Weezer shoots music video entirely on a 360-camera

With 360 cameras developing at an exciting, rapid pace, we’re seeing new use-cases for them every day. The next frontier? Music videos, as the latest release from Weezer proves.

Let the records show that not so long ago, I felt that 360 cameras were still all a bit gimmicky. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one. However, in recent years I’ve been steadily won over and with trailblazers at the likes of Insta360 consistently developing the technology and setting the standards ever higher, we’re now starting to see how 360 cameras can play a role in day-to-day filmmaking.

Take music videos, for example. Recently, American band Weezer (yes, they’ve been around for over 30 years now) teamed up with video director Peter Quinn to shoot its brand new music video entirely on 360. The Insta360 RS 1-inch, to be exact. The result is a unique, seamlessly entertaining watch:

Not only is it a good watch, but the process of shooting and editing seems to be a whole lot easier than if you were to have 4 or 5 different cameras all shooting from different angles. Quinn set up the Insta360 RS 1-inch in the Weezer studio, then had lead singer Rivers Cuomo play various instruments in predefined locations. Next, using the Adobe After Effects plugin for Insta360 reframing, he merged all the takes together and masked the footage, resulting in a seamless video that looks as if Cuomo has been cloned several times over. Four teenage dirtbags instead of one [That was Wheatus, but we only know because we couldn't find it under 'Weezer' to play it. Ed]

As Quinn explained to Insta360: “My challenge was only having one person but wanting to have the dynamic feeling of a full band performance…the Insta360 camera was the only way I could film this.” He went on to explain his stylistic choices, saying: “when the song got more intense at the chorus for example, I quickly reframed the footage; spinning, zooming in, zooming out to ‘tiny planet’ then zooming in to a close up; to create a dizzying, frenetic sensation.”

Having already been headhunted by Snoop Dogg, Quinn is making a name for himself, continuing to push the creative boundaries of what’s possible for music videos. In just a few short years we’ve arrived at a place where 360 cameras were “the only” way to film this particular project. Whether it’s music videos or any other genre you can think of, it seems certain that 360 cameras will continue to play an increasingly important role in how we shoot our films.