THE COMPANY: Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

 

PROJECT TYPE:  Virtual Reality (VR) simulation video.

 

THE PREMISE:

It's not always easy to identify defiance from emotional distress--especially in high activity/ high stakes environments like train stations. But if the signs are missed or interpreted incorrectly, a person with schizophrenia could be mistaken for a person who is a national security or public safety threat.

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This training was to demontrate how an "acute episode"--which is common for people with schizophrenia--could be mistaken for active aggression, defiance, or resistance, and the consequences that can happen when those mistakes lead to escalation. 

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THE EXPERIENCE: 

Instructional design and scriptwriting for virtual reality are much different from other media. The challenges of writing and thinking in a 6DOF (Six Degrees of Freedom) environment--where the body is free to move left/right, up/down and forward/backward in three perpendicular axes (combined with changes in orientation)--offers both challenges and opportunities for world creation. 

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It was with this in mind that I set out to conceptualize and write the script for Commuter in Crisis, where learners were free to look around and move around the entire train station. The challenge was to ensure that officers looked at and/or moved in the proper directions to manage the situation and stay on top of other potential threats while appropriately managing the individual with schizoprenia.

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THE SETUP:

The participant is immersed into what life might be like from the perspective of a person living with schizophrenia day to day and what an encounter with a Federal Air Marshal (FAM) might look like to someone who experiences acute behavioral health episodes related to schizophrenia.

Learners are also presented with a Federal Air Marshal perspective that guides the participant through an encounter on the train platform where someone is displaying the signs of a mental health crisis. Several decision points are presented to the learner throughout the scenario, and the outcome differs based on the choices made throughout the encounter.
 

METHODS:

This VR experience included:

• A 360 interactive video from the perspective of a schizophrenic person experiencing a mental health crisis.

• A 360 interactive video from a FAM perspective responding to a call where the subject is exhibiting the behaviors of a mental health crisis.

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PRIMARY AUDIENCE:

• New Federal Air Marshals

• Seasoned Federal Air Marshals (continuing education)

• Supervisors and above, Federal Air Marshals

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SECONDARY AUDIENCE:

• Trainers for Federal Air Marshals

• First responders including Fire, EMS personnel, medical professionals

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THE RESULT: 

FAMs and other learning audiences more often accurately distinquished mental health distress behaviors from ciminal intent behaviors, and responded more approrpriately in more instances.

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OUR ROLE IN THE PROJECT:

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-- Ideating the original movie concept from learning objectives provided to me.

-- Crafting an initial storyboard interaction flow and active decision points in the story.

-- Writing the screenplay for the 360 VR simulation video.

-- Writing character profiles for each actor in the video.

--Providing director notes in the script.

--Ensuring the final script met learning objectives set by FAM client.

--Provide UX writing and navigation for the "in headset" experience.

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