USA Today Network's head of VR product Robert Padavick likes to say that the team strives to take readers to places they've never been before.
In the past three years, the crew has taken readers on a ride with the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels, on stage at one of Senator Bernie Sanders' campaign rallies and to Cuba. Between the only 5-6 developers, USA Today Network's VR team works on a variety of projects — from 360-degree videos to a weekly virtual reality show produced with YouTube to immersive VR experiences. And Padavick says they were one of the first media groups to recognize VR's importance three years ago.
Today, the McLean, Virginia media company is taking readers inside the USS Eisenhower, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier currently in service by the U.S. Navy.
But instead of just doing a simple 360-degree video like they have in the past — ones that can easily be shared on Facebook and have been shared on the platform by Mark Zuckerberg himself — the scrappy virtual reality team decided to take it one step further.
The USS Eisenhower project is designed to be viewed through the HTC Vive system. Wear the head gear and control what you experience using the Vive's controller. For instance, I was able to travel in a helicopter chopper with some of the crew and fly on one of the aircrafts taking off from the Eisenhower.
"Once we had a sense of what we could do, the buy in from the Navy was pretty spectacular," Padavick said. "During that time, with the Navy, we worked with them in advance to figure out what exactly we need to come up with a great VR experience."
The developers on the team designed the virtual experience so it could be enjoyed in any way you want. You can crouch down and pick up some of the aircrafts on your own; if you're feeling really adventurous, you can toss one into the air (Don't worry, it lands on its feet just like a cat). You can also just crouch down and see the different elements, like paintings on the wall or the side of the ship in pixel-by-pixel detail.
"We know that VR is getting more and more interactive — audiences are increasingly expecting it more," Padavick said. "So from the beginning, when it was coming together, we knew it would be more than just 360-degree video."
Shooting for the video took place a year ago, and in all about 7-8 people were involved in the on-site production process, Padavick said. Videos were shot from the edge of the ship, in flight with some of the jet pilots on deck and throughout the entire carrier during a week of intense combat training ahead of the USS Eisenhower's deployment.
"The Navy really did give us incredible access. Some of the shots you see there, you're virtually standing closer than a human could," he said. "That's really what it's all about — immersing you in this experience that you otherwise couldn't be."
After that, it took about 3-4 months for the small post-production team of about 5-6 people to put together everything — the collection of 360-videos, the availability to see 2-D paintings in a 3-D experience, the animation to make freestyle tossing a plane into the air.
"Not only are you riding in multi-million dollar jets that no one has ever seen before, you get to see a timelapse video of the whole day, and you can see all of the planes taking off," said Alan Davies, who headed up the development side of the experience. "VR isn't just about reality, it's about compressing time, putting the camera in spots where a normal human couldn't listen because it would blow their ear drums out."
Clearly, this isn't USA Today Network and their parent company Gannett's first time around VR. In October, they launched a weekly VR show, "VRtually There" with YouTube, which is now in its second season. USA Today Network also livestreamed President Donald Trump's inauguration in 360-degree video.
"Our team is really tight, but I think we're producing stuff that's pretty cool and unprecedented amongst our industry," Padavick said.
You can't get the whole experience without a Vive headset, but explore the USS Eisenhower in this 360-video:
Images courtesy of USA Today.
