5 Min. Reading

We have all seen 360º videos and panoramic photos, but let’s take a moment to look back on their origin, so we can think about their future later. 

As is the case with traditional video, the 360º version is the natural evolution of still 360º images. On the other hand, panoramic pictures are the evolution of panoramic paintings.

The word “panorama” first appeared in 1792, when Robert Barker’s paintings of Edinburgh, Scotland, first came to light; it comes from the Greek words pan, “all,” and horama, “view.” Barker was the one who first created the perspective we see nowadays when we take panoramic pictures with our cell phones, and that, effectively, allows us to look left and right all over the place. One would say Barker was interested in showing the city in as much detail as possible and letting the viewer grasp the city’s look and life. 

It is evident in the image that Barker glued together two pieces of paper to create this wider perspective. 

Photography was invented a few years later (in 1893), and the efforts for making it 360º began shortly after. The earliest panoramas the Library of Congress has were taken by George Barnard during the Civil War in 1864. They were used for better understanding the terrain conditions and being able to plan ahead. And, as was Barker’s case, it was made by gluing together two images.

Video followed photography’s path. 360º videos were created initially by editing together the videos captured by several regular cameras simultaneously. It is not clear when the first 360º videos were recorded, but YouTube and Facebook began supporting this format in 2015. Here you can find a 360º video filmed in 2003 and published in 2015.  

It always takes time until we fully understand the possible applications of new technological developments or until those new techniques are at the point where we can truly use them the way we would love to. For example, Google Arts & Culture has this selection of National Parks 360º views, and in the art field there are some great achievements, such as the documentary Traveling While Black.  However, 360º videos are not very frequent yet for practical matters. Video2Market is changing that. 

Video2Market is using 360º video to create Real Estate exhibitions, and there are two great reasons you should consider using Video2Market’s videos as a realtor. The first one, as Bryce Reid from the YouTube Creator Academy puts it: 

“360º is best when you want someone to be really close to something and feel like they are there. To form a memory of it. It’s not really like a thing that I watched; it’s a place I was at”. Now that you know a little about 360 videos, let’s talk about one of today’s trending topics. That’s right, the Real Estate Industry. 360 video is the experience you want to achieve while showing a property online: ensuring your audiences feel they were at the place.  

Video2Market will allow your audience to visit every corner of the property, the interior, facade, and surroundings, and the possibility of interacting in each space, choosing what to see in more detail. 

The second reason why Video2Market is the new tool realtors need to meet their business objectives is its integrated BI technology layer that will give you precious information for your marketing strategy. You can learn more about how we use BI in our Real Estate videos in this blog post. 

In what other ways do you imagine 360º videos will be implemented in the future in the marketing world? Let us know what you think in the comments below. 

Business Trends – A 360° VIEW INTO YOUR CLIENTS’ FUTURE HOME
By: Ana Maria Enciso & Sara Luna E, April 2021
Edited by: Isabela Rosa