No Small Talk

A VR Experience for The BBC

BBC VR Talk Show

In our first project with the BBC, No Small Talk is a VR talk show. Our co-producer was Lyristic.

Millennial Women

The show is aimed at millennial women and designed for viewing on Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR. The show lets its audience sit in on a conversation between two wellknown, inspiring women; Cherry Healey and Emma Gannon, while they discuss the big ideas that underpin our daily life, and the changing world around us. No Small Talk has been produced with the clear goal of creating a VR experience that is accessible to women. U.S research shows that male VR usage is almost double that of female VR usage (YouView, 2016).

We are thrilled to be launching No Small Talk with the BBC. Some of my most enlightening life moments have been because of great conversations. We set out to use the power of virtual reality to scale the magic of conversation; inspiring our audience to get together with friends, put down their smartphones and have their own small-talk-free conversations.
— Catherine Allen - Executive Producer, Lyristic

The Art Of Conversation

The show’s producers also set out to test their hypothesis that natural conversation is one of the best ways to convey and develop ideas. VR can enhance that conversation and invites users to be part of the discussion.

We had a clear goal to try and create a VR format that felt immersive, unique and fulfilled the challenge of delivering a vibrant editorial that was intimate, surprising and accessible to women. We wanted to ensure that the viewer felt part of the conversation but we also wanted to devise tools to enhance the experience beyond just having a seat at the table. The combination of the narrative, environment, camera positioning and visual effects all work together to deliver a unique experience that we believe offers the audience something different and compelling.
— Darren Emerson - Director, East City Films