I’ve shot various scenes from a RED One camera and my Canon 7D that are perfect for Winscape viewing.  Here are some recommendations on equipment:


  1. *Canon 7D or Canon 5d Mark iii video DSLR cameras.

  2. *Zoom H4n field audio recorder.

  3. *Manfrotto tripod.

  4. *Redhead windscreen.

  5. *Final Cut Pro X video editing software.


Here are some general guidelines to help you shoot footage that will look good in a Winscape:

  1. *Keep your subject far away if you want to use the scene with the user tracking effect.  A scene with objects

  close to the camera will ruin the parallax illusion.  As your user moves about the room, his brain will expect

  objects closer to the camera to move faster than the background.  When they don’t, the illusion will be broken.

  1. *High resolution.  More pixels = more detail.  1080p should be a minimum.  RED shoots at 4K (4096x2048) which is the best.  The 4K resolution makes for a more detailed image even after scaling down.

  2. *High frame rate.  We aren’t going for a movie look here.  We want realism.  30fps or more if possible.

  3. *No zooms, no pans.  Unless you want your view to look like your house is spinning inside of a tornado.

  4. *For typical landscape shots, you’ll want the horizon to display at the eye level of the average person in your room.

  5. *10 to 15 minutes per cut or longer.  We aren’t shooting Mtv videos. (do they even make those anymore?)