Imagine picking up your mobile phone and tapping a link.
With one click, you are immersed into the past, drawn to the present, or flown forward to the predicted future. Your smartphone transforms into a nuanced storytelling tool, providing a 360-degree view - under your power – to choose how the story unfolds.
The Michigan State University School of Journalism is in the global forefront of teaching and using 360-immersive technology to enhance storytelling. The next evolution of Michigan State’s leading Immersive Journalism program will happen in Spring 2017, as the school will partner with the new Viar360 platform to create interactive stories for mobile platforms.
Students will be creating immersive content packages for animation, news and sports, through the innovative Viar360 platform. Michigan State Journalism students already have started using the platform, producing content for the MI First Election, the school’s 2016 election cycle multimedia website.
Scheduled Spring 2017 semester journalism courses will have students authoring content using the Viar360 platform for interactive immersive experiences for the public.
“We are excited to have Viar360 as one of our strategic partners in our ever-growing Immersive Journalism initiative at Michigan State University,” said School of Journalism faculty member Professor Stacey Fox, who heads the Immersive Journalism initiative. “Our students are enthusiastically crafting on a platform that allows them to create deep-dive, interactive 360-degree stories for the world."
Professor Joanne C. Gerstner, the School of Journalism’s Sports Journalist in Residence, added. “Having our sports journalism students working with Viar360’s innovative technology enables us to teach them new storytelling techniques. Our goal is to deepen the interactive experience of strong journalism. We’re all very excited for this opportunity to create dynamic, layered projects.”
Viar Inc. is a content management system company for virtual reality, based in Slovenia and Seattle. Their new Viar360 platform allows the storyteller to create 360-degree cinematic virtual reality interactive experiences for mobile platforms.
“VIAR is incredibly excited to partner with a prestigious journalistic school such as Michigan State University’s School of Journalism. We wish to enable storytellers to tell their stories through the powerful new medium with ease. Together we will build a tool for creating powerful stories even better than ever before,” said Dejan Gajsek, Product Manager & CMO, VIAR, Inc.
For information on Viar360: http://www.viar360.com/