The Weather Channel Uses Immersive Mixed Reality to Bring Weather to Life

In 2015 The Weather Channel introduced its first immersive mixed reality experience to better explain the anatomy of a hurricane According to director of weather presentation Mike Chesterfield in a piece about this technology in Fast Company quotThat was the first aha moment for all of us We were able to put meteorologist Jim Cantore next to a tornado amp8212 and look how much it enhanced the storyquotI had a chance to speak with Michael Potts pictured below vice president of design for The Weather Channel about how the broadcaster decided to use these various immersive technologies to enhance its storytelling capabilities In his role he is responsible for all the presentation design that viewers see on TV as well as in other content across all of the broadcaster39s distribution channels including its OTT product Local NowquotPresentation in the weather space hasn39t changed in decadesquot Potts says But he notes quotWe39re coming to a crossroads in content consumption and viewer appetite across the media landscape where the presentation really matters to the viewersquotOf course no conversation about what The Weather Channel is doing to improve content presentation is complete without first defining the technologies Potts defines immersive mixed reality IMR as simply a quotmore extended realityquotThe use of IMR has allowed The Weather Channel to tell stories in a new way When Hurricane Florence was coming to North Carolina for example meteorologist Dr Erika Navarro was able to combine the traditional colorcoded map with an immersive experience showing what a storm surge truly looks like That approach helps people better understand the power of weather and how it could impact them Potts points out Additionally it helps tell difficult stories such as stories about ice storms or wildfires in a compelling way quotWe won our most recent Emmy really employing immersive mixed realityquot Potts saysThe ability to tell an immersive compelling story is what led to the Emmy but also what captivates viewers quotThis technology allows us to show not sayquot Potts explains quotIt39s our way to make it upfront and bold and real It looks and feels real viewers can imagine themselves there or see it It39s visceralquotWith IMR Potts and his team are also able to create a new way to tell stories that are still being debated such as climate change quotYou can tell the climate story you can show bar charts you can show trends over time the variations and droughts and deforestation and all the other things that go into the reasons why these things happenquot he says quotBut there39s nothing like putting a visual to it and allowing your audience to picture themselves there and feel it It39s a sensory thing where we39re translating the reams of data into a visual storyline that39s impactfulquotFor Potts IMR allows The Weather Channel to enhance its storytelling capabilities to present stories in ways that are beyond conventional production avenues so they hold it to a higher standard Potts makes sure that when his team uses IMR it meets the litmus test of quotShould we do the story a different way Is there another way to produce itquot If they can use more traditional methods amp8212 using location shots for example amp8212 then that39s what they39ll doThe Weather Channel has made sure to bring all of its staff into the process helping its talent understand the role they play in delivering a story using IMR All of the talent goes through quotIMR schoolquot a place for them to learn and share best practices The staff is so excited about using IMR to tell their weather stories that there39s currently a waiting list to use the studio quotThere39s a huge affinity for this kind of content because it really is unlike what anyone else is doingquot Potts saysThe talent aren39t the only ones getting in on the act The Weather Channel is also bringing advertisers into the IMR experience quotWe39re helping to bring messages they care about to lifequot Potts explains For example State Farm partnered with the network to showcase the impact of Hurricane Dorian as it was approaching Florida showing viewers how to best prepare for the storm through immersive mixed reality technologyLastly The Weather Channel has garnered an overwhelmingly positive response from its audience quotI think they39re amazedquot Potts says adding that IMR has led to the highest engagement the broadcaster has ever seen quotThey39re hungry for it amp8230 and I think the reason is we always put our best effort into it we want to make it hyperrealistic and we want it to engage the audience in a way that39s personalquotOne of the factors his team uses to determine IMR39s success is whether the audience is sharing the content According to Potts they39re doing that a great dealIn the future The Weather Channel wants to use immersive mixed reality in its programming on a daily basis quotIt39s a differentiator for our network It tells stories in ways that you just can39t tell themquot Potts explains quotWe39re concepting the experiences on how we39re going to forecast how we39re going to transport people from city to city and explain weather in ways that we39ve never done to datequotIMR has clearly created engagement with The Weather Channel39s talent advertisers and audience As more and more broadcasters look to use IMR in their newscasts know that Potts and his team will be pushing the envelope continuing to explore new ways to tell the important stories of how the weather impacts us today and how it will impact us in the futureClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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The Weather Channel Uses Immersive Mixed Reality to Bring Weather to Life

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David Polinchock

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