EL PAÍS SEMANAL publishes its first ever virtual reality report 'Fukushima, contaminated lives'

Fukushima, contaminated lives is the first ever EL PAÍS report to use virtual reality. This new format gives readers a much richer experience and allows them to really feel the stories that the newspaper brings them. Filmed in 360 degrees, with immersive sound and allowing readers to stop at some points along the route, Fukushima, contaminated lives is a ten-minute journey through several abandoned villages inside the exclusion zone, from where the inhabitants had to flee on March 11, 2011.

Last February, a journalist from El Pais, a photographer and a film crew traveled to Japan to visit the scene of the Fukushima disaster five years after the tsunami swept the country’s northeast coast – killing 20,000 and causing the worst nuclear accident in history after Chernobyl. The weekly supplement El País Semanal accepted an invitation from Greenpeace to see for itself how radiation levels are still too high to allow the more than 70,000 displaced persons to return to their homes.

Most have not yet been able to return and they continue to live in prefabricated homes or with relatives. Readers can meet victims of the tragedy, will enter into the homes destroyed by the earthquake, will visit the temporary housing where the evacuees live, view a recreation of the accident that deploys three-dimensional computer graphics, and can sail aboard the Rainbow Warrior up to a kilometer and a half away from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Pôwer Plant, in the company of former Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

The shooting of the report took just a week, but the post-production process and the creation of a new application took more than two months. The result, Fukushima, contaminated lives, effectively heralds the launch of EL PAÍS VR, a new channel where the newspaper will publish news content chronicled in virtual reality. The app can be downloaded for iOS and Android and will be able to store all subsequent such reports. 

VIEWING THE REPORT IN VR

There are three main ways to watch Fukushima, contaminated lives in virtual reality. The simplest, but least immersive, is on the El País Youtube channel. The best way to do this is to open the Youtube app on any mobile or tablet device and enjoy the experience by moving the device 360 degrees, depending on the area you wish to observe. It is recommended to do so while standing and wearing headphones. If you have an Android phone and Cardboard glasses (which can be purchased on the Internet), YouTube also allows you to use the virtual reality option and insert your phone into the glasses. If you choose to watch on your computer, you will need to use your mouse and cursor to drag the screen 360 degrees. In all cases, be sure to have a good wifi connection to ensure best picture quality.

The second option is to download the EL PAÍS VR app, available for Android and iOS, and which allows two viewing modes: again by simply moving your mobile device or by coupling your mobile with Cardboard glasses. The app will also be able to store any future VR content.

The third option is to use high-end glasses such as Samsung Gear (for phones of that brand) or Oculus Rift (that connect to your computer). This is the best and most immersive way to experience this report. Whichever option you choose, we recommend using headphones to enjoy greater and deeper immersion in the report.