{"id":19430,"date":"2017-01-16T07:36:44","date_gmt":"2017-01-16T07:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=19430"},"modified":"2017-01-16T07:36:44","modified_gmt":"2017-01-16T07:36:44","slug":"obamas-lead-white-house-tour-virtually-help-oculus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/technology\/obamas-lead-white-house-tour-virtually-help-oculus.html","title":{"rendered":"Obamas lead a White House tour virtually, with help from Oculus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Obamas lead a White House tour virtually, with help from Oculus<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Obamas lead a White House tour virtually, with help from Oculus:-<\/strong> President Obama wants to give you access to the Oval Office\u2014at least virtually.<\/span><\/p>\n

The broad promise of virtual reality is that it can put us in situations or take us to places that are typically out of reach to the average person. And what could be more out of reach to most of us than the Oval Office, Situation Room and numerous other areas inside the White House that are off limits even to those visiting 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on an official tour?<\/span><\/p>\n

Now as part of The People\u2019s House: Inside The White House With Barack And Michelle Obama, a Facebook 360 and VR experience that is being released starting today, the President and First Lady serve as narrators and guide you through the West Wing and parts of the executive\u2019s residence, giving a personal and historical perspective as you tour.<\/span><\/p>\n

Facebook-owned Oculus teamed up with a VR studio called Felix & Paul Studios and the White House, to produce the experience, which is being released in two parts, initially as an 8-minute 360-degree preview that you can watch via Facebook, or by wearing an Oculus Rift or Samsung Gear VR headset. It will cover nine rooms, and is a preface to the longer more fully immersive stereoscopic VR version for the Rift or Gear VR that comes later, most likely after the Trumps move in. This second piece will last about 20 minutes and give viewers virtual access to about twice as many rooms within the White House. Both experiences are free.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all felt the need to release something good before the change of administrations,\u201d says F\u00e9lix Lajeunesse, co-founder and creative director of Felix & Paul Studios.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019re meant to watch the experiences from start to finish, rather than jump from room to room. The filming took place in November and December. Though the voice-over narrations read by the Obamas were scripted, there are moments during your tour\u2014a session in the Oval Office, for example–where the President is talking directly into the camera. \u201cThe idea is to make it feel like it\u2019s not an interview but someone talking to you in a very conversational way,\u201d explains Lajeunesse. \u201cThe point is you have a one-on-one moment with the President.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

President Obama participated in another virtual experience last year in Yosemite during the National Park Centennial. Oculus and Felix & Paul Studios were involved in that project as well, along with National Geographic.<\/span><\/p>\n

In The People\u2019s House, President Obama remarks that, \u201cMichelle and I always joke, \u2018we\u2019re just renters here\u2019 … the owners are the American people and all those invested in creating this amazing place with so much history. What we wanted to do is make sure that everybody felt they had access to the White House… that as many people as possible could come in and appreciate the place where Lincoln, FDR, or Reagan made the decisions that helped to shape America.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the more personal scenes, the First Lady shows off the renovated family dining room. And you get to see the Obama family dogs, Bo and Sunny, in the Rose Garden.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the longer yet-to-be-released piece, you\u2019ll also get to explore Vice President Joe Biden\u2019s office.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of exclusive access in this piece that has never really been granted before,\u201d says Lajeunesse.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the things that I observed in watching the preview: the Oval Office appears to be smaller than it does in most other pictures that you see.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery president moves to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with the full awareness that it is a temporary address,\u201d President Obama noted in the experience. \u201cThis is where we watched our daughters grow up. This is where we came to know the talented, devoted, optimistic Americans from every corner of the country and every station in life. Because as beautiful as these buildings are, it\u2019s the people in them and the work that\u2019s done here\u2026 the triumphs and tragedies you experience over the course of your years here\u2014that\u2019s what imbues this place with meaning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/tech\/columnist\/baig\/2017\/01\/13\/obamas-lead-white-house-tour-virtually-help-oculus\/96532192\/<\/span><\/div>\n

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