🎥 Use Only 360 Tools to Edit 360° Video – Never Zoom or Crop

When it comes to 360° video editing, one simple rule can save your entire project:
👉 Always use 360 tools — never zoom, crop, or edit like a normal 2D video.

Many beginners make this mistake. They open their 360° footage in a regular editor, start zooming or cropping to focus on one part — and end up destroying the entire spherical alignment of their video.

🧭 360° Video is a Sphere — Not a Frame

A 360° video captures the full environment around the camera — it’s not a flat frame like normal video.
When you open it on your screen, you’re actually viewing a stretched version of a sphere (called equirectangular view).

If you zoom or crop this footage, the software breaks that sphere — causing:

• Visible stitching lines

• Misalignment between lenses

• Distorted visuals inside the VR headset

So even if it looks fine on your timeline, it will look broken and uncomfortable inside VR.

⚙️ Always Use Built-in 360 Tools

Professional editors use 360 tools inside the software to make corrections or creative changes.
If you want to clean, patch, or reframe — use these instead of zooming or cropping:

✅ 360 Reorientation Tool – To adjust camera angle, fix horizon, or center your subject.
✅ 360 Patch Tool – To remove tripod, shadow, or unwanted objects from the nadir area.
✅ 360 Titles & Graphics – To add motion text or branding that wraps naturally around the sphere.
✅ 360 Viewer – To look around your scene just like a VR user would.

All these tools keep your footage perfectly aligned and VR-safe.

🎬 If You Want to Zoom, Do It the Right Way

If you need to show something closer or highlight an area — don’t zoom the original 360 clip.
Instead, add a 2D video inside your 360 video (Video-in-Video).

This method keeps the 360° scene untouched while allowing you to zoom, animate, or explain details using an overlay.
It’s clean, professional, and viewer-friendly in VR.

🧩 Software That Supports 360 Tools

The best editors for 360° video are those with native 360 editing environments:

• 🎞️ Final Cut Pro (FCP) – Built-in 360 tools like patch, reorientation, and titles.

• 🎞️ Adobe Premiere Pro – Supports 360 with plug-ins and effects.

• 🎞️ DaVinci Resolve Studio – For advanced color grading in VR space.

At 360 VR Photography, we prefer Final Cut Pro, because it gives the most natural, real-time control with 360 tools.
Every patch, rotation, or title feels perfectly integrated — no distortion, no stitching issues.

💡 Pro Tip:

Before rendering your final output —
👁️ Always preview your video in a VR headset (Oculus, Quest, or HTC Vive).
This ensures that your orientation, patching, and visuals look natural from every direction.

🔚 Conclusion

Editing 360° video is not about cutting frames — it’s about maintaining immersion.
If you zoom or crop, you destroy the spherical shape that makes VR possible.

So remember:
👉 Always use 360 tools for 360 editing.
👉 Never zoom, never crop.
👉 Keep your world real, round, and immersive.

At 360 VR Photography, we believe the right workflow is the key to true VR storytelling — where the experience feels as natural as being there.