Back in September, Facebook announced that it would begin to offer video support for 360-degree film that are meant to be watched with a virtual reality headset like the Oculus Rift.
GoPro heads to Facebook
Thursday saw the release of GoPro’s third virtual reality film, a surfing spectacle featuring Anthony Walsh and Matahi Drollet. GoPro’s first VR release was a sand dune jumping video with Ronnie Renner with a second set on the ski slopes of Chile. The release yesterday came at the same time that Facebook announced that it would roll out 360-degree video support to mobile devices as well as desktops that had already been enjoying the company’s support. GoPro along with Vice, and Discovery are using the partnership with Facebook to good use.
Here is what Zuckerberg had to say on Facebook yesterday:
We just started launching 360 video on mobile.
360 video is a completely new experience because you can move the camera around. This opens new ways of sharing experiences and makes you feel like you’re part of what you’re watching. It’s a step towards even more immersive experiences.
This video was shot in North Korea by ABC News — and panning around lets you experience the kind of thing most people will never see in their lives.
We think people will share a lot more 360 content in the future, especially as technology makes it easier to record it themselves. We’re excited you can discover them on Facebook.
More from Zuckerberg and Facebook
“We’re really entering into this golden age of video online, where that’s becoming the primary way that people share and consume content online, but I don’t think that that’s the end of the line. There’s always a more immersive and richer way in which you want to experience things,” said Zuckerberg in October while speaking to the limitations of 2D video.
“Every 10 or 15 years, there is a new major platform that comes along,” the CEO concluded. “I do think virtual reality is going to be that.”
“We think people will share a lot more 360 content in the future, especially as technology makes it easier to record it themselves,” he added.
Just last week, Facebook announced that over eight billion videos are watched each day on the social network. Those videos are watched by around 500 million daily visitors to Facebook.
“Viewers will not need a headset to access the new GoPro videos on Facebook,” the company said in a release yesterday. “People can discover these immersive 360 videos right in News Feed on web, iOS, and Android, where viewers can choose what angle they want to see it from.”
“On the web, the content can be explored by dragging the mouse around the video. On Android and iOS devices, viewers can drag their finger across the screen or turn the device on its side to navigate.”
