Bowling alleys are all about the crash of pins, the rumble of balls speeding down shiny lanes, and the occasional cheers as well as sighs from players. But what’s it like to be the ball? Corridor Crew, a YouTube channel famous for their visual effects wizardry, decided to find out. In their latest stunt, bowling nut Wren Weichman and engineering genius Erik Beck stuffed an 8K Insta360 X5 camera into a clear bowling ball, capturing a wild, first-person ride that’s as thrilling as it is eye-opening.
The idea sounds simple but was a total beast to pull off: create a working bowling ball that can house a 360° camera tough enough to survive the 60-foot tumble down a lane and the inevitable pin-smashing chaos. Wren wanted to show the stuff you never see—the moment of impact, the dizzying spin, and the secret machinery that sends the ball back. Teaming up with Erik, the two turned this dream into reality, building the world’s first camera-toting bowling ball—a see-through sphere of sorts.
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Making a bowling ball double as a camera rig is no joke. Regular balls are heavy, perfectly balanced, and built to take a beating. Shoving a camera inside could throw off that balance and weaken the structure. Erik faced a pile of challenges: the ball had to be hefty enough to topple pins, strong enough to handle crashes, and clear enough for the Insta360 X5’s footage to shine. Their fix? Two clear hollow domes linked by flexible 3D-printed TPU rings—a stretchy, durable plastic. Picking the dome material was tricky: super-clear ones gave perfect visuals but could crack, while tougher options dulled the image. After loads of tests, they landed on a sweet spot that kept the footage crisp and the ball intact.
The Insta360 X5 camera boasts 8K resolution and 360° view made it perfect for capturing the ball’s wild spins. Unlike a standard camera, which would churn out nauseating blur, the X5’s dual fisheye lenses grab everything, letting software stabilize and reframe the shot later. This auto-framing technology let the team produce widescreen YouTube videos and snappy TikTok clips without losing any action. The camera’s ability for tracking fast motion—proven in past experiments like boxing—kept up with the ball’s crazy path.
Erik’s garage was turned into a mad scientist’s lab to build this thing, filled with 3D-printed parts that were tested endlessly. Gluing the ball’s halves together took lots of work to ensure the camera was protected while rolling down the lane. He called it one of the toughest projects he’s ever tackled.
When the ball finally hit the lane, it peeled back the curtain on the bowling alley’s hidden world: pins flying in a frenzy, the lane’s glossy blur, and the clunky grace of conveyor belts and chutes working backstage. From the ball’s view, you feel the raw energy of the crash and ride along through the unseen guts of the alley as it loops back to the bowler.
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