Umphrey’s McGee Unveils Virtual Reality Interactive Video For ‘Puppet String’

Prog-jammers Umphrey’s McGee teamed with digital studio Reel FX to produce an experimental virtual-reality experience filmed during the band’s April 20th tour stop at the House Of Blues in Houston. The VR music video for “Puppet String” recently premiered at the Austin Music Video Festival, where it was nominated for best interactive video. “Puppet String” was mixed in spatial audio from a unique 360° fan perspective that is otherwise impossible to experience.

Reel FX’s Pete Herzog explained that the company had been looking for a project to work with the band on, “Over the past 10 years of seeing UM live, I’m always absorbed into their musicianship and watch each concert like a musical virtuoso tennis match. With VR, I wanted to transport the viewer into the close-ups of every musical note, shred, drum roll, and pure power that this band puts forth every show.”

Umphrey’s manager Kevin Browning was game, “VR is changing the way we tell stories and deepening the entertainment experience across the board. We’ve been experimenting with VR lately and jumped at the chance to work with the forward thinking Reel FX. VR is the wild west right now and without any preconceived ideas about what it’s ‘supposed to be’, the goal was to create an opportunity for fans to peel back the onion and explore a classic UM song in a whole new way.”

ReelFX utilized six GoPro 360 camera rigs – three on stage, one balcony, one front of house and one crowd – to capture the band from different perspectives. The company aimed to highlight extreme close-up footage shot by TourGigs. “I’m a huge fan of TourGigs and sometimes find myself watching the show through their front row cameraman, C.J. Strehlow’s lens. I wanted to add some of that intimacy he captures since their songs are just as personal.” added Herzog. The Houston “Puppet String” spans 12 minutes and includes extended improvisation in the middle. “We wanted viewers to take a musical journey through the song so when the band cuts loose and starts to improv, I let our creative team do the same with the footage to break up the visual experience and keep it building,” said Herzog.

The VR “Puppet String” video can be viewed on Samsung VR using Gear VR, or Oculus Rift and HTC Vive using Virtual Desktop. Viewers using Chrome or the YouTube 360° app can look around as well on the video below, or strap on a VR headset like Google Cardboard with headphones. Take a look: