We are already on the threshold of another multimedia revolution in which something that for many was unimaginable until today, now seems possible: watch videos on the pages of the printed papers, be it the journals themselves or magazines. Read it again, you’re not reading it wrong.
Since the “augmented reality” set the tone for this change, large companies, from furniture stores to car manufacturers, use this application to display images of their products on printed catalogs.
A smartphone using this application can possibly view videos and images in 360 degrees, from top to bottom, from the corner of a side to the other, or as a semi or full circle, that’s how diverse the view perspective can be for the presentation of a product, and even allow the users to overlay stuff like glasses, furniture or clothes over or around the user’s face or body, on a base picture, before acquiring them.
An extremely spectacular application of this tool was incorporated into the popular Japanese game franchise called Pokemon, specifically featured in “Go”, their most shocking release yet, allowing users to combine both virtual and augmented reality to play the game.
The giant Apple is already betting on “augmented reality” as their greatest priority for boosting their commercial advertising and for the future in general. Their executive director, Tim Cook, has said: “Augmented reality (AR) will reach more people than virtual reality (VR), because it gives us the possibility to be self-aware of the present and communicate, but also allows us to enjoy an extra layer of visual things, whereas virtual reality puts us farther away from reality”.
With this modern application, any printed newspapers can give their readers the option of viewing in multidimensional images or videos, things like graphs or movie ads with the trailers of each movie.
This would be achieved by simply placing the screen of a smartphone over any picture of a news event, or over any advertisement, which would redirect you to a digital demonstrative or informative video of the product in question.
Four years ago we tested this tool in the Listin Diario. It was barely up for usage but still worked as we placed a phone over the cover photo of a news article, as if we were scanning some bar-code, it actually connected us to our website and linked to the video version of that news article. And it continued to work when we tested it over some commercial ads and movie billboards.
We could say that to the extent that the impact of this innovation is proven, some entertainment videos and maybe even full filmographic content will be incorporated.
We’re going through a technological boom that will allow us to create, develop and massify the necessary elements that reinforce multimedia platforms to offer users all the possible options to inform and entertain themselves, in top of buying products.
In the particular case of the printed newspapers, “augmented reality” will allow us to survive the thrust of changes, just like we’re doing by integrating our printed and digital newsrooms together and providing extra audiovisual material, taking advantage of the demands and preferences of the readers and advertisers.
In the changing world of technologies, nothing is absolute. That’s why it’s very important to know each and every one of the innovations to the core and apply them on the multiplatforms according to the capabilities of the journalistic companies and said demands.
Thanks to VR and AR, both of which are adapting to such exigencies right now, the printed media have at their disposal a good source of options to keep betting on their best offers of content.
– Translated from spanish by Randy Rodriguez.
Director's Thoughts 