Created by agency FCB New York, “Dreamcaster” by Michelob Ultra is featured in Cannes Lions and One Show
DaHouse won a Sports Emmy with the audio technological development of “Dreamcaster”, a project created by the agency FCB New York for Michelob Ultra.
The initiative used sound, technology and artificial intelligence to place Cameron Black, a blind sports journalist, as the narrator of an official NBA playoff match, live, on TV.
The project transformed binaural audio capture into a sound language that made the journalist feel as if they were on the court, identifying where and how each play was happening. The images were transformed into data transmitted to a vest and a tactile table, causing the union of all sensations to form the game’s complete scenario, allowing narration in real time.
“We recorded several hours of games on a basketball court, positioning a Sennheiser Ambeo VR microphone in every possible position. This resulted in millions of binaural sound possibilities, providing a language so that Cameron could literally ‘feel the game’,” explains Lucas Mayer, partner and musical director at DaHouse.
“This project was a dream come true for everyone involved. For the first time in the history of the sport, a visually impaired person was not only able to understand the speed and complexity of the game of basketball, but also narrated the match for three hours to thousands of fans. We were also able to adapt this technology so that everyone can access it in dozens of stadiums across America. The legacy of this project is the promotion of accessibility and inclusion for blind and low vision people”, says Thomas Mori, creative director at FCB NY.
DaHouse was also named Music and Sound Company of the Year at the ADC Awards and was second most awarded at One Show 2024. In addition to the Emmy, the “Dreamcaster” project also won the Entertainment Lions for Sport Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2023.