WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?

Lies unravel and truths float to the surface as collaborative interactive studio Jam3 put you in the driver's seat to promote the gritty new Showcase series, Cra$h and Burn.

Launched online through crash-and-burn.com, Autotopsy.ca is an innovative digital experience that challenges visitors to play the part of forensic crash investigator Jimmy Burn in order to unpick the story behind a multi-vehicle pile up. Part game, part narrative experiment, the visually stunning site offers a host of interactive video content alongside character case studies that provide hints and red herrings alike.

What's the connection between a suicidal truck driver and blood soaked sex doll? Why would a truck hauling propane tanks unexpectedly veer off an overpass? And whose is the human heart left cooling by the roadside? With lives and metal colliding unexpectedly, spilling questions and blood across bumpers and tarmac, do you have what it takes to separate reality from appearance? Remember - everything is not as it seems...

"The idea behind the project was to build something strictly for online consumption that was completely different than your typical trailer site," says Jam3 Creative Director Adrian Belina. "We wanted to create a piece of interactive content that would give viewers total control over the way they experience the story and explore the supplemental plot strands."

In addition to concept, design and development, Jam3 headed the post, VFX, animation and scored the immersive soundscape that accompanies the ambitious project. With just three days to capture over 15 minutes of footage, including a demanding one-day motion control shoot using the Milo rig, tight pre-production was essential.

"We were hunkered down in the board room playing with toy cars figuring out and constantly rearranging how the accident unfolded," explains Belina. "It all sounds like a little boys dream but the toys only got bigger as we essentially went from playing with little cars to playing with the real thing on set."

Central to the Autotopsy experience is an intuitive range of control options that allow for a seamless transition between different levels of content. Using Papervision, the Jam3 crew built a stylized 3D map of the crash scene, allowing would-be investigators to delve in-between the crumpled cars, shattered glass and fiery wreckage in a bid to get to the bottom of the mystery behind the aftermath.

"We love interactivity and we like giving users multiple options to navigate the site in different ways," Belina enthuses. "We really felt like we stretched our legs with this project. It allowed us to explore concepts that we had R&D'd internally and were eager to implement so from the outset we agreed that nothing was out of reach - the crazier it sounded the more we wanted to try it."



Jam3 is a collaborative interactive studio created by partners Mark McQuillan, Pablo Vio and Adrian Belina. One of Toronto's top interactive production studios, Jam3 is known for their ability to combine technical excellence and creativity within their Flash work. Jam3's clients include Taxi, DRAFTFCB, Juniper Park, Ogilvy and Crispin Porter + Bogusky. At the 2009 Digital Marketing Awards, Jam3 was honored with Best of Show and a Gold. They've also been featured twice in the Communication Arts Interactive Annual, in Applied Arts' Interactive Annual, How Design's Annuals and have a few FWA's under their belt.
View Jam3's Showreel: http://vimeo.com/9530342

Cra$h & Burn: Described as a cross between The Office and The Sopranos by the show's creator, Malcolm MacRury (ZOS: Zone of Separation, Deadwood), Cra$h & Burn follows Jimmy Burn, a young claims adjuster for a cut-throat, bottom-line insurance corporation. Jimmy maneuvers his way around insurance scams and the criminal underworld as he tries to escape his past and make a better life on the gritty post-industrial streets of Hamilton.



Project: Crash and Burn
Client: Showcase Television & Whizbang Films
url: http://autotopsy.ca

Interactive studio: Jam3, Toronto
Creative Directors: Pablo Vio, Adrian Belina
Assoc. Creative Director & Visual Effects Supervisor: Rafael Ludwig
Technical Director: Mark McQuillan
Flash Developers: Mikko Haapoja
Interactive Designer: Mike Montgomery
Visual Effects By: Capricorn8
Visual Effects Producer: Alex Krivoi
CG Supervisor: Andrey Crivoi
Visual Effects Artist: Arteom Petrea
Sound Design: Quatro Sound Productions

Produced by Whizbang Films

Video Files:
Crash & Burn - Autotopsy Interactive Case Study: http://vimeo.com/9531148
Download a QuickTime of the Case Study: http://tinyurl.com/yd2o7k2
Autotopsy Point of Impact: http://vimeo.com/9531354
Autotopsy Post & Pre VFX Split Screen: http://vimeo.com/9526158