What Does The Future of Vlogging Look Like?
Over the last 5-6 years vlogging went from pretty much non-existent to insanely popular. This rise of popularity happened mainly because of development in technology. Thanks to YouTube everyone with internet access is now able to upload their videos on a free platform with an audience of 1 Billion unique visitors per month. The second development that played a huge role in the popularity of vlogging is the cost of all camera equipment has gone down drastically while quality has improved (a lot!). You can now find 1080p Full HD cameras for under 200 dollars everywhere and even our smartphones are capable of recording in Full HD. Video creators have better cameras, faster laptops, better editing software and even have other equipment like camera drones which were reserved for big budget production teams before. So if all progress in technology put vlogging on the map in such a short time, how will it develop over the next 5-6 years? Are we still vlogging or are we going to move to the next big thing? Well, there are a couple of things that can happen over the next few years and it's difficult to predict the future. But let's take a look where vlogging is in 2016 and let's explore the possibilities. Current state of Vlogging At the moment, most vlog cameras are just regular point and shoot cameras or DSLRs. YouTubers just use these cameras because they are readily available and easy to use but they aren't optimized for vlogging at all. Camera companies are slowly recognizing that a lot of people use these cameras to record vlogs and are adding features and changing the design to make the camera more suitable for vlogging. For example, camera manufacturers are changing the position of the microphone from the top to the front of the camera for better sound quality while vlogging and more cameras are getting a flip screen. These flip screens are not in a fixed position and can be flipped to the front of the camera which makes vlogging easier because you can now see if you are in frame. But smartphones are also getting better camera capabilities every year such as higher quality sensors and lenses but also better optical image stabilization. In fact, popular vlogger Jon Olsson recently recorded an entire vlog solely on the new iPhone 7+ and the result looks extremely good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SymTYh89_vM Jon does have a professional video editor that has a lot of experience with editing and color grading footage to produce professional looking videos but even free video editing programs like iMovie have color grading capabilities and there are plenty of free online tutorials available for anyone to learn how to apply this to your videos. But the truth is, vlogging cameras are just a tool for video creators to tell a story. A boring video recorded in 4K/Ultra HD is still going to be a boring video. A really cool or interesting video in lower quality is still going to be cool or interesting. A vlog is just a way to tell a story, share you experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and that is most likely the key to the future of vlogging. Future of Vlogging If vlogging is more about telling a story instead of just making a high quality video, it makes more sense that vlogs will tell stories in a more immersive way rather than just upping the image resolution. Enter 360 degree videos and virtual reality. At the moment almost every vlog is recorded and watched in 2D. Viewers can't interact with the video, they don't feel immersed in the video, they are just looking at a flat screen. 360 degree videos will create a completely different experience from what we are used to now. 360 degree videos are recorded with special 360 degree video cameras that film in ALL directions while recording instead of just one direction like a normal camera. When viewing a 360 degree video viewers have full control of the viewing direction and can look around in any direction. Most people already have experience with 360 degree content without knowing it. The most famous example is Google Streetview. 360 degree video will enable viewers to fully immersive themselves in the vlogs with VR goggles and feel like they are spending the day with their favorite vlogger instead of just watching a video on a screen. YouTube has already added support for 360 videos and with more and more consumer 360 degree video cameras being released with better quality at a lower price it might very well be the future of vlogging. Final words How do you think vlogging will develop in the next 5 years? Are we still going to be vlogging or are we doing something completely new? If you think vlogging will still be popular, what will a vlog look like and how are people going to watch it? In 3D, virtual reality or still on screens we have and use now?
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