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Seeking Technical Feedback on Panoramic Drone Footage

bbertram

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Aug 2, 2024
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Age
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Location
Manitoba, Canada
I'm reaching out to the community for technical feedback on my recent panoramic drone footage. I'm looking to refine my technique and would appreciate your expert insights.

Equipment and Settings:
  • Drone: DJI Air 2S
  • Video Format: MP4, HLG 4K60, Capcut used for minor editing, HDR preserved.
  • Mode: Automatic
  • ISO: 100-110
  • Shutter Speed: 1/4000 - 1/5000
  • Maximum Altitude: 120m
Footage Details:

I've created two versions of a panoramic shot, rotating the drone to capture the surrounding landscape:
  1. Horizontal Orientation:
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    (Minor color grading applied)

  2. Vertical Orientation:
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    (Raw footage, no color grading)
My Current Assessment:
  • The rotation speed appears too fast to me, likely impacting image clarity. I also think people may want to take it all in with a slower pace.
  • Automatic mode was used; I'm considering transition to manual settings for greater control of image quality...if it will help with clarity.
  • Color grading was applied to the horizontal version only. I forgot to touch up the vertical video before posting, I think it looks good still.
Areas for Improvement:
  1. Optimal rotation speed for clearer footage
  2. Manual mode settings for enhanced image quality
  3. Color grading techniques for consistent output
  4. Any other technical aspects I may have overlooked?
Specific Queries:
  1. What would be the ideal shutter speed and ISO settings for this type of shot?
  2. Are there any ND filters you'd recommend for similar lighting conditions and this type of video?
  3. Suggestions for achieving smoother panning motion?
  4. Recommendations for post-processing workflow, particularly for color grading HLG footage?
I'm aiming to develop a series of these panoramic shots in various locations to showcase unique aerial perspectives. Your technical expertise and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated as I work to refine this concept.

Thank you in advance for your professional insights.
 
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Reactions: Rohn
I'm reaching out to the community for technical feedback on my recent panoramic drone footage. I'm looking to refine my technique and would appreciate your expert insights.

Equipment and Settings:
  • Drone: DJI Air 2S
  • Video Format: MP4, HLG 4K60, Capcut used for minor editing, HDR preserved.
  • Mode: Automatic
  • ISO: 100-110
  • Shutter Speed: 1/4000 - 1/5000
  • Maximum Altitude: 120m
Footage Details:

I've created two versions of a panoramic shot, rotating the drone to capture the surrounding landscape:
  1. Horizontal Orientation:
    To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
    For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
    (Minor color grading applied)

  2. Vertical Orientation:
    To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
    For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
    (Raw footage, no color grading)
My Current Assessment:
  • The rotation speed appears too fast to me, likely impacting image clarity. I also think people may want to take it all in with a slower pace.
  • Automatic mode was used; I'm considering transition to manual settings for greater control of image quality...if it will help with clarity.
  • Color grading was applied to the horizontal version only. I forgot to touch up the vertical video before posting, I think it looks good still.
Areas for Improvement:
  1. Optimal rotation speed for clearer footage
  2. Manual mode settings for enhanced image quality
  3. Color grading techniques for consistent output
  4. Any other technical aspects I may have overlooked?
Specific Queries:
  1. What would be the ideal shutter speed and ISO settings for this type of shot?
  2. Are there any ND filters you'd recommend for similar lighting conditions and this type of video?
  3. Suggestions for achieving smoother panning motion?
  4. Recommendations for post-processing workflow, particularly for color grading HLG footage?
I'm aiming to develop a series of these panoramic shots in various locations to showcase unique aerial perspectives. Your technical expertise and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated as I work to refine this concept.

Thank you in advance for your professional insights.
I'm reaching out to the community for technical feedback on my recent panoramic drone footage. I'm looking to refine my technique and would appreciate your expert insights.

Equipment and Settings:
  • Drone: DJI Air 2S
  • Video Format: MP4, HLG 4K60, Capcut used for minor editing, HDR preserved.
  • Mode: Automatic
  • ISO: 100-110
  • Shutter Speed: 1/4000 - 1/5000
  • Maximum Altitude: 120m
Footage Details:

I've created two versions of a panoramic shot, rotating the drone to capture the surrounding landscape:
  1. Horizontal Orientation:
    To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
    For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
    (Minor color grading applied)

  2. Vertical Orientation:
    To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
    For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
    (Raw footage, no color grading)
My Current Assessment:
  • The rotation speed appears too fast to me, likely impacting image clarity. I also think people may want to take it all in with a slower pace.
  • Automatic mode was used; I'm considering transition to manual settings for greater control of image quality...if it will help with clarity.
  • Color grading was applied to the horizontal version only. I forgot to touch up the vertical video before posting, I think it looks good still.
Areas for Improvement:
  1. Optimal rotation speed for clearer footage
  2. Manual mode settings for enhanced image quality
  3. Color grading techniques for consistent output
  4. Any other technical aspects I may have overlooked?
Specific Queries:
  1. What would be the ideal shutter speed and ISO settings for this type of shot?
  2. Are there any ND filters you'd recommend for similar lighting conditions and this type of video?
  3. Suggestions for achieving smoother panning motion?
  4. Recommendations for post-processing workflow, particularly for color grading HLG footage?
I'm aiming to develop a series of these panoramic shots in various locations to showcase unique aerial perspectives. Your technical expertise and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated as I work to refine this concept.

Thank you in advance for your professional insights.
Hi, bbertram, not a professional insight as I am more comfortable with still photography. Might you consider doing 360 (sphere) panoramas instead to show this beautiful prairie landscape? Then viewers can rotate the scene at their own speed, zoom in and out, etc.
 
Hi, bbertram, not a professional insight as I am more comfortable with still photography. Might you consider doing 360 (sphere) panoramas instead to show this beautiful prairie landscape? Then viewers can rotate the scene at their own speed, zoom in and out, etc.

I will give that try. I could offer both possibly. I will try one and see how it looks and works.

On a different note, I'm also trying to create a photo panorama but not one where you turn the drone but move the drone sideways. So you are making a stitched together much larger picture. Have you had much experience with that?
 
I will give that try. I could offer both possibly. I will try one and see how it looks and works.

On a different note, I'm also trying to create a photo panorama but not one where you turn the drone but move the drone sideways. So you are making a stitched together much larger picture. Have you had much experience with that?
My procedure to make larger images (thus far) is to use the drone’s programmed ability to shoot a 9 shot (3x3) pano or a 180 pano. I shoot as DNG files, stitch them in Lightroom, then do further tweaking in Photoshop for tone, colour and sharpness for very large printable files.

I particularly enjoy creating 360 degree panoramas. My latest drone (DJI Mini 4 Pro) takes 35 individual DNG files which I stitch in PTGui or the new Panovolo. I then again post process the final image in Photoshop and upload to Kuula.co for sharing.

Here is a sample (best viewed on a larger monitor):


Lastly, I would like to try your method of moving the drone sideways to make hyper stereo images.
 
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I have never liked portrait mode. So, the horizontal video gets my vote. It is nicely done.
 
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Reactions: sarahb
Two things immediately. You are panning far too fast; you need to slow it down more than 2.5 times your current speed. The second very important point is the direction you are panning.

Show this to a friend but make two copies and just let them see about ten seconds of each. Show them what you have here in a view/landscape perspective, rather than the upright version, but then reverse the film. So you will have one version moving to the left and the second version, moving to the right, as they watch. Do this with a few friends and start showing one, the left-hand movement first, then right. The other/second person, show the right-hand version of movement first, then go the other way with the second version. Ask them both which they felt more comfortable watching.

You will find that most people, if not all, will prefer the movement going to the right, but they may not know why. The reason is that in the western world, we read from left to right and the brain has become accustomed to this movement. That is also why most photos of, for example, a closer shot of a head, mostly have the person facing to the right as you look at them, unless there is a reason to have them looking to the left, as you view the printed image.

Our brains feel more comfortable with this type of orientation of an image, or of a movement. People from the far eastern world, where many cultures read from right to the left, will feel just the opposite to how we feel. Look at the photos in periodicals from such cultures and you will see photos are more often looking to the left as we look at the printed image.

So, when starting the pan, do it so the viewer will see the view starting to move to the right, not the left as you currently have. Slow it down a lot more and finally, there is no added benefit to seeing more sky and more land, in a panorama, so no need to make it a vertical image.

You would of course, shoot stills in a vertical format, if you were going to be stitching them all together, to make a panoramic finished print, because you get less distortion between images to be stitched, compared to that of landscape orientations. With video, there is no benefit whatsoever, of filming it in a vertical orientation, so keep video in a landscape orientation, always.
 

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