City of Davis

When was this tour made

This tour was made in 2000

Who made the Fire Engine tour?

The tour was made in-house by City of Davis staff.  All of the programming and graphics editing were done by an Information Systems Division employee.  Image and sound acquisition was done by Information Systems and Media Services staff.  Text content was written by Information Systems, Media Services, and Fire Department staff.  User interface testing was done by City staff and their children.

What programs were used to make the tour?

The tour was made with with a program called Flash 4, made by Macromedia.  The graphics used in the tour were made or manipulated by Adobe PhotoShop and Adobe Illustrator.

What kind of experience is necessary?

Several months of Flash experience is necessary. Some programming experience is very helpful, and a good background in graphics is very important. 

How were the pictures taken?

Almost 200 pictures were taken of the fire engine using a digital camera.  Many pictures were taken of each side of the engine, compartments, and tools.  Pictures were taken at a high resolution to allow flexibility during the editing process.  Efforts were made to ensure even lighting.  Contrasting backgrounds were used for pictures where the item was going to be "cut out" of the picture.  The main  photography session lasted about 3 hours, and some pictures were retaken at other times.

How were the sounds recorded?

A Dazzle DVC (Digital Video Creator) unit was used to digitize the audio recordings.  The sound files were then edited and compressed.  Apparatus sounds were recorded live, while the radio traffic was recorded from dispatch log tapes used for training. 

How long did the tour take to make?

The tour was done in my spare time but took about 160-200 hours.  Additional time was spent by other City staff on editing and reviewing the tour, making the fire engine available for photography and sound recording, writing content, etc. for another 40-60 hours of effort. 

Are there templates already set up for a tour like this?

No.  Every photo, graphic, shape, text, flash movie file, etc... was custom made for this tour.

More Questions?

If you would like more information, email me at sduffey@cityofdavis.org