ABC News Partners with Jaunt VR To Bring News In Immersive VR
Soon in the nearest future, the way we see news will be changed by virtual reality – by putting you right into the heart of the news itself.
ABC News announced that it will be producing virtual reality content through a strategic partnership with Jaunt VR, one of the biggest VR content production companies specializing in 360-degree content. Thanks to this collaboration, ABC News has added virtual reality to its news reporting under a new department called ABC News VR.
ABC News commences its dive into the virtual reality realm with an immersive 360-degree VR experience taking viewers inside the embattled city of Damascus, Syria. The experience will focus on the endangered antiquities contained within the ISIS-besieged city as an additional content to the feature segment called Inside Syria. This experience will aptly be named Inside Syria VR. Viewers will be able to download the experience through the ABC news website or the Jaunt VR app, which is available on both iOS and Android mobile devices.
The VR news clip was produced with the help of Jaunt VR. Jaunt VR has previously partnered with a handful of advertisers to create the pioneer batch of YouTube’s 360-degree video ads. This is in line with Google’s long-term agreement with Jaunt VR to partner in producing immersive 360-degree content.
Using a special 360-degree mount with 16 cameras attached, ABC News reported on how city officials are working to preserve historical artifacts that are under threat of being destroyed during the current conflict. Images from the cameras are stitched together to create the 360-degree view.
The VR news segment, which is available now at ABC News’s website, can be viewed on desktop computers as well as on smartphone-connected VR headsets such as the Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard using the Jaunt VR app.
News groups such as ABC and CNN have begun experimenting with virtual reality to become the new delivery medium for news content. It is expected that soon, more news organizations will take part in the adoption of VR.
For more information on ABC News VR, please visit the following websites:
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/fullpage/abc-news-vr-inside-syria-33768357
http://abc7.com/news/abc-news-vr-inside-syria/987172/
http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/16/9336647/abc-news-virtual-reality-syria
