Google and the NFL today announced season two of Immersed, the multi-episode docuseries following NFL players on and off the field. The first three episodes are available today on Daydream through YouTube VR and the NFL’s YouTube channel.
According to Google’s announcement, the second season of Immersed aims to give football fans an even greater in-depth look at some of the NFL’s most unique personalities. Departing somewhat from the first season, which was a more general slice of football culture, the second season focuses “on players who are making a difference on and off the field,” says NFL Films Producer Jason Weber.
Episodes are broken up into three multi-episode ‘arcs’, which feature a number of players. The first three episodes follow Chris Long, defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles. Future episodes will feature Calais Campbell of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and players from the 2018 Pro Bowl coming soon. Pro Bowl voting is now open, so there’s still no telling who will be featured in those future episodes.
Google has worked with NFL Films to not only help produce the series, but also demonstrate the power of Jump, Google’s platform for VR video capture that combines high-quality 360 cameras and automated stitching. The second season of Immersed was shot with latest Jump camera, the YI HALO, a 3D 360 camera composed of a total of 17 individual Yi camera units.
“VR is such a strong vehicle for empathy, and we wanted to focus the segments on players who are making a difference on and off the field,” says Weber. “Chris Long is having a tremendous season with the Eagles as part of one of the best defenses in football, but his impact off the field is equally inspiring. Calais Campbell is a larger-than-life character whose influence is being felt on the resurgent Jaguars and throughout his new community in Jacksonville. And the Pro Bowl is a unique event where all of the best players come to have fun, and the relaxed setting gives us a chance to put cameras where they normally can’t go, giving viewers a true feeling of what it’s like to play with the NFL’s finest.”
Weber says the Yi Halo’s unique upward-facing camera makes a big difference when capturing football in 360.
“[T]here’s a lot happening in that space that would get lost without it. We can now place a camera in front of a quarterback and have him throw the ball over the Halo, giving a viewer a more realistic view of that scene.” Not only that, the upward-facing camera better captures the pregame flyover. Woosh.