(Did anyone mention that your video file might actually be split into two parts by the cameras?) Once you’ve got the shot, downloading and organizing that data is a struggle as you try to keep each camera and each shot organized. They run out of battery quickly or overheat after less than 30 minutes. The technology is basic: Most of the camera rigs are hacked, either custom made by VR production companies or cobbled together with a plastic 3D printed holder for 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 or 24 small action cameras of your choice (such as the GoPro), which require pushing all the right buttons to turn on, then a twist and a clap to sync. Videographers are still figuring out how to create VR. (Photo by Bob Sacha)Īnd what if you walked a bunch of seasoned visual journalists through the process of shooting and stitching VR video (see photo above of CUNY J+ workshop with Marcelle Hopkins), then gave them headsets to watch what they had made, and they all exclaimed, “OMFG, this is amazing!” What would that tell you about the medium’s potential? On the other hand… With that type of buildup, who wouldn’t want to be involved?Ī J+ VR workshop for journalists, artists and storytellers at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism, led by Marcelle Hopkins, white shirt. On the high end, VR offers an advanced ride to fans who can afford a specially designed headset hooked to a fast computer.Ĭlearly, VR is everything. On the low end, VR is accessible by anyone with a smartphone (more than 2 billion people worldwide). The audience for VR is expanding rapidly. It’s worthy of a lot of investment over a long period.” China is investing big, and the rapid success of Pokemon Go points to more investment in augmented reality. For Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, “This is a good candidate to be the next major computing platform. VR is predicted to generate $150 billion in revenue by 2020, disrupting mobile. The game engine maker Unity, one of the two most popular VR software companies, is now valued at $1.5 billion. Funding for VR in 2016 is estimated at $2.6 billion. Google is betting big, distributing 5 million Cardboard headsets (1.3 million of those have been distributed by The New York Times). And it has the potential of making money for journalists and news organizations because advertisers want it. It’s been called the ultimate empathy machine, and at the same time it’s audience-aware storytelling. But given the speed of change in the way we communicate, who wants to be left behind if it does turn out to be those things? Already, it allows viewers to be immersed in another world and to become part of the story. No one knows if it’s the next big thing in visual journalism, or the future or the savior of the news business. Since viewing “Clouds Over Sidra,” my perspective is that virtual reality is an exciting and wildly innovative way to tell a story. Wired magazine wrote: “The UN showed the film at fund-raising events, claiming that it helped raise $3.8 billion from donors, and launched a virtual-reality division.” “Clouds Over Sidra” was a hit for the United Nations. So I learned my first lesson about 360 video: Best to sit in a swivel chair to avoid personal injury while twirling in circles viewing VR. I’d been immersed in the story, walking around holding a Google Cardboard and my iPhone, with headphones attached to my ears. At 8:45 minutes, the film was not short, but I watched it to the end, pausing only to pick myself up off the floor-after I fell over a cabinet in my office.
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