From Bill Harris of QMI Agency:

• ‘Flashpoint’ hitting its stride
  “Taping the third season of Flashpoint was a blur for Hugh Dillon. The way he looks at it, that’s great news.” Read more.

From a media release:

Got What it Takes for the SRU? New Online Game FLASHPOINT TRAINING DAY Puts Rookie Recruits to the Test at CTV.ca

• FLASHPOINT fans can find out if they’re SRU material before the new season kicks off August 6 on CTV

FLASHPOINT TRAINING DAY, an interactive simulation that gives FLASHPOINT fans the chance to become virtual members of the Strategic Response Unit (SRU), was launched today at CTV.ca. Now, viewers can gear up for the new season beginning August 6 on CTV with the ultimate virtual SRU training experience. In an ambitious online extension of the television show, viewers can adopt the role of a rookie recruit and explore SRU tactical and strategic training modules, including the recruitment test, real-time negotiations with a hostage taker, and training in weapons, sniping, tactics, and profiling.

FLASHPOINT TRAINING DAY is shot in HD using live action video scenarios featuring the cast of the hit series. In collaboration with real police force advisors who also appear in the game, players are introduced to the actual weapons and equipment used by police.

When players launch the game, the site unfolds in full motion video, revealing the different sections of the SRU HQ. Players can explore the environment from the Communications Desk, the Gym and Training Facilities to Office Records in the Board Room and Weapons Training in the Gun Cage.

After players register, they are run through a series of training exercises to prepare them for the final test missions. At each successful phase, players can post their progress to Facebook.

To begin, rookies take the SRU Recruitment Test. Designed to measure the recruit’s ability in spatial perception, memory and multitasking, the Recruitment Test is based on real police aptitude tests challenging players to recall, among other things, key details from a 911 emergency call and facial characteristics from a suspect’s mug shot.

In Sniper Training, rookies learn that a sniper principally acts as the eyes of the SRU team. A real police instructor explains the sniper’s role. The rookie then performs a series of observational tasks while also maintaining accuracy in shooting targets and deciding when to make the shot and when to hold fire.

Tactical Training teaches new officers how to organize an SRU tactical team, providing the team with the equipment that they will need to safely deal with a dangerous situation, while making sure that team members are correctly positioned.

When rookies successfully finish training, they are challenged with two test missions. In the Sniping and Tactical Test Mission, recruits take on the role of a sniper in which they need to choose the best observation position for the mission and keep in constant communication with the team. In the next mission, players have to negotiate directly with a hostage taker. The Negotiation and Profiling Mission employs voice recognition techniques permitting the player to negotiate directly with a hostage taker over a telephone.

FLASHPOINT TRAINING DAY is produced by Xenophile Media with the participation of the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, and in collaboration with CTV, CTV.ca, Avamar Entertainment and Pink Sky Entertainment, producers of FLASHPOINT.

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