In a groundbreaking program, we partnered with Nokia and Capitol Records to produce the first-ever live-stream in virtual reality, recording the indie band Best Coast on the roof of the Capitol Records tower and streaming it live to the OZO launch event in downtown Los Angeles through a VR headset. This allowed the viewer to feel like a participant in the experience, which generated excitement with executives, reporters and event attendees alike and lent new meaning to the phrase "I'm with the band." Besides the actual VR output, we were able to capture some behind-the-scenes footage to nicely complement the event coverage and content. This production fed into our "always-on" content approach, which kicked off months before the official consumer launch of the camera and helped establish the OZO brand.

We worked closely with the Nokia team to ensure that the technology would be able to support our vision and with Capitol Records to secure Best Coast, coordinate logistics and gain exclusive rooftop access to the iconic Capitol Records tower. Since Facebook didn’t support 360-degree video yet, we produced a video highlighting the concert to emphasize OZO’s capabilities and share behind-the-scenes footage with fans. We also liaised with Best Coast’s management on all social content to drive awareness to OZO and Nokia. In order to produce live video from the venue for immediate posting on social, we set up shop onsite to execute video editing and content roll-out, allowing us to generate excitement for a private event that most audience members didn’t have access to. The live-stream was so successful that Nokia is now replicating the production globally to drive excitement for OZO and the future of the VR industry.

The live-stream was among the most talked about happenings at the event, having given attendees the ability to experience a concert from miles away, simply by using headsets. Sentiment was extremely positive and the band, Best Coast, fully engaged the audience from atop of the iconic tower, making viewers feel as if they were in the front row and on stage. The concert added a groundbreaking and unexpected element to the OZO launch event in downtown Los Angeles and was covered across key verticals, including business and technology publications such as Fortune, Tech Republic, Upload VR and Engadget, reaching an estimated 256 million+ individuals. The teams worked together to produce a truly innovative experience that showcased virtual reality’s ability to impact not just the future of film, but music as well.