Sky News has broadcast its first virtual reality news report: Migrants Crisis, The Whole Picture.
The report has been produced with technology from Jaunt Inc and uses a camera with multiple lenses to take a 360-degree moving image.
This can be then viewed with a smartphone placed inside a Google Cardboard VR viewer, which costs around £15.
Sky News director of news output John McAndrew said: “This new technology has enhanced our story telling, giving our viewers a deeper and richer visual experience.
“For the first time we can take viewers to the scene of a news story in a way that is more immersive than ever. The report gives viewers a unique perspective on the migration crisis. By taking them inside the tents where people are living and seeing what it’s like to stand on a crowded beach with possessions scattered along the shoreline, you get a new understanding of what is happening.”
Sky News correspondent Alistair Bunkall said: “The technology means we can challenge the conventions of traditional television news reporting by showing viewers the whole picture, enabling them to see and hear it all for themselves. We can now bring the viewer with us, into the heart of the story, to see what we’re seeing, in places where they would not usually be able to go.”
Sky has been an investor in Jaunt since 2013 and has already used the technology for drama and sports coverage.
To watch the video in VR viewers to need to:
- Buy or make a Cardboard headset
- And download the Jaunt app on iOS or Android.
The video can also be viewed on Youtube.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
