Top 5 FLIR Moments in Film & Television

FLIR and our technology has been featured in more TV shows and movies than you may think! Just this summer, FLIR had cameos in Sicario: Day of the Soldado and Rampage.

We looked back and picked some of our favorites over the years!

 1.     Predator (1987)

A lot of times when people think thermal they think “Predator Vision!” The 80s classic that started the franchise starred the king of action, Arnold Schwarzenegger; however, the FLIR-powered Predator stole the show! Each time the movie shows the Predator’s first person view, you are looking at a FLIR thermal image.

As the jungle they filmed the movie in was as warm as the actors, the filmmakers actually had quite a challenge in front of them. As such, some movie magic and special effects enhanced the image for contrast. Also – spoiler alert, mud doesn’t work as well as it does in the movie to hide your thermal signature.

 2.     Sicario (2015 & 2018)

Released in 2015, Sicario’s nail-biting finale scene was shot entirely using a FLIR midwave science camera. In the scene, Department of Justice soldiers descend into a small, pitch-black tunnel on the border of the U.S. and Mexico to shut down a drug cartel operation. Oscar® winning Cinematographer, Roger Deakins, wanted to put you in the shoes of Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), the only one on the team using a thermal imaging camera. Movie audiences were in for a tense scene filmed in a way they’d never seen before. 

In the sequel, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, the film’s dramatic opening scene features stunning footage filmed by the FLIR Star SAFIRE 380-HD!

 3.     Silicon Valley (2017)

Did you spot FLIR in Season 5 of HBO’s Silicon Valley? In the final episode of the season, the group’s struggling tech start-up, Pied Piper, invests in a booth at the infamous “HooliCon” trade show. In the show, HooliCon most closely resembles what is known as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), a tech-oriented trade show that occurs each January in Las Vegas. In the episode, you can see FLIR’s booth throughout from our hanging sign to our thermal monitor display. 

 4.     Rampage (2018)

 The filmmakers behind the Dwayne Johnson summer blockbuster, Rampage, wanted to give audiences the (acting) military perspective in a pivotal scene of the film. With military command looking on from a control center, they see an aerial view of the scene via the FLIR Star SAFIRE 380-HD, as well as on-the-ground footage shot via a FLIR midwave science camera.

5. MTV VMA’s – Thirty Seconds to Mars Performance of “Walk on Water” (2017)

Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman, Jared Leto, wanted to make television history by broadcasting the live performance of their single “Walk on Water,” entirely via FLIR thermal cameras. FLIR and partners moviTHERM worked to create the first ever live FLIR thermal performance. Check it out below:

Learn more about FLIR thermal imaging cameras by visiting FLIR.com/Discover. Also, stay in the loop by joining our community and follow us on social media using @flir.