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How I make my BTS videos

Feat. the QooCam 8k by KANDAO VR


The way I make my behind the scenes videos is fairly simple, but it took me some time to find the best way to capture these moments easily without the need of a sidekick. Thanks to one special tool, I am this close to making the BTS videos I want… alone! let’s dive into this.

I do these to see my progress and for memories. My very first camera to help me make these was a Gopro. It did the trick for me back then for many reasons. They were small, lightweight and easy to handle. My only issue was that it took me out of my photoshoot everytime I had to turn them on and offf (to save the batteries) and frame my shot. Sometimes when in a hurry I would frame my shot poorly and end up not using the footage.


And then I got the insta 360 ONEX! Of course nothing can replace an actual talented individual with a camera by my side, but… this allowed me to film most of my sessions myself and keep most of the footage I shot. Now I can just take out the camera, turn it on when needed, and worry about framing later.



I don’t film everything. I usually wait until that moment where I know we will get the shot, and film between 30 secs to 5min max. 5 minutes is already too much, this only happens when I am creating something a bit complicated, when I am adding accessories (like smoke or fabrics), or when we struggle making a shot.


The quality of the images from the INSTA 360 cameras is good, but I needed an upgrade. A bit more resolution, 10 bits 422, I mean the basics to make it watchable on the tube. So I waited a bit before upgrading my camera. Surprisingly, instead of choosing one of INSTA 360’s newer models, I went for the Qoocam 8K by Kandao VR.


QooCam 8K at a glance:

  • 1/1.7 ’’ 20MP Sensors

  • 7680 X 3840 at 30fps ∣ 10bit ∣ H.265 200Mbps (max)

  • 3840 X 1920 at 120fps

  • 6-axis gyro, IMU sensor and advanced stabilization

  • Realtime RAW Mode (photos)

  • 2.4” Touchscreen

  • Built-in 3000mAh battery

  • Built-in 64GB internal memory

  • External SD card support (up to 256GB)

I still consider this camera and upgrade from my ONEX although it is a 3 years old camera.


So why did I change?


Better image, better low light capabilities, more details thanks to the 8k sensor and better ergonomics thanks to that huge screen.



The downsides:


Their software still needs some improvements. Adding that extra step for stitching is not ideal for quick edits. Because that’s how it works. You use Kandao’s software to stitch your 360 footage, render it in Prores 422 and then you open it in Davinci resolve (for example) with the help of Karta VR (Thank you Andrew!) and do your framing and camera movements there.


This is currently my workflow, I do all the edits of my Youtube videos dire