Following the New York Times’ VR journey

…and some tips for planning out a VR project from the Daily 360 editors!

You’ve probably seen at least one of the NYTimes VR pieces by now. They’ve been in the game for about 18 months , which may not seem that long, but the team is absolutely prolific. Not only are they making larger investments in high production storytelling but in 2016 they committed to producing a daily shot of VR for audiences online and via their apps. Daily. A few years ago, that would have been unimaginable.

I’ve been casually watching this space for a while now, curious more about how the format can transform storytelling experience, than the technology itself. Don’t get me wrong, the tech is fundamental — access to cameras, microphones, software, and hardware for distribution is critical to the ongoing uptake in VR––but none of this matters unless the story is suitable for the format. At a recent meetup with the NYTimes Daily 360 team, they showed a sneak preview of an upcoming series of pieces exploring Antarctica and climate change, and a story that was smuggled out of the Nuba Mountains in Sudan, a place where foreign journalists don’t get access. Both stories are incredibly compelling, allowing viewers to virtually go to remote parts of the world, take a look around, and learn from the people that inhabit these very real places. Both stories give a strong sense of presence in a place as the starting point for this being a VR experience and not a podcast, a tightly framed documentary, or a photo essay/written piece (not to say that other media forms do not give a sense of place — but that telepresence afforded by VR is that much more immersive, the potential for sensory overload is dialled up to 100).

One thing that strikes me, is that at the outset of a VR project, particularly with documentary, you may not always know if VR is going to be better than a linear piece that’s nicely framed, edited, has a point of view, is easy to sit back and watch. But let’s say VR is on the table as an option? The NYTimes editors offered the following tips for planning and executing a shoot:

• Figure out where your story is going to end up first — are you producing for a high end headset, an installation, or something more low key like Facebook? This will help you determine the right camera for the job. You’ll want a more expensive rig for a high end headset, but can get away with cheaper 2K cameras for Facebook. In an installation environment you can think more about opportunities for user feedback and interaction with remotes and binaural sound in the space.
• Storyboarding is still important — but think about presence rather than framing
• Field of view — even though VR is a 360 experience having action all around a viewer is overwhelming, requiring the viewer to be seated in a swivel chair, or to spin on their feet. Most people are comfortable with a forward facing experience, leaning in, and turning their gaze from side to side. So an example: if you’re seated in a circle, have the camera sit with you, and not in the center.
• Think about who the main character is and get plenty of establishing shots.
• It’s very much about audio — what kinds of sounds can you gather to make it feel like you’re there? What interviews do you need to get to tell the story? How can you make it clear, like someone is whispering in your ear? Audio helps with pacing, and can also help with leading a person to look around (we naturally follow the direction of sound).
• In post: start with a radio edit, review footage and then move on to a rough cut/fine stitching/color correction and tiles. (I have found with video projects that starting with the audio edit first and then matching the footage is very efficient and less fiddly so this makes sense to me.)

Have you seen anything in VR lately that left an impression, good or bad? Link me below!