The immersive nature of 360 degree video was of particular interest to the BBC as it offers audiences the chance to interact with content in ways which are complementary to traditional TV broadcast. It also provided an opportunity to get a deeper understanding of workflows which are common to many digital platforms – and this knowledge could be shared with the industry through the BBC’s many partnership and outreach programmes.

Strictly Come Dancing, the award winning show, was chosen for the BBC's first experiment with 360/Virtual Reality to really push the boundaries. Plus the content readily lends itself to a 360 degree piece: amazing visuals made up of high energy movement and numerous points of interest throughout. There was no force fitting the content into the idea. The professionals dance was captured both as a 360 degree piece of content and a full Stereoscopic 'best seat in the house' piece.

Implementation:

Involving Jason Gilkison, the Director of Choreography, early in the process helped to ensure the best footage was captured as the dance could be choreographed in a way to optimise the viewer experience. We flagged where to position the camera to remain inconspicuous but get the best stitch and line of sight - critical to achieving the production standards demanded by the BBC.

Timeline:

We worked within a tight timeframe to turn round the edit in five days.

Placement:

An announcement about the 360 degree content was made within the show, viewers were directed to a BBC microsite and the Strictly Come Dancing Facebook page. It was also hosted on YouTube. A PR campaign pushed the news out.

Scale:

This project was one of the first immersive trials for the BBC. With high-resolution VR devices coming out there is potential for further roll out of the content.

Engagement:

In its 13th Series, Strictly Come Dancing needed new ways to engage fans, the 360 degree content created a landmark moment for the series as it not only became the first BBC show to use this immersive technology to this level but it also “really helped to create one of the most memorable moments in Strictly history; said Jason Gilkison, Director of Choreography.

Reach:

The content was on YouTube 360 player, increasing the reach to anyone with a computer, smartphone or tablet and removing the necessity for any speciality software or equipment. Over 150,000 views in 48 hours made it one of SCD most successful videos.

Impact:

The success of the project has led to the BBC commissioning multiple 360 degree projects including a full episode of BBC Click in 360 and the Natural history unit experimentation with David Attenborough .