Help, where are the helpers?
WHITESTAG has produced two virtual reality films 360° 3D for the voluntary work in civil protection on behalf of the Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe Regionalverband Südbrandenburg and the district Oberspreewald Lausitz. 90% of all operations in civil protection are carried out by volunteers. Just imagine, there is a fire and nobody comes! If we did not have all the support of volunteers, we would be helpless in disaster situations. The goal of these two commercials is to inspire many people, even young ones, to become volunteers in disaster management.
For this purpose, Walter Schönenbröcher, head of WHITESTAG, as director and producer, has come up with two realistic scenarios that show how help is provided in a disaster situation. The starting situation in each case is a party. For the Johanniter, there is a barbecue and dancing outside at the Kiessee Maust in beautiful weather. On the way back, a car driver suddenly crashes into the young persons, who lose consciousness due to a sudden heart attack. At the OSL, an illegal big party is secretly going on in the former colliery house in Senftenberg, when suddenly there is a bang and a fire breaks out. Panic-stricken, everyone rushes outside and many people are injured. In such a damaging event, everyone reacts differently: some aimlessly flee in fright, others go into shock, some help the injured, and others take photos with their cell phones. But don’t worry, both situations are just a simulation, an interactive exercise of disaster management.
The film for the OSL is linear, St. John has both a linear and an interactive film. After the help for the accident arrives and all units are set up, you as a viewer can decide what you are interested in and select the appropriate unit with eye control. Then you are informed by real helpers and volunteers about personal insights and tasks.
You decide whether you want to see the SEG Flight Station with the drone, the SEG Care of the Injured, the Rescue Dog Squadron, or other exciting units. The shoot for the OSL was a large-scale project, with 70 extras and the civil protection team, a total of over 150 people were involved in the shoot. Extensive catering was provided for everyone during the long waits. No effort was spared, several times fire trucks, the German Red Cross, the disaster control, the technical relief organization drove up, set up their tents and stations, and even the rescue helicopter flew by to make everything as realistic as possible. The end of both films prompts reflection with the phrase, „Imagine if all this happened and no volunteers came!“
For a good cause, WHITESTAG has made an important contribution to recruiting new volunteers. Under the slogan: Nobody needs disasters, but we need you!
Tracy Neumann