360, Is it worth the effort? Pros and Cons with iServalan.


🎥 iServalan Film School — Today’s Lesson: Mastering 360° Video

Welcome filmmakers! Today, we’re diving deep into the world of 360° video — the good, the bad, and the often-overlooked quirks that come with working in this immersive format.

🎯 Lesson Goals

By the end of today’s session, you’ll:

  • Understand the advantages and pitfalls of shooting in 360°

  • Learn strategies for avoiding common mistakes (like accidentally filming yourself!)

  • Discover how to keep file sizes manageable and workflows efficient

  • Explore practical ways to share and monetize your 360° footage

🌍 Why 360°?

I first started using 360° video as a workhorse tool — capturing landscapes for my paintings, documenting dance work, and even recording full music lessons. What makes 360° magical is that in post-production, it’s like you had 80 cameras running at once — you can “look around” the entire scene in the edit.

💡 Practical Tips for Shooting

  • Hide Yourself (If You Want!)
    Place your camera, run out of frame, and trim the start/end of your clip. This is especially useful if you’re uploading unedited clips to YouTube and don’t want to feature yourself.

  • Watch the Stitch Line
    Even well-calibrated cameras can leave a faint seam where the two lenses meet. Be mindful if your project relies on crystal-clear immersive imagery.

  • Short Clips Win
    Instead of filming long takes, record short 20–30 sec bursts. This keeps your files light and lets viewers explore a moment rather than sit through endless footage.

🎧 Sound & Silence

I usually mute my 360° clips — especially when I’m out with my brother and we’re chatting over the take! If you want a truly immersive experience, either stay silent while recording or commit to including live sound (like at gigs or performances).

🖥 Workflow & Editing

  • Upload Directly When Possible
    If you upload to YouTube, note that you can only download the clip back as flat MP4 — you’ll lose the 360° interactivity. For member-only content, I upload directly from GoPro Quik to Gumroad.

  • Batch Edit Your Metadata
    I upload all my clips first, then add titles, tags, and descriptions in bulk later — much easier on a laptop than typing on a phone.

⏳ Expect Time & Bandwidth Challenges

360° uploads take patience — sometimes 20 minutes per short clip. Use a wired Ethernet connection if you can. Consider uploading overnight to avoid peak traffic (and household bandwidth battles!).

💰 Sharing & Monetizing Your Work

I’ve sold one piece of stock 360 footage (via Pond5), but my focus is on selling directly through my own platform. At iServalan Film School:

  • Basic Tier (£3/month): Access to all my behind-the-scenes content and lessons

  • Pro Tier (£9/month): Use my raw rushes to create your own edits and artworks

🧪 What’s Next

I’ve got a new underwater/snorkeling camera arriving soon — so expect some experimental underwater 360° footage in future lessons. Perfect for dance, performance, and landscape projects.

🎬 Your Exercise for Today

  1. Shoot a 20-second 360° clip somewhere new — a park, a café, even your living room.

  2. Upload it unedited and watch it on your phone.

  3. Note what works and what doesn’t (framing, lighting, accidental cameos!).

📌 Join the Conversation

Want to share your clips or see my latest rushes?

Let’s make 360° video something beautiful together. See you next lesson — and happy shooting!


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