Sky News airs first virtual reality report on migrant crisis

Pay TV operator Sky’s Sky News service has launched its first virtual reality news report.

The report,  on the migrant crisis in Europe, will take “viewers to the front line of Europe’s migration crisis in Greece enabling them to see for themselves what is happening there”, according to Sky News.

The report, Migrants Crisis – The Whole Picture, has been made in collaboration with Jaunt, the virtual reality company in which Sky is an investor along with Disney and ProSiebenSat.1.

The report was filmed with the Jaunt ONE VR camera, and the report was shot by Sky News correspondent Alistair Bunkall, alongside Sky News cameraman Adam Murch and Kenny Voelker from Jaunt.

Sky made an additional US$900,000 (€850,000) investment in Jaunt in September, as part of a Disney-led US$65 million funding round. Sky said at the time that it would work with Jaunt to film more original virtual reality content, having tested the technology with earlier Sky original productions including Critical, Penny Dreadful, Trollied, Fortitude and Got to Dance, as well as sports including boxing and motor racing.

John McAndrew, director of news output, Sky News, 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.”

Alistair Bunkall, specialist correspondent, Sky News said: “The new camera allowed us to record 360 degree views. 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.”