Climate Change Related VR videos and Background Information
There is a rapid growth of interactive virtual reality (VR) videos being created about climate change related issues around the world. These VR videos can serve as an empathy-building communications tool to increase awareness of climate change-related issues and the urgent need for action. Given below is a summary of information including associated links:
A. Existing Climate Change related VR videos and background information:
Given below are some existing VR simulations relating to climate change:
- CNN’s 360 Video Initiative on Arctic Melt
- With.in – Extraordinary Stories in Virtual Reality
- Visit CSAN’s video gallery & click: Climate VR & Related button
- The Crystal Reef | 360-Degree VR Experience
- Greenland, where Climate Change meets the eye: A 360 VR experience
- Climate Change in Fiji in VR: ‘Our Home, Our People’
- Arctic 360° | Guardian VR
- Antarctica: 360° Virtual Reality Experience
- Antarctica in Decline (2017) – Documentary & Video game
- Navigate the glaciers, volcanoes and terrain of Iceland
B. Links to VR project websites and apps such as:
- United Nations Virtual Reality
- Understanding Climate Change through Virtual Reality
- VR for Impact
- iPhone App: Share the Science: Climate Change VR 4+
- Google Play App: Climate Access Look Ahead SF
C. Some Ways of Viewing VR:
The options for viewing VR videos has increased substantially. Some examples are shown below:
- Visit a VR Arcade such as the House of VR in Toronto.
- Visit a public library with VR equipment such as Toronto Public Library’s six Digital Innovation Hubs, which are located in these library branches: Agincourt, Albion, Downsview, Fort York, Scarborough Civic Centre and Toronto Reference Library.
- Visit a Microsoft Store Location such as the one at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto.
- Purchase a VR Viewer such as the $50 Gear VR and the $10 Google Cardboard and insert an appropriate smart phone in it such as the Samsung S7 phone. You can also purchase VR headsets for iPhones.
- Rent VR headsets from companies such as LumiereVR, which can also help you host VR related events at a location of your choosing.
In addition, VR videos can be viewed in a basic way on most internet browsers via YouTube. For example, visit Antarctica: 360° Virtual Reality Experience, and then use your mouse or trackpad to rotate the camera angle while the video is playing.
D. Some Ways of Editing VR:
- Free 360 Video Editing Software: DaVinci Resolve Video about DaVinci Resolve: LINK.
- Video about Best 360 Video Editing Software for Mac and PC (Commercial software).
- Video about How to Edit 360 Video.
E. Some initiatives to create more VR content about about climate change:
There are many initiatives underway to generate more 360-style VR video content about climate change issues. Given below are a few of them:
- Uniting 4 Climate 360 Video Pitch Competition
- Lookout 360 – A 6-month Climate Change Immersive Story Accelerator