Any fan can only imagine how it feels to step up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with the game on the line, one out left with a tied game. There are thousands of fans watching your every swing, and thousands more watching at home. The sound of screaming fans is adding to the burden of the game.
Gatorade is giving users the chance to experience pressure felt by athletes by partnering with OMD’s Zero Code and The Mill. After hours of production, 14 GoPros, and an empty Nationals stadium, Gatorade was able to incorporate action and imagery in one virtual reality experience.
The combination of live action, computer-generated imagery and binaural audio allows fans to feel like they are in the middle of the game. The 360-degree video puts users in the shoes of Washington Nationals all-star Bryce Harper in Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Fans can look at the pitcher and see how fast the pitches are thrown, or look back at the catcher and the fans surrounding Harper. Not only can you be in Harper’s shoes and listen to his thoughts, you can hear an authentic in-game audio of the crowd and announcers from a Nationals home game. As soon as the pitcher throws the ball, you can hear Harper expressing his thoughts, “Sinker down, that’s not going to work.”
“They did a great job with it. Everybody’s going to really see the first-person perspective of Nationals Park, leading up from the on-deck circle into the box, seeing Jim Joyce behind the plate, the pitcher throwing off speed pitches, heaters,” said Harper. “People really want to know the emotion, the feeling of the bottom of the ninth, trying to win a game for their team.”
The Gatorade Bryce Harper Virtual Experience illustrates how the program was brought to life. The ever-improving technological world is putting fans closer than ever to athletes and this virtual reality is the first experience for fans to be in the shoes of a player.
“This is the beginning, just to get a taste, to get what’s in Bryce Harper’s head while he’s on the field,” Dario Raciti, the U.S. director for Zero Code commented. “Then, it will evolve into something that’s more interactive than it is now. Where people can actually learn how to play.”