How Slate is applying podcasting lessons to test out VR

Mindful of these issues, Slate decided to take a half-step into VR by initially creating the show in 2-D. That way, it’ll be widely available on any platform Slate currently puts video on, but it can be translated to true VR once headsets become more widely adopted.

For the format, Slate is applying what it’s learned from 11 years of doing podcasts and launching a podcast network, Panoply. While other publishers like The New York Times and USA Today have used VR to take viewers to remote or faraway places, Slate decided it should translate what it’s best at, which is starting conversations, to VR. It also knew the importance of appearing on a regular schedule.

“Podcasts taught us, you got to create that habit,” said David Stern, Slate’s head of product.

A rough prototype Slate is showing advertisers features avatar talking heads of Forrest Wickman, Slate’s culture editor, and Slate film critic Dana Stevens in a simulated movie theater discussing movie history. The publisher is talking to marketers in the entertainment, tech, food, retail and hotel industries about advertising on the show, which could take the form of standard title and end cards and custom integration. “Brands want to have a first-mover advantage and engage users,” said Kenley Bradstreet, head of sales for Slate.

VR can take a lot of expertise and money to produce, which is another reason publishers have been reluctant to dive in. Slate isn’t breaking the bank, though. A handful of people including Stern have spent minimal time on the format, and the publisher used game development software Unity’s platform and worked with VR studio Balti Virtual to create the prototype. Rather than send a crew to a far-flung place, it’ll shoot the show right in its studio and supplement it with stock footage. The result might be less dazzling, but it also means Slate won’t need a sponsor to do the show.

“We’re saying, let’s figure this out now and bridge the gap for people interested in using the technology,” Bradstreet said, “and when people have headsets, we’ll see more adoption and we’ll already have our legs under us.”

Image: Courtesy of Slate