The Littlstar 360-degree video network is partnering with media company Fusion to bring more original content to the VR startup’s platform.
Littlstar offers a distribution platform for 360-degree videos and photos that works on the Web, Android, iOS and Oculus. Fusion was an early partner, with its own channel when the company launched its Gear VR app in the spring. But now the companies are forging a deeper relationship that will entail sharing technology and the creation of new immersive stories. We’ll have to wait and see what new content comes of the partnership though because details haven’t been revealed yet.
According to Matthew Collado, chief content officer at Littlstar, the startup is looking into branching stories, overlaying data in front of a 360-degree video and using directional audio to improve future content and push beyond simple non-interactive panoramic videos in VR. There’s a ton of content being developed with 360-degree cameras but the lack of interaction and problems with capture methods are turn offs to some early VR adopters who prefer more interactive content generated by game engines. So hearing that Littlstar is exploring ways of improving upon the state of 360-degree videos is an intriguing hint of what’s to come.
Fusion is a news and media company geared toward millennial audiences that was launched as a joint venture of Univision and Disney/ABC. Littlstar recently received an investment from Disney and hosts content from National Geographic, Car and Driver, PBS and many others. Littlstar also licensed its technology to the Discovery Channel for the launch of that network’s VR efforts.
Below I’ve embedded a couple of Fusion’s 360-degree videos that were posted over the last couple months on Littlstar, one about a fusion reactor and the other about climate change as seen in Greenland.
