Say 360 booth and there’s a pretty good chance you already have a picture in your head.
A platform or pedestal. A phone or tablet. A rotating camera arm that moves around the people standing there.
You’ve probably seen one at an event. Maybe you’ve even done one.
So when we tell people that Spin It. is a 360 experience, they think they know what we’re talking about.
Then we tell them how ours works.
“Wait. What are you saying? The drone does it?”
Yep.
And that’s usually where the questions begin.
Wait. The Camera Actually Flies?
With our Spin It. experience, there’s no platform to step onto and no rotating camera arm traveling around you.
The camera flies.
You stay right on the floor while a drone carrying the camera flies around you and creates the movement for the 360 video.
For people who have only seen traditional 360 setups, that can take a minute to sink in.
Really?
A drone does the same thing?
How does that work?
Sometimes people stand back and watch somebody else do it first. Sometimes curiosity wins immediately.
“Okay. Maybe I’ll try it.”
And sometimes that turns into grabbing a few friends and bringing them along.
Okay. What Am I Supposed to Do?
Whatever you want.
Seriously.
You can dance. Pose. Wave. Turn. Laugh. Be dramatic. Be ridiculous. Interact with the people you’re with. Follow the drone with your eyes or look right at the camera as it comes around.
You don’t have to memorize a routine before stepping in.
And you definitely don’t have to do what the people before you did.
The drone creates the movement. You create the moment.
Watching It and Doing It Are Two Different Things
People can stand nearby and watch Spin It. before they ever try it.
They see other guests doing their movements. They see the drone flying around them. They may even start figuring out what they want to do when it’s their turn.
Then they step in.
The drone starts flying around them.
And there’s that moment of awe.
For some people, it’s just a big wow before they get right into whatever they planned.
Others are so fascinated watching this camera actually fly around them that the plan completely disappears.
We’ve seen the open mouths.
We’ve seen someone who knew exactly what they wanted to do suddenly forget all about it because...
There’s a drone flying around me!
So sometimes?
We do it again.
The second time, they know what it feels like. The drone isn’t quite such a surprise, and now they can concentrate on the movement they wanted to do in the first place.
Sometimes the Fun Starts Before the Drone Does
Once someone has already done Spin It., something else starts happening.
They become the expert.
They grab a friend or a group and come back for another one.
Before we even start the drone, we’ll see the person who has already done it showing everybody a movement.
“Do this.”
They practice it together.
“Start here.”
They tell everyone when to begin.
“Watch the drone.”
And it’s fun for us to watch because suddenly one of our guests is coaching everybody else through an experience they may have known nothing about a few minutes earlier.
Then we start the drone.
And even after all that preparation, the newcomers can still get that look when the flying camera comes around them for the first time.
Watching it happen to somebody else and having it happen around you are two very different things.
And Sometimes We Move the Drone for You
Being able to fly the camera also means we can change where that camera is flying.
At one event, a group of people stepped in for a Spin It. video. We flew the first one with the drone lower.
Then we watched it.
One woman in the group was particularly tall, and we could see that the drone had been flying too low to frame her properly.
So we raised it.
They did another one with the drone flying higher, and you can actually see the difference between the two videos.
Same group. Same experience.
Different camera height.
We aren’t stuck with one fixed height and expecting every person who walks up to somehow fit it. If the shot needs to change, we can change it.
That also matters for guests using wheelchairs or other mobility aids. There’s no raised platform they have to get onto. Everyone stays on the floor, and we can adjust the drone.
The experience comes to the guest.
Sometimes What You’re Wearing Is Part of the Moment
There’s another thing we’ve noticed after watching people do Spin It.
Sometimes what you’re wearing practically gives you the idea for what to do.
Because the finished video can show you from head to toe, people can use their movement to show off what they’re wearing.
We’ve seen it at cultural celebrations where guests arrived dressed in their finery. They turned. They moved the fabric. They posed. Women and men alike used the experience to show off their clothing and let their personality and pride in the celebration come through.
We’ve seen that same feeling with someone moving in a beautiful gown at a celebration of Korean culture.
And it doesn’t have to be a cultural celebration.
Maybe it’s a prom gown. Wedding attire. A great suit. A dress you love. Something you’ve been waiting for the right occasion to wear.
Sometimes it isn’t just about making a 360 video.
You’re showing off more than what you’re wearing. You’re showing a little bit of who you are.
And when it’s finished, you have a moving remembrance of how you looked, what you wore, how you moved and how you felt while you were there.
Then Comes the “Let Me See!” Part
The drone finishes its flight.
And almost immediately, everybody starts coming over.
They want to see it.
This is one of the fun parts of Spin It.
People gather around the screen because they can’t wait to see what they just looked like from the air. They already know what they did.
Now they want to know:
“What does this look like?”
They watch the raw drone video, and that’s when the ideas can start.
“Oh, I should do this.”
Maybe they want to turn differently.
Maybe they want more movement.
Maybe they realize they could move a certain way to really show off what they’re wearing.
Maybe they simply see the first one and think of something completely different.
And sometimes the reaction is even simpler.
“Can I do it again?”
Absolutely.
Maybe they want another chance at a movement. Maybe the drone distracted them the first time. Maybe they loved it. Or maybe now they want to grab somebody else and bring them into the next one.
The raw video moves over to the Lotsa Laffs computer, where the processing and effects are applied. Once the finished video is ready, the guest can download a copy.
But before all of that, there’s usually that moment around the screen.
“What does this look like?”
And quite often, the next question is...
“Can I do it again?”
So... What Is a Drone-Powered 360 Experience?
It’s a 360 experience.
Just without the platform.
Without the rotating camera arm.
And with one fairly important difference:
The camera flies.
You stay on the floor. We adjust the drone when we need to. You decide what happens when that camera comes flying around.
Dance. Pose. Turn. Show off what you’re wearing. Grab your friends. Make up a movement. Forget the movement because you’re too busy staring at the drone.
Then go see what you made.
And if watching it gives you an even better idea?
Do it again.
The drone creates the movement. You create the moment.
Why call it Lotsa Laffs if you can’t have fun?