Software analysis to create 360 - degree video

An important issue today is the creation of appropriate content for virtual reality. One of the promising directions in this area is the 360 – degree video technology. It allows you to create panoramic videos of varying degrees of interactivity, where the viewer can control the viewing angle of the video.

When viewing such content, a special type of shooting is used, which allows the viewer to fully immerse himself in the medium presented to him. This is achieved through the impact on almost all human sensory systems. When viewing such a video, the user can view what is happening around, and also hear spatial sounds, according to the turn of his head, if her are wearing glasses of virtual reality. Or interacting with a service interface or application that allows you to view videos and photos in 360-degree format without the use of special devices.

There are different approaches to creating such interactive content. This can be captured on specialized cameras, which are, as a rule, an array of cameras, at least two, to provide coverage of 360 – degree. Also use simulation in special computer programs. But in this case, the created objects will be virtual, artificial. Sometimes these two methods combine to ensure even more immersion in the created material.

The equipment used to shoot is usually expensive, which in turn imposes certain limitations on the potential user's audience. In particular, as the history of the development of this sphere shows, small enterprises, educational institutions and amateurs in Ukraine can not afford such devices. Of course, there are some inexpensive technical solutions on the market, but, accordingly, the quality of the footage will be low.

The purpose of the article is to consider the advanced 360 – degree video creation method in Blender's freely distributed software environment, with the wording of the main advantages and disadvantages of this method.

It is researched that among other types of creation of video in 360-degree format, the article in the article is distinguished by the simplicity of implementation, because it does not require high knowledge of modeling, programming and usage fee. The practical realization of the process of simulation of video panoramic format with the help of Blender software, identified the main drawbacks of this method, in particular, the instability of the program when the video files fail and the need for additional processing of the resulting files for placement on third-party video hosting services.

Keywords – virtual reality; 360 - degree video; panoramic video; simulation; camera; video content; immersion; interactive.