In this blog, I'll be giving you some of my top tips for creating content in CenarioVR®.
A little about me: I'm an elearning developer for Transition Associates and Video Interact, and I have been working with CenarioVR® since its beta launch in 2018. I have created courses for the fashion, health and safety, construction, automotive and healthcare industries with many more on the way.
1. Plan, plan, plan! To enable a smooth, stress-free experience inside CenarioVR®, plan your learning well. Nail down the user experience and interface goals of your learning before you even open up CenarioVR®. My habit is to draw the user experience out on my notepad as we discuss it with a client - it really makes you think about the learner's journey.
2. Split up your content Asking a user to watch a 15min+ long video with no breaks is just... ouch (especially when in a VR headset). Try breaking up your scene into bitesize chunks, around 1-5 mins. This makes the content more digestible and gives the user a sense of steady achievement.
3. Check 360 video dimensions Be sure to check that your 360 video dimensions are suitable for your target device. Headsets and desktops/laptops can handle 4K (3840x1920), but other devices like phones and tablets need a more forgiving video quality (1920x960, HD).
If a client needs the content on both headsets and mobile devices, I suggest creating two versions of the course; one with 4K footage, the other with reduced HD footage. The process for this would be to create either the 4K or HD version of the course first, get that signed off, then duplicate and replace the footage with either the 4K or HD versions.
4. Use simple menus Make it clear to the user what they will be learning. If I have 10 scenes, I will include 10 menu items displaying the name of the scene and how long it will take to complete, along with a visual thumbnail (usually a screenshot) of the scene.
In the example below, we positioned the scenes depending the Bed/Station locations. As this wasn't in a linear order, we added a circle highlight so the user always knew where they should be going next.
5. Think about navigation Be sure to include a pop up menu, so that no matter where your user is in the learning they can always find their way back to the main menu.
6. Customise the user interface Customise the user interface depending on the target device. Mobile will need larger, clear text and buttons. How will your buttons appear in landscape and portrait mode? If in doubt, create a test scenario and play around with the size and positioning of content.
7. Fill your scene Give your learner something to do! Watching a 360 film with nothing to do can become stale. Be sure to add plenty of meaningful activities and additional information i.e. pop up interview videos and quick questions.
8. Look for inspiration The Public section on the CenarioVR® app contains a host of projects from all over the globe (some brilliant and others not so polished!). It's always good to see how others approach creating content in CenarioVR®.
9. Remember you're not alone The CenarioVR® forum on ELB Learning ROCKSTARS Community is great place to ask for advice and share feature requests.
10. Practise, practise, practise! Every time you use CenarioVR® you will feel yourself becoming more confident with the tool, allowing yourself to think bigger in terms of what you can create. So practise, play, and see what works best for you.
Summary
This has been an overview of some of my top tips in CenarioVR®. Stay tuned for future posts on helpful tips and tricks for creating your 360 VR content.
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If you have any questions, are interested in us producing CenarioVR® content for you, or would like a live product demo, please get in touch using the contact form at the bottom of this page.