Honestly, I've seen a lot of cool video stuff in the past year. Amazing social software. Cool new ad solutions. And content creators who are breaking all kinds of rules shooting music videos in moving cabs and in virtual reality.
But last week - I saw the future of video at the NY Video Meetup. And it will blow your mind.
It's the brainchild of Jeff Glasse, a NY-based entrepreneur who's is both a CEO and Standup Comic. Says Glasse. "Which makes me more pathetic?"
The Kogeto Dot camera is the first snap-on lens that turns your iPhone 4 or 4s into a real-time, panoramic video recorder.
It's super easy to record, and uploads video that you can navigate yourself to Facebook, share on your iPhone, or post on your blog.
What does this mean for the future of video? Well, it just got a whole lot more interesting. Now every video you record can literally have user accessible pan controls. That means that if you're facing west, viewers can 'turn their virtual heads' and look North, South, and East.
Here are a few examples of uses for easy 360 video:
But the real game changer may be for news - imagine the Occupy Wall Street coverage with a 360 panoramic view, or sports, or conferences. This is yet another example of the audience getting the ability to control more of the way to choose to view the information sent to them. No longer can the network chose where to point the camera - at a news event or protest. There will be many 360 video views being broadcast to the web in realtime.
Check it out HERE:
How does it work?
The Dot has an iCONIC lens that works with the iPhone's 4/4S HD video camera to capture full 360° video -- all at once -- without stitching frames together. The catadioptric optical system is fully AR-coated for excellent color fidelity in all environments. Dot is a lightweight snap-on attachment that doesn't require batteries or power.
Why it matters: 360 degree video is now plug and play simple.
At the NY Video Meetup, Glasse was literally swamped by attendees after his presentation. Like a rock star after a sold out show, Glasse was fielding questions from Time Magazine, stealth video startups, ad network technologists, and a slew of content creators.
"Can I shoot an interview with both my questions and my subjects questions and then edit them into a two camera shoot" asked one intrepid journalist? "Sure" said Glasse with typical casual confidence. He seems to know that this camera really could change the world.
"Designed and built in NY"
Kogeto designed the hardware, software and web services in their office in Soho, and manufacture the Dot in Rochester, NY. We asked CEO Glasse why NY? "There is an energy to NYC which you simply dont' find elsewhere, and being close to so many media outlets provides us with a significant strategic advantage as well. And I'm quite proud to manufacture in NY. Kogeto employs about 50 people, and I like the idea that, as we succeed, we are creating jobs at a time when that is so sorely needed."
Glasse says NYC gives his company a huge advantage over tech companies based in Silicon Valley, "I don't think I've met a single person from the west coast who said 'this is where I work, and this is where I plan to stay' - they all seem to have somewhere else they are hoping to go, either to start their own company or to join the Next Big Thing. We don't find that here."
Building a user-base, one contribution at a time.
Glasse may well be inventing a new way to test and pre-launch as well. In June of this year, he posted a project on Kickstarter, the user-funded project community. He was looking to raise $20,000 - and instead brought in a staggering $120,000 in pre-sales. As he explains it: "For us, less about the money and more about building a community of users before we launched the product. Because we are essentially creating a new market, the best way to get new customers is for people to see Dot in action. With Kickstarter we started shipping with 2000 existing customers (1200 on kickstarter, and another 800 in pre-sales before we shipped a single unit). This meant that from the first day we shipped, people were uploading examples and showing their friends - something that is already generating new leads for us at a geometric rate without the need for a terribly expensive ad campaign." Oh, and Kickstarter is a NYC company as well.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dot/dot-360o-video-capture-for-the-iphone-4
Why it matters: Dewarping and the 360 Ecosystem.
While Kogeto has patents on the optics and software, they don't see that as being what makes them special. The integration of the camera, capture software and web services into a single, cohesive package puts the Dot ahead of any other 360 packages. Says Glasse, "Think of the iPod. It's not as though Apple got a patent on mp3 players - there were, in fact, a zillion already in the marketplace when they introduced the iPod. But what they did was develop an entire ecosysten for digital music; allowing people to first rip their CDs, then creating a whole new way to buy music in the iTunes store. This is what we are trying to do with panoramic video."
Panoramic image before dewarping:
Panoramic image after dewarping:
How can you get a Dot?
The fastest way to get your hands on a Dot is to go to one of our our retail partners - specifically Tekserve, and Apple Stores. B&H and J&R also carry it - though you may need to order online. You can order online from kogeto.com, Amazon, or places like MacMall and PCMall.
For the owners of an iPhone 4 or 4s - what a great cool holiday gift. Can't wait to start sharing 360 degree video of events and happenings with my followers. Video just got a whole lot cooler.
Follow Steve Rosenbaum on Twitter: www.twitter.com/magnify
