A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a virtual reality event at Discovery Communications through the Alliance for Women in Media. The first hour of the event was spent socializing and experiencing the Virtual Reality headsets. Discovery had a well-executed sizzle reel that brought us to the bottom of the ocean, led us right next to elephants at a watering hole, and put us on skis going down a mountain. With the 360 view and sounds from my headphones, I felt like I was there. The only thing I couldn’t see was my body. Currently, most videos are made with 7 GoPros in the formation of a ball. The newest move is to use stereoscopic recording, with 14 cameras where one acts for each eye. This creates a higher quality and depth perception, but can be a little harder to handle for those prone to motion sickness.
The presentation started by quoting Susan Wojcicki, the CEO of YouTube, who said that virtual reality is going to be as disruptive as mobile. If you’re like me, you’re probably skeptical about the practicality of using virtual reality in mass media. But the limit is really just our imaginations. Apple has over 100 members on its staff dedicated to just virtual reality development. Automotive and advertising companies are using them to create experiences using their products. Discovery Communications takes their fans to the mining zones in the Klondike region of the Yukon where their TV show Gold Rush takes place. It isn’t just a video where what you are looking at is decided by the director. You can look at the roof the house, the dirt floors below, and all the little details in every part of the room creating a much larger sense of empathy. Travel agencies are moving to incorporate the experience so that you can virtually visit your destination before you book your trip. Medical schools are using the goggles to stimulate being in the operating room for its students. Psychiatrists can put on the headsets and feel like they have schizophrenia to be able to relate more to their patients. Soon enough, it is predicted that virtual reality will be common place in the classroom where students will ‘experience’ the events and places they read about in their textbooks.
Two of the limitations are that the user has to seek out the content, and that the true VR experience requires a headset. Content creators for VR need to have a good grasp on what is and isn’t for VR. It is important not to create a 360 experience just to do it, but instead to create something that people want to see. A lot of people will be willing to feel like they are flying, swimming with dolphins or visiting a rainforest. Not as many people want to visit the inside of the newest Toyota. As far as the current headsets go, most people can only wear the consumer ones for about 10 minutes before they start to sweat, or it feels too tight. The more elite oculus headsets are more wearable but not as accessible.