VR and 360 video experiences allow the audience to see the story from a different point of view, and become more immersed in the story as it unfolds. Your audience can be part of the story without being there.
Immersive media has been around for some time but has now started to become more accessible to audiences through the release of consumer technology, e.g. Oculus rift, Google cardboard and Samsung Gear, that allows a larger audience to engage with the media.
That means it’s a fantastic opportunity for independent community and hyperlocal publishers to add another string to their bow.
VR and 360 video content is being produced more and more within journalism as an alternative method of immersing the audience in a story, and the equipment and processes used have become far easier to access recently, allowing more news outlets to experiment with this new media format.
This training session, delivered by Cardiff University’s James Taylor, will introduce you to immersive storytelling for journalism. We will look at how it is currently used in journalism, how you can begin creating your own content and the equipment and software you will need, some of the techniques used when filming in 360, considerations when creating 360 video or VR content, and how it can be further developed to provide a more engaging way of presenting a story.
It would be beneficial to have a smart phone with the following apps installed, ready for the session:
Youtube
NYTVR – New York Times VR app
6×9 – The Guardian VR app
This video is being published with the permission of James Taylor and we hope to see some of your VR creations soon!
