Nokia OZO Live User Manual

O Z O L I V E

O Z O B e s t P r a c t i c e s

Best Practices for Live 360 Video

VR is a new medium, and live 360 video production is perhaps the most intense, stressful, and
gratifying way to create VR content. As always, careful planning will reduce risk and help ensure
that the production goes smoothly. In this section we share some of our early experiences with
360 video productions using OZO Live.

Many aspects of live 360 production are shared with standard live video production; these are
out of scope for this document. Our focus is on the unique aspects of 360.

Camera Placement

Camera placement is everything. Get as close to the action as you can! Sometimes, as in the first
image, that means you're pretty far away:

Sometimes it means you're up close and personal!

PAGE 1

Always fight for camera placement.360 video works when the camera is close to the subject; it
becomes boring when the camera is far away. (OZO's award-winning design makes it easier to
convince reluctant producers to give you prime placement: It's the single most important thing
you can do to make a compelling production.)

Moving Cameras

Moving cameras in 360 adds dimension and interest to a live production. While fast or uneven
motion can definitely be uncomfortable at best, when used correctly, motion adds enormous
depth and interest to your productions. OZO's excellent stereo capabilities provide high-quality
binocular parallax in addition to motion parallax, providing a compelling sense of immersion.
With OZO Live's digital pan feature, you can maintain the user's viewing direction even when
using jibs and booms that lack automatic pan control. Please try out jibs, booms, dollys, and
other motion platforms with OZO Live: you wont be disappointed!)

Multi-camera Direction

Like multi-camera television shows, 360 video productions are much more compelling with a
skilled director managing the viewers' attention across multiple camera viewpoints. Try out the
following best practices for multicamera shoots – although we also recommend that you
experiment and draw your own conclusions!

Hard cuts are usually disconcerting for headset users. Start with a 1/2 second crossfade
and season to taste.

Use OZO Live's digital pan to set the most salient point of a camera's feed at the center
of the frame before you switch to it. This feature is super effective when used to match
viewpoints before switching.

OZO Live imposes a 1 second delay on what the director sees. He or she needs to
anticipate this delay in commands to jib operators, who operate in real time.

Monitors for each camera are nice, but you don't strictly need them - after all, any camera
feed shows you the entire scene in equirectangular view. With a little practice it's possible
to direct from the program feed alone.

OZO Live gives you all the tools you need to integrate into your regular broadcast
workflow. Use all the tricks of the trade you're used to.

PAGE 2

OZO Camera Usage Tips

Rain

OZO is not waterproof. However, with care, even under heavy rain (and some wind) you can
produce a successful event.

The two areas where water infiltration is a risk are at the buttons on the top of OZO, and the
cable connections on the underside. Use clear packer's tape to cover the buttons; you'll still be
able to use them. Also, wrap tape around your cables, sealing them to the body - this area is
already protected by the camera itself and would only be a risk in a hurricane!

Keeping rain off the lenses is another matter. We've had success by using a half-meter square of
Plexiglas, mounted above the camera using a Magic Arm. This can be angled to protect the
camera from driving rain. The rain shield is visible, but it's not as distracting as you might think: if
you angle it correctly you can keep it out of a typical user's viewport for a typical production, and
any raindrops on the shield are so close to the camera they're out of focus. An example:

PAGE 3