How is Matterport different to 360° video?
Matterport is 360° video, but it's also much more. Matterport is about speed, interactivity, affordability and accuracy. A Matterport camera uses 9 lenses and infrared (to measure distances) to capture stunning 360° video that the viewer can explore AND which can be augmented with additional media such as video, images, PDFs and audio. Which means (if you take our studio as an example) people can understand the space we have, see projects we've used the space for and look at the equipment we offer. All from the comfort of their own computer.
Here's our 10 reasons why Matterport is different to 360° video and some examples of our own projects
- 3D Scanning and Modeling: Matterport uses 3D scanning technology to create immersive and realistic virtual tours. Instead of just stitching together panoramic photos, it creates a 3D model of the space, allowing viewers to move through the environment as if they were physically present.
- Dollhouse View: Matterport offers a "Dollhouse" view, which presents a 3D model of the entire space in a collapsed form, making it easy for viewers to understand the layout and structure of a property or location at a glance.
- Floor Plans: Matterport can automatically generate floor plans from the 3D scan, providing viewers with a clear understanding of the space's layout and dimensions.
- Measurement Tools: Matterport includes measurement tools that allow users to measure distances and dimensions within the virtual tour. This is particularly useful for real estate professionals and property buyers.
- Interactive Hotspots: Matterport allows users to add interactive hotspots within the virtual tour. These hotspots can contain additional information, images, videos, or links to external websites, enhancing the overall user experience.
- Virtual Reality (VR) Support: Matterport tours are compatible with virtual reality headsets, providing a truly immersive experience for viewers who own VR hardware.
- Customization: Matterport offers customization options, allowing users to tailor the look and feel of their virtual tours to match their branding or specific needs.
- Accessibility: Matterport tours are accessible across various devices and platforms, including desktop computers, smartphones, and tablets, making them widely accessible to a broad audience.
- Integration: Matterport can integrate with various platforms and services, such as real estate websites and property listing platforms, to help businesses and professionals showcase properties effectively.
- Analytics: Matterport provides analytics and engagement metrics, giving users insights into how their virtual tours are performing and how viewers are interacting with the content.
Check out some of our projects:
AR Media Studio
Wookey Hole
Mlily Furniture Show
AR Media's A to Z of video production terminology
Goobledegook… It's all very well using industry terminology between ourselves but we realise that sometimes we may use terms that our clients may not understand. So here's our A to Z of things you might hear us say when you commission us for a video project.
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Aspect Ratio: The proportional relationship between the width and height of a video frame. Modern videos tend to use 16:9, pre-2000s you might have used 4:3. (also included in the A to Z as its what the AR of AR Media stands for |
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B-roll: Additional footage used to support the main content of a video. It is often used to provide visual context or cover transitions. We often capture manufacturing processes, buildings, people at work for this. Bokeh: A favourite of cinematographers, bokeh is the blur effect seen predominantly on lights that are out-of-focus. |
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Colour Grading: The process of adjusting and enhancing the colours of a video during post-production to achieve a desired look or mood. The footage we capture in its raw format has a very flat/grey look, but this allows us to tweak the colours to make them as realistic as possible. |
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Depth of Field: The range of distance in a shot that appears in focus. A shallow depth of field has a narrow focal range, while a deep depth of field has a wider focal range. Filming an interview for example you would use a shallow depth of field to keep the subject in focus but the background intentionally blurry. |
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Exposure: The amount of light that reaches the camera's image sensor, determining the brightness or darkness of a video. A correctly exposed shot will display depths of black without blowing out any highlights such as clouds in the sky. |
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Frame Rate: The number of individual frames captured or displayed per second. Common frame rates include 24, 30, and 60 frames per second (fps). This has an effect on quality and also file size. |
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Grip: A member of the production crew responsible for setting up and maintaining equipment such as lighting fixtures, tripods, and camera rigs. We're a tight-knit team so every one of us gets involved in setup and breakdown. Gimbal: A device that holds the camera and allows us to turn in any direction freely and smoothly. |
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High Definition (HD): A video format with a higher resolution than standard definition, typically 720p or 1080p. But of course these days we record even higher in 4K. |
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ISO: The sensitivity of a camera's image sensor to light. A higher ISO allows for better low-light performance but may introduce more noise into the image. A low ISO makes for a finer picture but needs little movement in the frame. |
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Jump Cut: A jarring transition between two shots that are nearly identical, often used for stylistic effect or to compress time. J-cut: When the image of a scene is preceded by its sound or audio content. |
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Key Light: The primary light source used to illuminate the subject in a video. We'll often have a 3 light setup to balance the subject. |
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Lens: A must-have of every A to Z, the optical device that focuses light onto the camera's image sensor. Different lenses have various focal lengths and characteristics, affecting the perspective and field of view. Lavalier: A microphone that clips to the presenter's clothing |
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Montage: A sequence of rapidly edited shots, often used to condense time, convey a series of events, or evoke emotions. |
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Non-linear Editing: The process of assembling and manipulating video clips out of chronological order using computer-based editing software. |
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Overexposure: When a video is too bright due to excessive light, causing details in the highlights to be lost. |
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Pan: The horizontal movement of the camera while it remains in a fixed position. We often use rails to slide the camera smoothly for this. Prime lens: a lens that uses a fixed focal length. These tend to be very high quality, very expensive and offer wide apertures. |
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QuickTime: A multimedia container file format developed by Apple, commonly used for video editing and playback. |
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Rack Focus: The technique of changing the focus from one subject to another within the same shot to shift the viewer's attention. |
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Storyboard: A visual representation of a video's planned shots or scenes, typically consisting of illustrations or images with accompanying descriptions. We can help you create these. Shotgun mic: Often used for broadcasting, TV and film production, sports and other applications where it is impractical or undesirable for the subject to wear or hold a microphone. |
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Tracking Shot: A shot in which the camera moves alongside or follows a subject, often achieved using a dolly or a stabilized gimbal. |
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Underexposure: When a video is too dark due to insufficient light, causing details in the shadows to be lost. |
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Voiceover: A recorded narration or commentary added to a video during post-production, typically synchronized with on-screen visuals. We have a full recording studio in our building for this. |
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White Balance: The adjustment of a camera's settings to ensure accurate color reproduction under different lighting conditions. |
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XLR: A type of professional audio connector commonly used for balanced audio signals in video production. |
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YouTube: We couldn't have an A to Z without mentioning a certain popular online video-sharing platform where users can upload, view, and share videos. Alternatives include Vimeo and Wistia. |
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Zoom: The change in focal length of a camera lens to make the subject appear closer or further away without physically moving the camera. Zoom shot: The illusion of moving closer or away from a subject, making them appear bigger or smaller. |
So there you have a brief A to Z of video terminology, enjoy and we hope you find it useful.
New AR Media brochure has landed!
It's that time of year... when we all think about spending time with family, Office parties, driving home for Christmas and the AR Media brochure... isn't it?
Ok, so not everyone is thinking of the AR Media brochure, but we did. We made a sparkly new one with QR codes and everything so if you prefer to see what we get up to instead of listening to the Queen's speech over the holidays you can have a look here.
Find out about our services from video, animation, augmented and virtual realities to digital signage and studio hire. See some of the projects we've produced, effects we can achieve and how we can help you get your message out into the big wide world.
Find out how we help people far and wide bring their visions to life in in video, social media and on the big screen.
And if you don't, well Happy Christmas, Happy New Year, Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays to you anyway. Enjoy some time off and hopefully we'll talk in the new year.
Download the AR Media brochure
The AR team
Want to get in touch?
Matterport - Virtual spaces so real, it’s like being there
Matterport virtual tours
We’ve used, researched and developed solutions for all sorts of immersive experiences including AR, VR, MR and 360° filming. So when a highly versatile 360° technology called Matterport came to our attention our curiosity was quickly piqued.
What is it?
Matterport is a camera and platform solution that enables people to experience and interact with locations like nothing before. As an example, if you were selling a house you could engage someone to turn up with a Matterport camera, spend 1-2 hours capturing all the different rooms and 24hrs later have an online experience to help advertise your house.
Prospective buyers using an online property search engine can walk through the house, looking in any direction and choose the route they take. You can also place tags throughout, advertising particular points of interest and these tags can be plain text, images or videos. For example you could highlight that induction hob you’ve had recently installed.
How can people experience it?
The key to good technology is ease of use and accessibility so Matterport have ensured their solution can be used through a standard internet browser on desktops, laptops, mobiles and even VR goggles.
How does it work?
The camera is mounted on a professional tripod and using 9 lenses, performs a 360° scan of its surroundings in 4k quality and with 99% accuracy. During this scan the camera creates a 360° visual image and uses infrared to make a 99% accurate model of its environment. After the scan the camera is moved to another location roughly 3 metres apart and the process starts again. When the whole area has been scanned the files are uploaded to the Matterport platform for processing and in 24 hours we have an interactive 360° experience. After that we can add text, images and video as tags in the experience and publish it to the internet.
How long does it take?That all depends on the size and complexity of your space, but to give you a ballpark figure, a 3 bedroom house could be scanned in a couple of hours whilst a department store (up to 50,000 sq ft) might take around a day. After that allow 24hrs to upload the files and that leaves tagging which can vary widely depending on what you want to include.
How much does it cost?
If you’re thinking this all sounds really cool but must come with a hefty price tag, you’re not alone. However, it’s surprisingly affordable. Again it all depends on size and what you want to do with it but prices start as little as £250* for houses upto 2,500 sq ft, and a department store upto 50,000 sq ft could be as little £1,200*. That’s a lot of tech for your money and a great way to encourage people to visit your house, shop, museum or wherever else you decide. *plus monthly hosting fees typically around £10 p/mth.
Who is using it?We’ve used Matterport on some diverse projects, from our own studios to construction sites, underground caves to motorway services. In America it’s huge in real estate for selling individual houses and we’ve even seen it used to showcase the interior of a car in a showroom, its really engaging, informative and easy to use.
Want to see some examples?
Of course, you do :p Have a look around the examples our studio at the top of the story or some of our clients below:
Got a space you’d like a quote for? We’d love to help
To talk about your requirements and pricing please contact us:
studio@ar-media.co.uk or 07707 396090
What's the difference? Virtual vs Augmented Reality
Virtual vs Augmented Reality - the differences and how to exploit the benefits.
These are interesting times my friends. Technology has advanced to a level where it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Virtual vs Augmented Reality have such huge potential that it can be a little overwhelming and misunderstood.
So let’s take things back to basics.
A brief history
AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) technologies are not new. Rudimentary elements of VR refer back as far as the 1860s* but the more developed systems were in military use between 1970 to 1990. The 90s saw devices entering the consumer market and in 2010 the release of the Oculus Rift brought devices into our homes. AR follows a similar timeline in development but has experienced a faster uptake due to its easy deployment.
The basic differences
In VR you wear a pair of goggles designed to take you away from the real world. Everything you see and hear is digitally created. If you’re familiar with the film Ready Player One, the characters are using VR.
In AR you use a smart device such as a mobile, tablet or headset (such as Microsoft’s Hololens), to view the real world and overlay digital content over the top. If you can recall Tony Stark’s view when he’s looking out of his Iron Man suit that’s AR.
The opportunities
VR lends itself to taking viewers to the impossible. Cure phobias by exposing people to their fears in a safe environment, stand on the highest point on earth with no danger of falling or experience zero gravity standing on the moon from the safety of your living room.
We created a VR event experience enabling attendees to experience how our client can guide businesses through an uncertain economic climate to a safer future. The viewer was transported from a dark and derelict rooftop through the city skyscrapers to the safety of our client’s business accompanied by videos explaining our client’s virtues and proof.
AR is focused on supplementing the real world, some cars already augment directions on heads up displays without taking your attention away from the road ahead. Car manufacturers can give you specs of every little detail as you inspect their latest models i n the showroom and furniture manufacturer Ikea let you see their products in your own room before you buy via a mobile app.
We built our own digital business card so people can understand what we do and see examples of our work without relying on simply a business card that is easily lost.
So which technology is right for you?
People often get these and more technologies confused. VR, AR, MR (Mixed Reality) and 360 filming can be confusing, so it’s best to ask an agency to suggest which technology suits your project best rather than ask for a VR or AR project from the start.
In terms of hardware costs, AR is the quick win, with 75% of the world owning a smart device in the world the potential for users is huge and already in place. The cost to them is their device and service provider which they’re already paying. VR requires a dedicated setup, decent spec PC and goggles, around £400 which does reduce the size of your audience but the experience is much richer for it.
Cost of development is relatively similar across the platforms so it depends on the complexity and time it takes to concept and develop your app.
The same goes for time, a quick Snapchat mask can be done in a few hours whereas a full app can range from weeks to months in creation.
Tell your story first, that will probably tell you which technology route to take.
Are you planning a conference that requires video?
Download our event video checklist below or contact us to talk about your requirements:
studio@ar-media.co.uk or 01604 621600