YouTube Trials Multi Angle Videos

YouTube are testing a new feature that is basically a multi-camera setup. The new service is still in its beta stage, but YouTube are testing it out on the public now. The new service is in its rudimentary testing form, but it allows you to choose the angle from which you watch YouTube videos.

Now, before you go and start to look for content by your favourite artists in multi-angle form, I did say it was in beta and the selection is, how shall I say, singular; only one YouTube video by an musician/artist called Madilyn Bailey, is currently available.

YouTube has created this new feature, by combining four different camera angles into one video. This enables you to either pick one feed, and stick with it, or you can switch between the different angles that the video has been shot in.

It is a good idea, because if you can become easily distracted by some ways in which modern music videos are shot, fast switching or strobe effect imaging and the like, you now will have the option to watch content without distraction.

There is the other side of the coin too, if you don’t mind switching things up a bit and maybe you think the tunes of Madilyn Bailey or whatever future artists sign up to this, are not exciting enough, then you could change between the camera angles in rapid succession, thereby transforming the video into something unique to you.

The idea is good, in theory, but if YouTube is aiming to sell the feature as a “you direct” service, then it will need to work on the transitions from one angle to another.

Currently, when you click to alternate from one camera to another, there is often a little slowdown or stutter. YouTube say that if you ‘hold down the key before releasing’ it will give you you a smoother transition. This slowdown issue may not be such a big problem on spoken word content, but it will be a big issue with music videos. As the feature is only in a testing phase, these issues could be ironed out and if so, it could work out to be a nifty idea. What do you think?

[Image via YouTube]

SOURCE: http://www.t3.com/news/youtube-tests-multi-angle-videos