TOKYO STREETS
DESCRIPTION
We linked up with MariCar to drive go-karts all across Tokyo, Japan on a three hour tour of the city.
With the help of the Insta360 One X, I thought it’d be a great opportunity to have some fun and take everyone along for the ride.
GEAR
Camera - Insta360 One X
Accessories - Insta360 Invisible Selfie Stick, Insta360 Back Bar
HIGHLIGHTS
Transparent Introduction
I normally don’t have titles or introductions for my videos, but for this project, I wanted to showcase some of the unique capabilities of the Insta360 One X. So right from the start, I combined a transparent text effect with an extensive FOV zoom to create this unique title sequence.
Mask it away
While organizing my footage, I noticed various bridges and street signs that we drove under during our tour of Tokyo, and I immediately knew I wanted to utilize this kind of mask transition. After deciding on the camera movement and adjusting the shape mask frame by frame, we are seamlessly taken from one scene to another.
360 Degrees of continuity
Even though the Insta360 One X gives me complete freedom of camera motion, I wanted the movement of each shot to establish continuity throughout the video. If one shot ended facing forward, the next one would start in the same direction. If one panned to the right, the next would as well. This whip transition is one example of my efforts to create that consistent and cohesive camera movement, maintaining continuity while blending the two shots together nicely.
playing with shapes
Similar to the previous mask transition, I found this shot of me speeding into a tunnel and thought I would take advantage of the rectangular shape to transition into the next shot. After fitting the shape mask to the tunnel’s entrance frame by frame, I ended the transition with a quick zoom into the second shot as a way to emphasize the speed I’m traveling in the first.
The Tiny planet
One of the unique features of the Insta360 One X is its immensely large field of view, which, when dialed high enough, creates what people call the “tiny planet” effect. In my edits, I feel like the opportunity to showcase this effect doesn’t present itself often. However, a go-kart tour through Tokyo seemed like the perfect activity to not only demonstrate it, but utilize it as a suitable transition as well.
Paying homage
I can say with confidence that this was one of my favorite experiences from my time in Japan. It was beautiful, it was relaxing, and it was so much fun. I’ve been playing Mario Kart since I was a kid and after getting the opportunity to do something like this, it only felt right to have Mario make an appearance to help close out the video.
timeline
Below is a final screenshot of my Premiere Pro project timeline for Tokyo Streets.
