Hasta La Creative!

Check out the work at https://collaboratory.airforce.com

U.S. students currently rank 25th globally in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). To inspire more students to pursue science & technology careers, the United States Air Force teamed up with agency GSD&M to create the Air Force Collaboratory, an online educational platform that pairs students with Air Force experts to tackle three unclassified military projects. This collaborative effort will prototype technology to find and rescue people trapped in collapsed structures, determine where the newest GPS satellite will be placed and program the next generation of unmanned aerial vehicles.

GSD&M partnered with interactive design consultancy, Welikesmall, to capture imagery and video content for the site from three Air Force bases, where artists crawled through debris, cameras in hand, in a simulated earthquake environment, rigged unmanned quadrotors with GoPro cameras to shoot in an Air Force lab and filmed at Air Force Space Command—one of the most restricted high-security areas in the country.

GSD&M and Welikesmall used video and visual storytelling to explain the selected projects in a way that is both educational and engaging. Welikesmall created a beautiful and flexible social network, to enable the Air Force to constantly update the site with new content, projects and notifications. Profile pages include a real-time leaderboard that tells users how their idea ranks among those of their peers and a vote up/vote down system that allows the community to give collaborators direct feedback.

Advertising Agency: GSD&M, USA
Production: Welikesmall
Director: Michael Kern
Executive Creative Director: Jay Russell
Group Creative Director: tom gilmore
Creative Director / art director: Ryan Carroll
Creative Director / copywriter: Scott Brewer
Agency Producer: Paul Gallardo
Associate Creative Director / art director: Cheyenne Gallion
Line Producer: Peter Atherton
Account Service: Norah Rudyk, Elissa Pate
Experience & Insights: Elizabeth Thompson
Director: Michael Kern
Producer: Corey Hankey
Editor: Ryan Gas
Graphics: Friends of Mine
Director of Photography: Matt Sheridan
Website: Michael Kern, Tyler Kealey, Trista Yard, Geof Crowl, Russell Tabet
Development: Topher Wilson, Jake Kirshner, Paul Solomon
Agency: BEAST
Editor: Ariel Quintans
Assistant Editor: Jon Saltzman
Executive Producer: Ron Rendon