Some time ago I was tasked with creating an interactive video that could be used to drive fan engagement and mailing list sign-ups. I was provided a video of Biffy Clyro performing at The Hammersmith Apollo cut to the single, God & Satan.

Using Adobe Flash I created a custom player that streams the video from the Warner StreamOS server through the Flash FLVPlayback component.

When the video plays back there are four hidden overlays that can trigger a competition entry form. The overlays were roughly traced around certain objects and programmed to become active when those objects are on the screen.

The entry form mechanic I created for this competition has proved to be very valuable as I’ve extended it for use in a number of Flash widgets as well as the flash sign-up form template for myspace.

The concept of sign-up forms in video is something we’ll be exploring a lot more going forward.

The God & Satan Hotspots video was made available to fans through the Team Biffy member’s area, giving them the opportunity to win tickets to the band’s show at Wembley Arena. The competition only ran for 2 days but had just under 500 entries in that short period.

Have a go at finding the 4 hotspots in the video to the left. If you feel the need to cheat click here to find out where they are.