Getting Real about Virtual Reality
Virtual is the new reality. The creation of events in a simulated environment that transports viewers to a virtual location, that feels and looks very real. A select few have been conceiving of a world where audiences can experience news events through the application of virtual reality (VR) technology.
VR in journalism follows the usual concepts of VR in mainstream gaming and cinema — it’s simulated through a headset/goggles, it’s three-dimensional and makes you feel as if you are actually there. But the experience VR journalism simulates isn’t fictional. It’s an event that actually occurred. VR was a big hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, stoking expectations that VR journalism might be ready to leave the lab and reach the masses.
The woman behind one of the most acclaimed pieces of immersive film at Sundance is Nonny de la Peña. De la Peña comes from a traditional journalism background (she was a Newsweek correspondent and is a documentary filmmaker) and her belief in VR isn’t centered on its ability to entertain, but its ability to get people closer to real-life experiences than ever before.
“I wanted to do a VR piece that could affect people and make them feel like they were there, and understand the hunger;” says de la Peña about her first major VR story, “Hunger in Los Angeles.” Three years later, her latest VR feature, “Project Syria,” commissioned by the World Economic Forum and featured at Sundance, led to the realization that immersive journalism could go mainstream faster than anyone expected.
Fast enough, that it took one minute to strap me up to a VR headset. I visited de la Peña in her VR studio at the University of Southern California where I got to experience “Project Syria” for ten minutes. It takes you out of your body and into a scenario where the sound of a car horn forces you to jump back and the sight of flying debris makes you move your hands up for cover. Somewhere, in the back of your mind, you know this isn’t real but your body and your vision do a good job of fooling you. It took me a minute or two to regain my composure but I would do it again in a heartbeat.
What’s difficult to comprehend is not the availability, appeal or accessibility of VR technology, but rather the costs associated with this new medium. “All the way of making these pieces, I have been thinking about how do we make this sustainable,” says de la Peña. It’s challenging and tricky to figure out how to price this content. You’re not just paying for the media but also for the experience you are having.
It’s this element of “experience,” however, that encourages de la Peña that people will pay for the content. VR fits right into the domain of what is called the “experience economy.” We have shifted into an economy where people don’t just want to pay for packaged goods or services but a totality of experience that buying those goods or services brings. The more unique, memorable, engaging and exciting it is, the more the consumer is willing to pay. In this vein, companies like Reebok and Nike frequently host sporting and running events.
“Sure, some of these high-end pieces are expensive,” says de la Peña, speaking of once-in-a-lifetime immersive stories. But for everyday news stories a lot of the elements can actually be produced easily and cost effectively. As an example, she explains that a VR story about the Trayvon Martin shooting could be created in 24 hours. That’s because elements like the car Zimmerman used and the buildings on the street can be easily recreated in the VR landscape by downloading images that offer the right scale and appearance.
John Brandon, of Inc.com, says there is advertising potential in VR. If ads are successfully placed in simulated environments then advertisers will end up funding the costs of content creation. This goes beyond just media and becomes an impressive tool for most businesses.
Pricing could differ based on what de la Peña describes as three tiers of experience. The priciest option is probably where users go to locations like IMAX cinemas to watch or participate in VR movies. “When you try this, you’ll get it,” you’ll get why this high-end walk around thing is so powerful,” she says excitedly.
Then, of course, people may also want to have their own VR set-ups in their homes. There would be a high cost for the initial set up of hardware and software, plus the cost of purchasing the movies, possibly through subscription services like Netflix. But where VR has the greatest potential is with the smartphone.
Content can be downloaded straight to a smartphone and the consumer could use the goggles/headsets created by Oculus Rift or Samsung Gear VR (currently, the two most popular VR headsets). In 2012, these headsets cost around $50,000. But prices are falling rapidly. The latest Oculus Rift is available for $350, and Samsung Gear VR for $200. The mobile content will likely be available through a subscription service (paying x amount per month) or a user could pay per single view.
If it’s possible to price these experiences effectively and make the content accessible, what’s the delay in getting VR to the market? De la Peña explains that there are still some challenges to be overcome before VR goes completely mainstream. For one, there are still too few content creators. That might not seem like a significant hurdle, but there’s a massive learning curve that comes with making this unique form of content and it takes time to build these skills. Oculus has already made software, Oculus Mobile SDK, available to developers to create content for the Gear VR.
VR viewing technology is affordable, accessible and ready for a mass market. The VR content however hasn’t progressed at the same speed, both in terms of quantity and effective pricing models for this content. It’s great that we have the technology for “how we see,” but “what we see” counts most. VR journalism has the potential to go mainstream, whether it does now rests solely with the content creators.
