Interactive 360° Video and Storytelling Tool

Existing 360° video players on the market playback only one type of media in their timeline. This paper introduces a new tool that allows creating interactive 360° videos with storytelling elements that can switch between flat and 360° videos in one timeline. The tool also integrates other media types like images, audio, and web resources that can be interlinked with each other to create one or multiple branched stories via non-linear video technology. The benefits of this approach are far-reaching, i.e., it allows broadcasters to create genres of programming that combine both traditional footage and immersive 360° video segments in one seamless experience. It enables a highly effective and attractive lean-back and lean-in experience for the audience. Moments of immersion can then be coupled with traditional storytelling, which is an attractive option for content creators who can enhance existing material with immersive moments in a way that is cost effective and allows them to fall back on their pre-existing skills as story and program creators. It will pave the way for much broader adoption and production of spherical content among content providers of the first wave, as it lowers the barrier of entry. The tool will enable content producers and editors to create stories in 360° videos and in combination with non-360° media content by providing an easy-to-use web-based editor that targets devices with various characteristics and input capabilities such as TVs, tablets and head-mounted displays (HMDs).