Virtual reality is journalism’s next frontier. While the goal of sharing stories has remained the same for journalists, the advancement of technology is allowing them to do so in new ways. One of the most exciting prospects is virtual reality, which allows users to immerse themselves in locations they could previously only interact with in 2-D.
VR has the potential to become an impactful storytelling tool, much like motion pictures did many years ago.
Will virtual reality continue to increase its impact on the news industry as it becomes more affordable for newsrooms to produce?
5. 5
TELEGRAPH
“"...What was this telegraph
to do? Would it transmit
letters and newspapers? “
- In 1842 Sen. George McDuffie was asked to provide
funds for a telegraph between Baltimore and new York
City. That was his reaction.
6. 6
RADIO
“Well-informed people know it
is impossible to transmit the
voice over wires and that were
it possible to do so, the thing
would be of no practical value.”
– A Boston Post editorial from 1865
declared radio would be “of no practical
value”
7. 7
TELEVISION
“The problem with television is
that people must sit and keep
their eyes glued on a screen;
the average American family
hasn’t time for it.”
– A 1939 The New York Times review of a
demonstration at the World’s Fair
8. 8
INTERNET
“The Internet will soon go
spectacularly supernova and
in 1996 catastrophically
collapse.”
- In 1995 Robert Metcalfe, co-inventor
of the Internet, thought that his
invention was doomed for failure
9. 9
VIRTUAL REALITY
“I don't think most humans want
to look stupid in a VR headset and
they don't want to isolate
themselves from the world. I
mean, if someone's sneaking up
behind me with a baseball bat, I
want to know about it, you know
what I mean?(…)”
– In 2014, legendary game designer Warren Spector,
presented his doubts about Virtual Reality.
10. THE VIRTUAL REALITY OPPORTUNITY IS REAL
VR/AR could become bigger than TV by 2020
16. 360 FILM: “THE SECOND LINE”
• Virtual Reality immersive 360 video
distributed to YouTube 360, Oculus
and RYOT VR.
• Technologies used: VR Camera rover
• Content Type: Domestic News
Reporting
17. April 6, 2016 ASSOCIATED PRESS
The VR camera used for The Second Line sits atop a
custom-built rig and rover operated by remote control
Credit: Spherica
18. LIVE STREAMING: “STAR WARS” PREMIERE
• Provide behind the scenes
access to red carpet events
in 360
20. • Virtual reality video explainer distributed
to YouTube 360.
• Technologies used: 3Dmodeling and
animations
• Content type: Science
COMPUTER GENERATED GRAPHICS VR
21. 3D MAPPING
• VR experience distributed to Oculus
Share and interactive web embed
• Technology : 3-D camera combines
infrared and high dynamic range
imaging to create photorealistic
virtual spaces.
• Content: Travel and Entertainment
23. AUGMENTED REALITY
Live view of a physical, real-
world environment whose
elements are augmented by
juxtaposing a digital element
Credit: Empathetic Media
24. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LATEST INDUSTRY TRENDS
AND MEDIA INNOVATION, VISIT INSIGHTS.AP.ORG
Notes de l'éditeur
Thank you for being here today. We’ll be discussing some early experiments with storytelling in virtual reality, the newest medium to hit the media scene. We’ve all heard of VR by now – and if you haven’t, I suggest you check it out – but it’s still so new that we don’t yet know how to take advantage of all its potential.
But before we get to some examples, let’s apply a bit of context. Looking at the evolution of successful mediums from the past, we can see a very specific cycle emerge, and how long it took to develop.
Virtual Reality can be traced back to a device called stereoscope invented in the 19th century.
separate images, depicting left-eye and right-eye views of the same scene, as a single three-dimensional image.
The concept of virtual reality has been around for decades, even though the public really only became aware of it in the early 1990s.
While the goal of sharing stories has remained the same for journalists, the advancement of technology is allowing them to do so in new ways. One of the most exciting prospects is virtual reality, which allows participants to immerse themselves in locations they could previously only interact with in 2-D.
You can think of VR as a new format. We all started with text, then we moved to images, later to video and now VR.
The first phase is uncertainty. When new technology begins to enter mainstream society, there’s hesitancy by the public to adopt it. We have more questions than answers, and usually one of those questions is, I’m sure some of you have even heard something similar with regard to virtual reality. “Why would anyone want to wear that headset?”
These questions are legitimate. VR experiences are limited to one person at a time, while others watch someone looking all around a different environment, maybe see them extend their hands and try to touch some virtual object in front of them. I heard a question at a conference a couple weeks ago about people who wear glasses – how can we better the experience for them?
In 1842, Congress was asked to provide funds for a telegraph between Baltimore and New York City. Senator George McDuffie challenged this “absurd” idea by sarcastically asking, “Is the telegraph going to transmit letters and newspapers?”
Of course, four years later, The Associated Press was founded by distributing news through the telegraph.
A Boston Post editorial from 1865 declared radio would be “of no practical value” because “well-informed people know it is impossible to transmit the voice over wires.”
A New York Times review of a demonstration of television at the 1939 World's Fair expressed concerned on its future, saying, “People have to sit and keep their eyes on the screen. The average American doesn’t have time for that.”
A New York Times review of a demonstration of television at the 1939 World's Fair expressed concerned on its future, saying, “People have to sit and keep their eyes on the screen. The average American doesn’t have time for that.”
respected game designer, Warren Spector, argued in a 2014 interview that people “don’t want to look stupid in a VR headset” and that “if you are wearing a headset you can’t see someone sneaking behind you with a baseball bat,” which is a valid concern.
The real reason why there’s so much excitement is that according to several market forecasts VR and AR could become a big opportunity – some say it could be bigger than TV
AP and RYOT News collaborated to create the organizations’ first hard-news story about a sprawling migrant camp in northern France. This is where we at AP are most excited, as we can help viewers actually feel they are at the scene of the reporter and seeing everything going on in a person’s environment.
AP and technology company Matterport teamed up to allow audiences to experience luxury suites on an airplane, on a cruise ship and in a hotel. They used 3-D cameras combining infrared and HDR imaging to create photorealistic virtual spaces.
Users would look in a direction they wanted to move within the virtual spaces and tap on their headset to move. The images they were viewing were static.