So you thought that things couldn’t get more intense than watching GoPro footage of a base jumper soaring through canyons before landing in the snow? Turns out you were wrong. Soon, you can watch it live as well, with all the added tension of a live unfolding drama.
In a mouth-watering move, live-streaming app Periscope and action-camera maker GoPro have announced a partnership which means that GoPro users “can now broadcast their daring adventures live through Twitter’s Periscope app, opening the door to a whole new dimension of real-time video sharing”, according to the Guardian newspaper.
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This collaboration is likely to attract huge interest to events that are of a high-risk nature, as people can’t resist the frisson of watching something that has an uncertain ending. Comedians, musicians and no doubt the porn industry will inevitably find ways to incorporate this into what they do.
Periscope is a live-streaming app owned by Twitter which has enabled journalists, entertainers and regular people at the scene of some unfolding drama to broadcast the action live via Twitter through their smartphones. The app attracted over 10 million users in its first four months and has been a rare ray of hope and promise for Twitter, who are stuck in the throes of a long, dark spell of low growth and declining revenues.
But it’s extreme sports fans who are set to benefit the most, at least in the short term. The new partners will be launching the venture at the high-profile X Games in Aspen, Colorado which take place over the next three days.
The company teased some great footage over the last few days, which you can check out here
Tech blog The Verge explains that “The integration, which currently works on iOS with the GoPro Hero 4 Black and Hero 4 Silver, allows Periscope to recognize a GoPro whenever one is connected to an iPhone.”
The new feature works when a GoPro camera is connected to WiFi and Periscope is open on an iPhone. Users “tap the broadcast button and immediately go live. With a double tap, users can switch between broadcasting from the GoPro and the smartphone camera, and the GoPro will continue to record the footage while it streams.”
So in effect you are getting a multi-camera shoot with a static camera in the iPhone and a travelling GoPro camera at the same time. The possibilities are intriguing and one can only imagine what creative minds will dream up to exploit these possibilities.
Alex Khoshnevissan, head of business operations at Periscope, wrote in an email to The Guardian that “We know that adventure broadcasts will be more immersive; we’re also looking forward to what the multi-camera setup will enable in journalism, comedy and in new areas we have yet to consider.”
This hookup between two of the most cutting-edge emerging companies sounds like the perfect marriage, one of those “Why didn’t I think of that moments?” Time alone will tell if it can revive the flagging fortunes of Twitter, but there is no doubt that users are in for some immersive experiences the likes of which have never been seen live before.
