out to record, follow these steps:

Make sure batteries are fully charged. This takes about 4 hours to fully charge the battery.

Turn the camera on by holding down the power button for 3 seconds, the camera will make a short beep to let you know it is turning on.

Depending on how the camera was last used, you may need to step through the date/time setting by pressing the record button to confirm the settings.

Press the button below the power button and enter into the setup menu for Video mode.

Navigate to the 'Reset' Menu and press the record button to activate this. Choose 'Yes' to confirm reset.

At the start of a project it's a good idea to format the micro SD cards, this is available in the same menu as the 'Reset' command.
Repeat the process on the second camera.

Things to check :- Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS) set to Off, Display Mode set to 'Global', Movie format set to 2880, 30fps.

Also, consider if you want to use Auto White Balance or if you need to change to a manual setting depending on whether you are filming in a controlled environment or outdoors where it is possible that each camera will be in different lighting settings.

Mounting the Cameras

In order to create a full 360 sphere of video we need to mount the cameras back to back using the supplied camera mount. Once they are attached to this we can attach the handle of the mount to a tripod plate and then place this in the desired recording location. Once the cameras are set you can use the iPhone / Android app to view what they are pointing at.

Connecting to the PIXPRO

In order to control the camera and view live feed from it you need to download the 'PIXPRO' app. There are 4K and HD versions available so make sure you get the correct one for the camera you are using.

You can view more information and download the apps for the various cameras at the kodak website:

https://kodakpixpro.com/cameras/360-vr/sp360-4k

In order to connect the camera to the app follow these steps:

Switch the camera on using the power button, this is labelled 'MODE'. The camera will sound a short beep and load into the top level menu.
Launch into the 'Wifi' menu by pressing the wifi button on the camera, this transmits a wifi signal that the phone can receive and then use to control the camera.
Go to the phone (connect to the correct wireless setting) and launch the relevant app. You may be prompted whether you want to allow access to location or access your library, you don't need to allow any of these so deny both of these warnings.
You should now be able to view the feed from the camera and adjust your framing accordingly.

Now begin your recording by pressing the record buttons on both of the cameras. Check the clock is counting up on both cameras. End the recording by pressing the record buttons again. You will also need to ensure that you have audio (e.g. a clap) at the start or end of your recordings as the software will be able to sync the two recordings via the recorded audio.

Importing your footage and stitching it together

Once you have finished recording you can download the footage to a computer by either plugging in the USB lead and navigating to 'Mass Storage' in the 'Settings' menu or removing the card and plugging it into a card reader. We advise you follow these steps so that you can keep track of which stage of the stitching process you are at:

Create a Folder for all your footage to be transferred to.
Copy the files from the camera into this folder, it is not advised to go through any software packages.
Repeat this for both camera cards.

Now launch the 'PIXPRO 360 VR Suite' software.

PIXPRO 360 VR Suite

Launch the program and select the 'STITCH' tab.
Choose 'Open Files'.
Use the Browse button to navigate to you folder where the two files you want to stitch are stored and import these into the areas marked 'A' and 'B'.
Use the 'AUDIO SYNC' button to line up both recordings, this uses the sound on the recordings to match them, this means that even if you didn't press the record button on both cameras at exactly the right time they will be moved around to sync up properly.
Use the 'Export' button to export the stitched file and save it in the project folder you created earlier.

Upload to YouTube

Now you have the stitched file you can upload this to YouTube. Open your Youtube account and upload the file and then allow it to process. It will take about 5 minutes for a 1 minute video to process. You will then be able to view this new upload in 360 and also view on your phone as a VR video.

Editing the Files in Premiere Pro

If you would like to edit the files you can use Adobe Premiere Pro to perform editing tasks. There are a few things to be aware of, when editing 360 footage you need to let Premiere Pro know that you want to interpret it as VR footage. You can do this in either the 'Source' monitor or the 'Program' monitor. Go to the 'spanner' (settings icon right side of the source or program monitor) and choose 'VR Video' and select 'Enable'. By default this will interpret the footage as 'VR Video' and will allow you to use the 'Program' monitor to view the footage in 360 mode. You can now use the editing tools in Premiere to cut or mix footage together. When you're ready to export go to the export menu and make sure 'VR Video' is enabled at the bottom of the 'Export Menu' and that the file format is set to H264 for the correct resolution. You can also log into your YouTube account within Premiere and upload directly via Premiere Pro.

Written by RW

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