Thirty Seconds to Mars Uses FLIR Thermal Cameras in MTV Video Music Awards

By Vatche Arabian, Senior Manager – FLIR Systems

American rock band, Thirty Seconds to Mars, made history Sunday night at the 34th annual MTV Video Music Awards with a live performance of their new single “Walk on Water,” filmed with FLIR’s high-definition (HD) thermal imaging cameras.

Using FLIR’s HD Science Cameras and powered by software from FLIR distributor, MoviTHERM, the Los Angeles based band gave MTV and their fans something they’d never seen before – a display that visualized the heat and energy of the performers using the infrared spectrum.

Thirty Seconds to Mars integrated the FLIR SC8300 and A8303 science cameras, typically used for research and development, into MTV’s broadcast to capture the performance in thermal. Watch this short video to learn more: 

We spoke with Thirty Seconds to Mars lead singer, Jared Leto, about the performance, and why he wanted to leverage FLIR technology for the live MTV performance.

“To be able to bring this idea to life, it took a village, a very large village,” said Jared Leto. “When you do a show like the MTV Awards you have an opportunity to explore and experiment, to revisit the past or to push towards the future. We knew we wanted to do something that hadn't been done before. Playing in total darkness, and capturing our performance via thermal signal and doing it live was complex, challenging and seemingly impossible but with the help of a very patient MTV and an enthusiastic team of creative dreamers, we accomplished our goal. Working with the FLIR team has been inspiring and an absolute pleasure.”

Head to FLIR.com/Research to learn more about the camerasused in the performance. Learn more about our friends at MoviTHERM by heading to MoviTHERM.com.