EBU Members’ 360 and Virtual Reality (VR) work was showcased in London at the largest VR and Augmented Reality (AR) event in Europe on 19-20 October.

VR & AR World hosted thousands of senior level decision makers from over 50 countries for 2 days of innovation, networking and discussion.

The conference provided Members with knowledge and inspiration about trends and best practices in the production of VR storytelling, currently high on their agendas for development.

An EBU-hosted workshop during the event allowed Members to exchange lessons learned from their experiments with VR storytelling and to collaborate and pool resources together to create engaging experiences for the audience with VR content. On this occasion, speakers from BBC, DW, France Télévisions, RTVE, RTÉ, NRK, ZDF and EBU Head of Live Events Jon Ola Sand presented their work at a session produced and moderated by Senior Media Development Manager Madiana Asseraf.

“There are still many unanswered questions regarding the challenges and opportunities of VR storytelling in broadcasting, but the interest in exploring the potential of the topic is clear and we are willing to accompany and guide our Members in this exploration,” said Asseraf.

The workshop discussed questions such as what content works best with 360/VR storytelling, how much we should be investing in VR experiments and how to meet the expectations from the audience regarding 360/VR experiences. It saw examples of 360/VR production for news, entertainment, education, fiction, documentaries, children’s programmes and live events.

Examples of work showcased at the workshop included:

• Fiction: RTVE produced the first-ever (worldwide) VR episode of a fiction series, The Ministry of Time (the user solves a case and travels throughout different periods of time, interacting with characters of the series and at the same stage where the series take place)  
• News: BBC’s VR documentary about a Syrian family that travels across the sea (the user travels with the family), based on interviews made by BBC News 
• Training: DW produced several videos to help other colleagues understand and gain knowledge about how to produce VR content

EBU Manager of Network Solutions Oscar Terán moderated a session about ‘Serving the viewer'. “Technology and content need to align to deliver compelling user experience,” he said.” Keeping quality from acquisition to delivery is a must.”

A Eurovision stand at the exhibition was the central point for broadcasters to meet and discuss needs and possible solutions for the production and distribution of 360/VR content, as well as to find out more about services and the potential to distribute 360 content via the Eurovision network.

The EBU’s Media Director Jean Philip De Tender said the EBU’s presence at VR & AR World event was the first of a series of initiatives and workshops produced to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and the innovation around 360/VR production in broadcasting.

“We are committed to support our Members in their primary role of connecting with all audiences by facilitating the exchange of lessons learned within their exploration of new opportunities, as well as by promoting their work at relevant industry events.”

More information about the event can be found here.