MSA
A DAY IN THE LIFE:
FIREFIGHTER POV
In an effort to bring more bang to the tradeshow floor, Smith Brothers reached out to us with an idea to add a Virtual Reality experience to their MSA booth for the FDIC (Fire Department Instructor Conference) International convention. MSA was, and is, on the forefront of firefighter equipment, and Smith Brothers wanted to highlight their cutting-edge products via cutting-edge technology. What better way to showcase life-saving equipment than putting the viewer in the shoes of a firefighter – in the middle of a burning building?!?
MSA FIRE 360
Client: MSA
Agency: Smith Brothers
To produce this experience we tagged along with a crew of firefighters during a daily training exercise – riding in the firetruck in full gear, responding to a call, and even combating a blaze from inside the burning building, shot live, all in 360 degrees! We built a custom 360 camera rig to capture everything seamlessly, though it was unfortunately a casualty of production – having melted in the burn building. But the footage made it out, and back in the studio we stitched it all together, tracked and composited GFX, and developed a 360 “spatial” audio mix so that the roar of the flames and the crackle of the fire were all encompassing. The end product was about as close as most people will ever get to facing down a house fire and emerging victorious.
The booth was a major hit due in large part to the VR experience. On-site we had two Oculus Rift installations and many more Samsung VR headsets. It seemed to be the talk of the convention, and there was always a queue to get behind the headset. All-in-all, backed by a fantastic booth designed by Smith Brothers, and Dream Syndicate’s Firefighter POV VR experience, MSA was truly the hottest offering at FDIC that year.
Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born. – Dale Turner