Innovative Technology Research

Different Equipment

Phones

Over the years of technological advancements- many new ways of filming have been created. We can use our phones to film regular footage- alongside slow motion footage and time lapses. Many present day cameras are unable to film this type of footage without the aid of editing software. Phones were a recent development- especially phones with cameras that could film slow-motion and time lapses. Recently- with newer phones- time lapses and slow motion videos are higher quality- rather than older phones with not much technological capabilities.

Many phones now have these capabilities- which makes filming footage easier even if you do not have a camera. Phones recently are much more able to be used as devices to capture footage.

Pros and Cons: With phone cameras- there are a lot of things you can accomplish- such as slow motion and time lapse. Some phones have the ability to zoom in quite close to far away objects- and also allow you to change the brightness and exposure before you take the photos. Unfortunately- not all phone camera can zoom in as far- or if they do the quality of the image or the footage is not as good as a closeup from a camera- and sometimes the camera takes the footage as you move your phone- so it can become quite blurry.

Drones

Recently, drones have been used to film footage from the sky- making it easier to film overhead shots or shots that move away from the subject. Even though these types of drones are expensive- they help filmmakers get good quality shots from the sky.

To get good quality shots from the sky- you would need a drone with a good quality camera attached- and also be able to control the drone with a remote or an app from your phone.

Pros and Cons: With camera drones- we are able to film unique footage in the sky and shots that pull away from the subject. The quality on these cameras is usually quite good- but it depends on the drone you buy. Unfortunately- most camera drones require a license to fly around- as people can use these types of drones to spy on others. The drones are also quite expensive- especially if you require a good quality camera.

360 Cameras

A more recent development in technology is 360 cameras. These cameras are smaller than a typical camera such as Canon or Sony- yet they hold a bigger feature. These cameras have the ability to film an entire room in 360 degree view- which makes it easier to view a whole room- or in some cases take a tour of somewhere online whilst being able to see every aspect of the location. The most commonly used camera for 360 is the Insta360 One X2. This camera is the most recent 360 camera- and is better quality than most phone or drone cameras- especially with its 360 degree ability.

Pros and Cons: 360 cameras have the capability to film an entire room in one shot- rather than taking a regular camera and walking it around the room to capture all aspects. 360 cameras usually have good quality footage- yet they are also quite expensive- similar to the drones. Alongside this- editing 360 footage is quite difficult- as you have to piece the footage together where it breaks off- which can cause some of the footage to become distorted where it has been joined together.

Examples of Footage

Time Lapses:

Drone Shots:

360 Shots:

Ways of Viewing Footage

There are many ways of viewing footage- such as watching tv programs on tv- or watching movies on a cinema screen. However- there have been more ways made to view footage. We can now watch videos on our phone- on YouTube or Netflix- along with watching them on our laptops/computers or tablets. More recently- we can watch 360 footage on virtual reality headsets- so that we are able to see everything around us in the video and feel like we are really there. With virtual reality headsets- we are able to enjoy the experience of seeing the environment around us as if we were there in person- without feeling the heat in a desert- or the cold in places like the arctic.

Creative Potential

With these types of footage and ways of filming, we can fully explore the possibilities. We could use drone shots for a documentary to show an overhead shot of the outdoors- or to pull away from the subject of the scene in that moment- or we could use the slow motion ability of our phones to film some footage slower than the rest of the footage to create some contrast. We could also use a 360 view camera to maybe show the whole room of people- each doing something that could relate to the documentary- in this case a room of people using technology rather than socializing in person.

Editing

With any footage that you film, you are able to edit it however you want. With your phones there is limited editing you could do on any slow motion footage or time lapses- but with the help of some apps you can carry out more editing on these types of footage. With drone footage- you could download the footage from the drones camera onto your phone or computer- and proceed to edit the footage using apps or editing software- which is the same with 360 videos- in which you can also edit it on a computer using editing software such as premier pro.