Google's Spotlight Stories began as a partnership with Motorola to make made-for-mobile 360-degree videos. Animators and engineers created the videos to give viewers a unique experience, and The Verge reports that the latest film, "Special Delivery" just arrived. The new video has a holiday theme and was created by Aardman Animations, the company behind Wallace and Gromit.
Spotlight Stories use the sensors in your phone to make watching the video an interactive experience. For example, if you look away from the main character, then the main story pauses and you unlock other mini stories that only play when you focus on them. Earlier Spotlight Stories shows required a special app for viewing, but now they play directly on YouTube.
The new show follows a caretaker who was just going about his day until he was disturbed by a mysterious stranger on the roof (any guesses for who it could be at this time of year?). The viewer can follow him to find out who the visitor is, or make their own story by looking elsewhere around the screen. The video is only optimized for some Android phones (the full list is below), but you could also watch it in 3D with Cardboard on whatever phone you have.
Supported Devices:
- Nexus 5, 6;
- Moto X Gen 1st, 2nd;
- Moto G Gen 1st, 2nd;
- Droid Ultra, Turbo, Maxx;
- Samsung Galaxy S5;
- Samsung Galaxy Note 3, 4, Edge;
- LG G2, G3;
- Sony Xperia, Z2, Z3, Z3 Compact;
- HTC One M7, M8; Nexus 7 (2013);
- Nexus 10;
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S2
And if all else fails, you can still watch the story - just without the fancy parts.