<div class=”block-paragraph”><div class=”rich-text”><p>There’s already a huge amount of innovation in virtual reality and immersive storytelling—with many newsrooms experimenting and succeeding in the field—but for some, the ability to create 360 content can still be limited.</p><p>Perhaps predicting the rise of 360 technology, in 2014 Australian creative agency <a href=”http://grumpysailor.com/ “>Grumpy Sailor</a> worked with Google’s Creative Lab in Sydney on an experiment called <a href=”https://storyspheres.com/”>Story Spheres</a>, which stitches together photos and audio. It allows journalists, documentary makers and educators to tell powerful stories if they don’t have access to video. </p><p>Working with the same team behind the first prototype, the <a href=”http://g.co/newslab”>Google News Lab</a> is now supporting the next iteration of the project. Today new features will help publishers—from individual journalists to large newsrooms—create and brand their immersive audio experiences. A new <a href=”https://storyspheres.com/”>website</a> will help journalists brand their creations with their own logos, help them credit their work and embed it on their own website. It’s now even simpler to upload a 360 image, edit the imagery, add an audio layer and navigate from one experience to another.</p></div></div>
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<div class=”block-paragraph”><div class=”rich-text”><p>In the UK, <a href=”http://www.trinitymirror.com/”>Trinity Mirror</a> has already experimented with the new tool: The Liverpool Echo took their readers through the <a href=”https://storyspheres.com/scene/54g9tfgZ”>famous dockyards</a> of the city, and the Manchester Evening News provided a snapshot of the flowers and balloons placed in <a href=”https://storyspheres.com/scene/JYcn3FBB”>St Ann’s Square</a> as a tribute for the Manchester terrorist attacks. In Norway, Nettavisen has been experimenting with the tool by giving their readers a glimpse at the <a href=”http://www.nettavisen.no/livsstil/her-er-podcastene-du-br-hre-i-sommer/3423356246.html”>best podcasts</a> for their readers this summer.</p><p>Emily McCartney, a coder and “techxplorer” at <a href=”http://grumpysailor.com/”>Grumpy Sailor</a>, says the improved tool will help users, too: “There’s so much news to consume, and people want to be able to jump between stories without losing any time, and Story Spheres help you do that.”</p><p><a href=”http://storyspheres.com”>Discover the tool for yourself</a>, made by Grumpy Sailor with the support of Creative Lab in Sydney and the Google News Lab.</p></div></div>
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