Using Virtual Reality to Tell the News
Show, don’t tell.
This is the ultimate goal journalists hope to achieve through the methods they use to provide their audience with information.
All good writers realize the best way to communicate a story is by clearly and visually describing the news the audience needs. That’s why photos are taken, video is produced and dialogue or anecdotes are written.
And with an emerging form of storytelling, the ability to show an audience the news is revolutionizing — virtual reality is creating the power to not only show, but let audience become a part of the news.
Consumers can strap a virtual reality headset on and immediately transport halfway across the world, to a place where they will probably never travel to in real life, but will feel as though they truly are standing, viewing news unfold before them by using virtual reality.
Virtual reality “creates a deep hunger for real-world experiences,” Ian Cleary, vice president of innovation and ideation at Relevent, said in a New York Times article.
What he means is if we have the ability to do anything, we want to. So, why not let news watchers be apart of the story rather than watching from the sidelines, if it’s possible to let them be apart of it.
Showing the news
What makes virtual reality so compelling for the news?
Firstly, virtual reality, with its 360 degree video and immersive headset technology creates the illusion that you are truly a part of the virtual environment.
This is known as a ‘notion of presence.’
Presence is “the perception of being physically present in a nonphysical world, or a state of consciousness where the VR user experiences a simulated experience that appears real and thus feels real,” according to Sara Marinkovic in an article for Tech Crunch.
According to Richard Trenholm in an article from CNET, there are four factors contributing to the feeling of presence within virtual reality.
- The illusion of a stable space
- The illusion of self-awareness
- The illusion of interaction
- The illusion of social collaboration
Trenholm said stable space involves seeing the world around you. With virtual reality headsets, you can literally turn your head and see the fragment of the world captured in any direction.
This video shows that a person can literally spin their entire body around and see something new. They can also interact with the shoes and drone in this video.
Self awareness, which Trenholm callls ‘self-embodiment,’ involves understanding and tracking your own movements within the virtual space. This means the person using the headset understands or even sees where their hands or feet are in relation to the virtual space around them.
Interaction within the virtual environment involves touching, feeling and moving the space around you.
Social collaboration is movement and interaction with another person within the virtual space.
Trenhold said the later three factors are still pretty much in the development phase.
For breaking news, I don’t think that virtual reality users will ever be able to go past an understanding of stable space because of the nature of the content. Breaking news will happen fast, with little opportunity to create interactive features for users.
I’m not sure if interaction with environment or with others within the environment should ever occur because a news video should not be tampered with as you are displaying facts, and if a viewer interacts with it too much then they may be changing the course of the event in their own “reality.”
What is captivating about virtual reality news is the ability to be so close to the action without physically being present next to it.
A virtual reality story will take a viewer to an event they would never have been able to attend or a place they might not ever be able to travel to.
The technology will also let viewers take a peak into a life they will never live.
“The technology can enable us to figuratively walk in another’s shoes, leading to greater understanding and empathy. We are witnessing the dawn of a new medium with VR that could revolutionize storytelling,” said Marinkovic in a Fortune article when the Associated Press released its virtual reality plans.
Because of this, virtual Reality has all the makings of a incredible platform for feature story telling.
It allows the viewer to spend one-on-one time with a subject in its nature surrounding and in a very up close and personal way.
A great example of this is the New York Times pioneering attempt at virtual reality news feature called “The Displaced.”
The New York Times “The Displaced” is the story of three children who were “driven from their homes by war and persecution.” You follow them around on parts of their daily lives to see what it is like to live in these countries full of war and strife.
This is a video on desktop (how you should really view it is with the app on a mobile device and with Google Cardboard) that gives you a preview of “The Displaced.” You can click to drag around and see from different angles.
Even though virtual reality is a great platform for feature storytelling, I see a place for breaking news with virtual reality, too.
I think this connects with something an article from World News Publishing Focus calls the “wow” effect.
People are stunned by virtual reality. Watch someone try it out for the first time and their reaction is always quite similar — it’s full of awe and amazement that something like this exists.
This video shows first reactions to virtual reality.
I think that tying the stunning nature of the technology would pair well with the stunning nature of breaking news.
A reporter could take out a 360 camera, film what is happening and within minutes have a video posted where viewers could be at the scene of a major event such as a bombing or natural disaster.
I think using virtual reality for breaking news is the next big leap for news organizations around the world. I think it is possible as technology begins to evolve and become more commonplace. I think it would really capture all news viewers, young and old.
The Role of the Reporter
When filming for virtual reality, because it requires a full view of the scene — a 360 degree view — naturally the camera will pick up the person filming the piece unless they manipulate the shot so that they are not within the scene.
There are varying opinions on the role of a reporter in a virtual reality piece.
When the New York Times created its virtual reality story, ‘The Displaced,” the reporters strapped a camera to their subjects bike and told him to go about his day.
This is very similar to USA Today’s use of virtual reality to explore Havana, Cuba by attaching a camera to the hood of a car.
This is one school of thought. That the reporter may have to interact with subjects at first then step back and capture the action.
I think this works for documentary style pieces, if reporters place a camera and then back away from the scene, allowing nomral routines to take place.
In an article from the Poynter Institute about “The Displaced”, Bejamin Mullin seems to disagree however, saying the camera may be too “obtrusive” and that“The New York Times altered Oleg’s routine slightly by placing equipment on his bicycle before his trip down the street.”
I think there may be some room for error, if a subject knows they are being recorded they won’t truly live their usual life perhaps, but wouldn’t this influence reporters even if they aren’t straping a 360 degree camera to a child’s bike?
I think this is a perfectly acceptable way to document a more feature-like story.
I also think there may be a place for reporters in the 360 degree films, especially for breaking news — which neither Mullin nor Kent seem to address in their articles.
For breaking news, it is impossible for reporters to interact with subjects beforehand—so setting up a camera on a bike will not work. They just have to pull it out and capture what is going on.
In this case, one article from the World News Publishing Focus, says it is ok for the reporter to be in the shot, as long as they are showing the scene and guiding the viewer.
Another article on Medium by Tom Kent, Standards Editor for the Associated Press, said it might be beneficial to have cues that encourage the viewer to “to look all the way around at the imagery that is included” because by doing this they are able to get the full story.
I agree. I see it almost like broadcast news, a reporter on the scene guides the viewers to the parts of the videos that they should be viewing with verbal cues such “if you look behind you” or “to your right you will see.”
This actually would help with the sometimes overwhelming amount of things to look at in 360 degree video. It would help keep a focus to the story, although viewers could still explore if that is what they want.
Viewer Comfort
One physical difficulty that must be addressed for storytelling purposes of virtual reality is the nauseated sensation viewers will feel because “the eyes and ears tell the brain one story,” according to an article from the New York Times, “while deeper systems…contradict it.”
These deeper body systems include the endocrine system, which registers stress; the vestibular, which governs balance; and others, which make spatial sense of the body’s position and movements.
Many virtual reality stories will make the viewer feel like they are moving and interacting when they in reality are not much.
This is something to consider when creating a video. You do not want to cause your viewers to throw up.
The speed and camera stabilization are important, according to Nonny de la Peña in an article from Poynter Institute.
“Lock your camera to do shots,” Peña said.
When cameras move, the body thinks it is moving, too, she said.
My Own Attempt
Students at the University of Arizona School of Journalism used virtual reality technology to create a story about an All Souls parade in their downtown area.
This made me think about some of the things in Athens that would make a good virtual reality story, things that would contain a wow factor and might be something viewers will never be able to attend or do.
For example, the Twilight bike races coming up in the spring are a perfect example of a “wow factor” event and if I attached a camera to one of the racers, this is something most viewers would never experience in their lifetime.
Another good virtual reality story in downtown Athens would be AthFest in the summer or a street fest such as the International Street Fest in about a week. Even just placing the camera in a certain spot and leaving it there the entire day might be a way to keep the journalist out of the shot, but still capture the fun of the event. Or maybe placing it on a stage or if necessary, leading the audience through the event.
I think an interesting breaking news piece could have been filming at the bomb threat in downtown Athens at the courthouse. During the bomb threat, a UGA professor was married on the street—he and his fiancee— had plans to marry in the courthouse which was obviously closed. It would have been neat to watch the two marry, while simultaneously watching the police investigate and go in and out of the courthouse.
My attempt at the filming a news feature was at the Great Southland Stampede Rodeo. When filming, I struggled with deciding how to position myself and the camera.
In some of my trials, I held the camera, but it was strange because I could not give a report or guide the viewer anywhere because the event was focused on a massive ring in the center which already had an announcer.
I decided to place the camera on a sidewall and let it capture the movement inside the ring and the enthusiastic fans in the background. I thought this was the best way to film the rodeo given the circumstances.
I wished I could have attached it to one of the performers or animals in some way to capture the action first-hand, but unfortunately I think they might have put the camera in danger.
Check out the video I made below:
