id
was set in the arguments array for the "north_sidebar" sidebar. Defaulting to "sidebar-1". Manually set the id
to "sidebar-1" to silence this notice and keep existing sidebar content. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 4.2.0.) in /home3/elprofem/public_html/wjorg/blog/wp-includes/functions.php on line 5313id
was set in the arguments array for the "south_sidebar" sidebar. Defaulting to "sidebar-2". Manually set the id
to "sidebar-2" to silence this notice and keep existing sidebar content. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 4.2.0.) in /home3/elprofem/public_html/wjorg/blog/wp-includes/functions.php on line 5313id
was set in the arguments array for the "west_sidebar" sidebar. Defaulting to "sidebar-3". Manually set the id
to "sidebar-3" to silence this notice and keep existing sidebar content. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 4.2.0.) in /home3/elprofem/public_html/wjorg/blog/wp-includes/functions.php on line 5313id
was set in the arguments array for the "east_sidebar" sidebar. Defaulting to "sidebar-4". Manually set the id
to "sidebar-4" to silence this notice and keep existing sidebar content. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 4.2.0.) in /home3/elprofem/public_html/wjorg/blog/wp-includes/functions.php on line 5313As I write this, I have just emerged from being inside (that’s the verb I will use) my newly acquired Oculus Rift for an hour. An entire hour.
The headset-caused wrinkles, an unfortunate side effect, are still fresh across my face.
I’ve been exploring augmented reality for more than five years, and virtual reality for two and I am in more awe now than ever before.
Yes there is hype around VR, but from what I just experienced — and have experienced before — there is a bright future ahead of us.
And if you’re in the content business — of any type — get ready for the next seismic disruption.
While I was “in” I played a VR platformer game called Lucky’s Tale, and instantly fell in love with the design and, more importantly, naturally fell into the user-interface and VR logic.
The game all around is, well, simply wonderful.
You will hear this time and time again with VR, but you have to experience it to really appreciate it.
After completing the first chapter of the game, I went back “home” (which is a gorgeously designed living room) and explored some other free experiences I had downloaded before.
I selected Dreamdeck, with is a collection of different short stories, experiences and scenes. I had done a couple before, but this time I was standing eye-to-eye with a dinosaur, was inside a fly/blood cell thingy, making faces at funhouse/tea party mirror, was in the middle of two robotic arms having a magical battle over a rubber ducky and, my favorite, observed a day in the life of a mini cartoon town (I tired to eat the plane).
Here’s the thing I want you to take note of: I used different verbs to describe the experiences. I did something, rather than watched something passively.
Lastly, I watched Oculus’ short film lost, a clear homage to Iron Giant. It was cute and who knew so much personality could come from the wagging of an iron tail.
Yeah, I’m in. I’m in deep.
Look, I am in the journalism business and if we take a step further back, I am in the (non-fiction) storytelling business. And VR is the latest tool in my arsenal aimed at informing my community by any ethical means necessary.
My excursion into the virtual world was a (much needed) break from producing VR Journalism experiences with my USC Annenberg students: Jovrnalism.
We find ourselves in post-production right now and, while tiring, we’re having a blast experimenting and defining this new style of storytelling.
VR is the future.
Well, for now. I see have my eye on the bigger prize, AR.
]]>Get the immersive experience via your phone (and Google Cardboard) by going to this URL: https://www.storyspheres.com/scene/3BFb9RY6
You can see the old (kinda broken) project here: http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sculpturepark/
]]>Role up your sleeves, journo industry, because you need to start preparing to lead the next disruption. When it actually hits is nearly irrelevant, because there’s no doubt it will hit.”
You can read the piece here: http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/12/the-year-virtual-reality-becomes-reality/
]]>I watched NYT/VRSE’s VR mini documentary called The Displaced, through the newly launched NYT VR app and it is clearly a sign of things to come.
Here are some thoughts after I watched the piece.
First, like other VR apps, the app itself took seconds to download, but the actual VR content took more time. The Displaced was 329MBs and took a few minutes to download. How long? I don’t know, I set it to download and worked on other things.
Whether we like it or not, this is the current state of VR… streaming is still clunky, but, of course, it’s just a matter of time before the tech catches up.
Now the piece itself.
It was gorgeous.
There are some truly beautiful shots they got and could only capture through a 360 rig.
They displayed creativity by having diverse shots, ranging from static with a tripod to mounted on a bike to handheld by a kid run after another.
The stitching, which is one of the major challenges in video VR, was pretty impressive and, based on the shadows the rig left, this was captured and stitched through something more advanced that the “simple” 6-camera, GoPro rig. Perhaps a Jaunt VR or Nokia’s Ozo setup.The audio was the “voice of god” style and was not 360, but it was still powerful to hear the children in their our voices and languages, telling their own stories.
Due to the languages, the piece relied on subtitles.
And, while they cleverly placed the subtitles around three locations, the text was still hard to read, at least via Google Cardboard.
Bonus: You can watch this piece holding your phone vertically and but’s a great experience. (Whether you like it or not, vertical video is winning!)
Now, the bad news.
Outside of the high-level understanding of the story – three displaced kids – I don’t know what they really said. I couldn’t quote it back to you.
This is one of those it’s-beautiful-like-Snow-Fall-but-I-don’t-remember-the-actual-story situation, which VR is going to face as it starts out.
Most VR offers the flash of new and cool through tech rather than substance of story, but this piece really tried to deliver the story. It has incredible shots and visually takes advantage of each 360 degree.
But it’s not a powerful piece like, say, Perspectives I: The Party.
The real test is whether or not people download the next set of stories and continue to use the app – with or without Cardboard. That’s a high bar that content I can’t remember may not make it over. It’s a high bar that we all have to overcome if we want this to truly take off.
I am excited for what’s to come and – from I hear through the VR community – you should be too.
I spy the production crew (the only show you really see them).
]]>It’s great to see the rush of people coming to explore the emerging tech of virtual reality. Yes, it appears the overly-hyped promise that under delivered for several decades has finally become a legitimate reality.
All thanks to a former journalism student turned billionaire and this smart lady.
I’ve been exploring different forms of VR dating back to my college days when I was fascinated by Apple QuickTime VT Studio, but I am no pioneer. I have been more into Augmented Reality (I still think it is the most promising future) since I became a professor at USC Annenberg some six years ago.
But after attending a local VR conference about a year ago, I knew this was going to be huge.
So, I created a course with the aim of exploring what the hell VR experiences could be in journalism.
Read more here: https://medium.com/@webjournalist/you-don-t-need-to-be-the-nytimes-to-do-vr-be4efb00ff74
]]>I’ve done my share of looking foolish, but I do it in the name of journalism.
This week marks the start of my latest innovative, hackathon style course… this year it’s Virtual Reality Journalism. (Last year it was Glass Journalism and Augmented Reality Journalism before that.)
This week also marks the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
There are a lot of things to remember and reflect on, especially in regards to journalism. I remember the amazing work done by the Times-Picayune/NOLA.com, that literally saved lives.
But, perhaps because I am a dork, I mostly remember this photo:
VR is something that I’ve always kept my eye on. My experience began with Apple’s QuickTime VR Studio and I managed to work that tech (paired with ambient sound) into some multimedia coverage I did at the Seattle Times.
Those links are pretty much dead, but the Bering Sea and the Olympic Sculpture Park were two projects I did this with.
That said, the first time I saw 360-degree video in news was ten years ago when MSNBC’s special Katrina project Rising from Ruin.
I saw the video and was blown away (video no longer works… they killed it, I think, for their year anniversary).
But they kept this page… a page I looked at in awe.
Direct link: http://risingfromruin.msnbc.com/2005/11/you_write_the_c.html
It never occurred to me to reach out to the guy in the photo (Ashley Wells / @DangerWells), but I did today:
While impromptu and we both don’t have the time, I asked him for an interview. I’ll keep you posted.
]]>