InPark Magazine Issue #65 (November, 2016)

Dynamic Attractions Dreams Big #65 • volume 12, issue 5 • 2016 www.inparkmagazine.com

SHOW. RIDE. INTEGRATION.

IAAPA Expo

Who to meet and what to see at the annual conference

Behind the Scenes

New attractions: Project V & Mass Effect

Anniversaries

Garner Holt & Alterface celebrate corporate milestones

You and InPark

The cycle of life, and of IAAPA

Judith Rubin, IPM editor

Martin Palicki, IPM publisher

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ife is a series of cycles. As the annual IAAPA Attractiosn Expo nears each fall, I am reminded that another year has passed: we’ve produced another five issues of InPark and 52 weeks of Top 5 News blasts.

There are other reminders too, of course, that our industry is cyclical in nature. VR is back and better than before, dark rides are experiencing a renaissance, and domes are once again at the core of many immersive media experiences.

Not only are trends cyclical, but our entire business tends to follow cycles also. Particularly with projects opening in Asia, its clear we are currently on a sustained upswing. But leaders like ECA2’s Jean-Christophe Canizares (see story on page 50) understand the market is dynamic. Canizares sees a prime window of 5-10 years before Western companies start to lose a competitive edge to regional vendors who will increasingly be able to raise quality and cut costs.

So how do we best prepare for the next cycle?

Many companies featured in this issue offer one solution: innovate. Continuing to develop new concepts and better ways to achieve results ensures one’s services and skills are still needed.

Another answer comes from the investment world: diversify your holdings - both geographically and in various market segments. Making sure one’s products are available and practical for many different settings is critical. At InPark, we try to bridge those different markets and regions in every issue, showing not just where the hot spots are now, but where they are headed next.

Of course, for the month of November, the hot spot is Orlando, Florida for the IAAPA Attractions Expo. Be sure to come visit our entire editorial team (me, Judy and Joe) in our booth: #1764.

COVER: Dynamic Attractions’ Mike Haimson and George Walker ride in one of the company’s proptotype immersive attractions.

Full story on p 12.

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very year our industry gatherings & organizations help us gauge where we are, give us a snapshot of the industry, its trends, prominent voices and the chance to re-examine where we fit into it. There are new people entering the field, new companies, new clients, new regions becoming active, along with the more established companies and mature markets.

Every year I try to come to the IAAPA Attractions Expo both prepared and unprepared. Those four days to catch up with people are also four days to take in the surprises – the things I couldn’t have anticipated, the people I haven’t met, the trends I hadn’t identified.

IAAPA Orlando is a place for positioning – you work to position yourself to do business, and you also work to understand what your real position is. How we see ourselves is not quite how others see us. What we expect to do in the market is likely not quite what we end up doing. Your business has likely grown over the past year, you have become better known, and known for certain things. But do you know what they are? Do you know how your market and your community perceive you? Does it match how you want to be perceived?

One of our roles at InPark Magazine is to help people and companies position themselves in the market.

We’re pleased that so many distinguished companies have chosen InPark to showcase their projects, products and services and position themselves for the coming year. If you’re not yet one of them, we hope you will be soon – please visit our booth (#1764) or contact us to find out more.

InPark Magazine is growing, and as we continue to expand both editorial and advertising in print and online formats, in addition to a suite of public relations services, we need more writers and designers to help us keep up with content production. Let us know if you’d like to be part of our team.

Joe Kleiman is News Editor for the InPark Magazine website. He has over 20 years management experience in the attractions and giant screen film industries and as a zookeeper, cared for animals ranging from penguins to rhinos.

Contact Joe at joe@inparkmagazine.com and follow on twitter @ThemedReality.

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#65 • volume 12, issue 5

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The Ryman Connection

9

Lighting the way

10

Hello, young man

12

Show. Ride. Integration.

17

Project V

20

Under the hood

22

Mobile media

26

Making it personal

31

The face of animatronics

37

World’s fairs, planned & proposed:

40

Pairs of Aces

44

4D revealed

50

Lighting up the night

57

In Memoriam

59

Mass Effect: New Earth

63

Being Beijing

66

Celebrating Alterface

Ryman Arts feeds the themed entertainment industry by nurturing talent at the high school level • by Martin Palicki JBA’s Artistic Engineering brightens focus on themed entertainment market • edited by Judith Rubin David Love, media producer, educated at “Disney University” • by Judith Rubin Dynamic Attractions marks one year since opening Orlando office • by George Walker New flying attraction comes to Europa-Park in 2017 • by Stefan Rothaug The secret to Oceaneering’s trackless technology • by Matt Kent & Caroline van der Weijden Panasonic Solutions Center tour takes its mobile media solutions on the road • by Joe Kleiman Technology enhancements for fan events • by Aimee Roy Garner Holt Productions, Inc. celebrates 40 imaginative years • by Bill Butler Astana 2017, Dubai 2020 and more • by James Ogul Things happen in pairs for The Producers Group • by Judith Rubin, Joe Kleiman & Keith Loria At nWave, success has many dimensions • by Janine Baker ECA2 builds evening spectacles for two Chinese clients • by Martin Palicki Tom Weber, 1947-2016 • by Sam Weber Cedar Fair’s branded 4D experience wows sophisticated video game audiences • by Joe Kleiman & Judith Rubin Insight into the Asian Pacific market with Thinkwell’s Kelly Ryner • by Martin Palicki The Belgian tech company celebrates 15 years, new patents and IAAPA 2016 • by Martin Palicki

advertiser index

staff & contributors PUBLISHER Martin Palicki EDITOR Judith Rubin CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Joe Kleiman Jim Ogul, World’s Fair Editor DESIGN Martin Palicki

CONTRIBUTORS Janine Baker Bill Butler Matt Kent Keith Loria Roberta Perry Stefan Rothaug Aimee Roy Caroline van der Weijden George Walker Sam Weber

Alcorn McBride

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Freestyle Slides

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Vortex

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BaAM Productions

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Garner Holt Productions

45

Wärtsilä FUNA

Brogent

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Holovis

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The Weber Group

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WhiteWater

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Christie

29, 53

JBA Artistic Engineering

DNP

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nWave

Don MacBain

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Oceaneering

Dynamic Attractions

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Polin Waterparks

ECA2

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Premier Rides

Electrosonic

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The Producers Group

ETI

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The Ryman Connection Ryman Arts feeds the themed entertainment industry by nurturing talent at the high school level interview by Martin Palicki

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yman Arts is a non-profit organization that offers a rigorous, talent-based student art program to motivated high school students from some 150 neighborhoods throughout Southern California. Students have the opportunity for professional level art training, as well as college and career guidance at no cost to them or their families. The program comprises 40 different classes serving more than 600 students annually and can be a stepping stone to an arts career.

Ryman Arts was established in 1989 in honor of Herbert D. Ryman (1910-1989), who encouraged young artists throughout his long career as an artist, designer, and Imagineer at Walt Disney Studios. Founders include Disney Legends Marty Sklar and the late Harrison “Buzz” Price.

Many familiar figures of the themed entertainment community are active within Ryman Arts today. InPark editor-in-chief Martin Palicki posed some questions to three of them: Ryman Arts President Wayne Hunt (Hunt Design) and Board members Kathy Mangum (Walt Disney Imagineering) and Garner Holt (Garner Holt Productions).

Kathy Mangum How is Ryman Arts helping to equip the next generation of themed entertainment creatives?

Ryman Arts is providing students with fantastic instruction that hones their technical and artistic skills. It’s college-level instruction that just isn’t easily available to high school students.

However, equally important are the more intangible skills that are being taught. Whenever I’ve observed a Ryman Arts class in session, I’ve been so impressed with the students’ ability to articulate how they’re approaching a piece of their work. They give clear and constructive critiques of others’ efforts, and they engage with their professors with a maturity that’s rare for kids their age. When they graduate from Ryman Arts, they have a self-confidence which they didn’t come in with. No matter what career path they choose, artistic or otherwise, the skills obtained at Ryman Arts give them a fantastic head start.

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You have a deep and rich history as an Imagineer with Disney. Can Ryman Arts training help young artists find a path into the attractions industry?

One thing I love about Ryman Arts is that the students get exposure to many career options and opportunities that utilize artists and creative people. The concept of the “starving artist” flies out the window! Ryman Arts students are already highly motivated kids – they’re willing to attend class on weekends, they complete homework (along with their regular school homework) and they’re expected to perform at a very high level.

These traits and qualities are echoed by the professionals at Walt Disney Imagineering - we expect the most out of ourselves and I see the same expectations and high standards in our Ryman Arts students.

Garner Holt Themed Entertainment encompasses much more than art in its traditional sense. The industry integrates theme parks, museums, architecture, and much more. How does Ryman Arts prepare students for visual storytelling?

Ryman Arts puts students on the path that Herbert Ryman himself followed – using techniques and tools to transport audiences anyplace, to locations both familiar and exotic and filled with compelling characters – by teaching students to think of scenes and compositions as a fully-encompassing world.

Herb did this in film, his aerial drawing of Disneyland, and in the thousands of images he created for everything from circuses to castles.

Those with an aptitude for this approach – young artists with an eye for the experiential design marketplace, equal parts vision and talent - are the kind of people we at Garner Holt Productions, and other creative companies, are constantly on the lookout for. At GHP we primarily focus our creative design on characters, with their related environments (in rides, shows, exhibits, shops or restaurants) as a complementing effort. Our attractions at theme parks and other venues around the world are all about immersive and transporting magic - all that begins with an artist translating the spark of an idea onto paper, or into

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pixels. From there, we can actually build the sets, scenes, and animatronics that inhabit a make-believe world made real.

It is crucial for industry up-and-comers to understand the importance of cross-discipline collaboration. Do Ryman Arts students learn to integrate art with other disciplines?

program is a head start to the personal growth and maturity needed in college and in a creative career. Ryman Arts classes emphasize collaboration, constructive criticism, public speaking and pride of creation - as well as simple responsibility. Our kids learn how to work hard and put in their best effort regardless of circumstance. These are life-long attributes that continue to serve students long after graduating from the program. • • •

Unlike stage plays or film, theme parks are liminal environments through which guests will walk, float, roll, or even fly. An interdisciplinary approach is key to creating a successful environment or attraction - the architect working hand-inhand with the landscape designer, the lighting designer with the ride systems engineer, the animatronics fabricator with the costumer, plus so much else. Themed entertainment, perhaps more than any other form of popular recreation, is all about the reconciliation of hundreds of differing visual and tactile cues in everything from idyllic gardens to thrilling ride-through attractions.

It’s this combination of artistic skill and technical prowess that, we feel, makes a designer better able to think about a project’s many parts and to contribute more widely. Ryman Arts is the leading incubator for them.

Kathy Magnum

A couple of years ago, we hired Jojo Leovonchiong, a Ryman Arts alumna. She fits into that multi-talented group perfectly—a trained and accomplished artist in pencil, and a talented animatronic engineer in pixels.

Wayne Hunt The creative entertainment field is constantly evolving.

Tell us about the college and career guidance Ryman Arts offers to its students.

A key goal of Ryman Arts is to help get our kids to college, regardless of the field they elect or career they choose. Our resources and support include guest speakers, college days, career days and tours of creative businesses. Ryman Arts also has developed relationships with creative companies to create internships solely for Ryman Arts youth where students can work alongside professionals, most with college backgrounds.

As many Ryman Arts students are the first in their families to go to college, these interactions and opportunities have lasting impact before, during, and after college.

Garner Holt

Does Ryman Arts help students gain the skills necessary to handle real world experience and adversity along the career path?

People in all creative fields can face adversity and challenges throughout their careers. Going through the Ryman Arts

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Wayne Hunt

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think spectacular

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Lighting the Way JBA’s Artistic Engineering brightens focus on themed entertainment market edited by Judith Rubin

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ince 1966, Las Vegas based JBA Consulting Engineers has seized every change and major shift in the design and construction industry as an opportunity to evolve, reinvent itself and remain an active and innovative partner for its clients.

As JBA continues to grow and diversify, the firm is excited about the momentum two of its divisions are having, Artistic Engineering and the recently acquired Luce Group.

Artistic Engineering is the intersection where art and engineering meet. JBA’s Artistic Engineers orchestrate engineering and consulting needs, while bridging the gaps between the creative and architectural processes to, ultimately, bring experiences to life. The mission is to provide technically innovative solutions that support the design and integration of theme parks, attractions, entertainment, museums, hospitality and retail. The unique strength and value to the client is the vast knowledge of five decades of traditional engineering design.

JBA’s Artistic Engineering team announced earlier this year that attraction architect David Price - Founder of Price Leisure Group and son of Disney Legend Harrison “Buzz” Price - will serve as Executive Advisor to JBA’s CEO - Jim Gist - and the Artistic Engineering Group.

In making the announcement, Jim Gist said - “I could not be happier to have David Price team with JBA and our Artistic Engineering group. JBA has been evolving since 1966, engineering solutions for complex buildings across a gambit of sectors and this represents the next step to better serve the creative design communities we work with every day. Artistic Engineering is focused on Bringing Experiences to Life™ by leveraging technology to engineer the blue-sky creative experiences owners and designers have developed. David will leverage his experience to help coordinate communications and bridge a gap between our Artistic Engineers and the creative teams. He will represent JBA and Artistic Engineering at industry events, serve as an advisor to me personally and work globally to elevate the conversation our Artistic Engineers have to deliver a ‘WOW’ experience through progressive engineering.”

TEA as “the NASA of the entertainment industry.” According to David, “JBA Artistic Engineering fits into the creative heart of our industry with demonstrated expertise in MEP engineering, fire protection, acoustics, audiovisual, show control, lighting, telecommunications and security/surveillance.”

Most recently, JBA acquired New York-based Luce Group. Luce specializes in exhibit, themed entertainment, architectural, and theatrical lighting design. Their work, which has been called “superb” by the Boston Globe, includes an award winning gallery at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the recently completed Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History Culture, colorful, cued environments in major science centers, renovations of historic homes and buildings, and traditional art galleries.

“Luce adds value to JBA’s portfolio of design services. Working hand in hand with our Artistic Engineering team and our electrical department, Luce will provide lighting design services that our clients are now requesting,” said Jim Gist. Luce’s Executive Director Traci Klainer added, “We are so excited to join JBA. They are a great cultural fit for us and we’re excited to be a part of a larger team that will allow us to continue our excellent work and grow with our clients.”

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, JBA remains an international engineering consulting firm, dedicated to providing technical engineering expertise for a variety of commercial building projects around the world. JBA’s offices include Atlanta, Boston, Hong Kong, Irvine, Los Angeles, Macau, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix and Shanghai. • • • The Grand Bazaar at Bally’s in Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of JBA

David is Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) Western Division President, an organization representing creators of compelling places and experiences worldwide. David also sees

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Hello, young man David Love, media producer, educated at “Disney University”

by Judith Rubin

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ight out of high school, I started working at Disney Studios in Burbank,” said David Love of Hollow Studios. “I grew up on the Disney lot where my Dad, James Arthur Love, was a film editor.” (The elder Love passed away in 2007.) One of David’s earliest memories is of Walt Disney in 1963. “I was four years old and we were dropping off my Dad off at work,” he said. “As we pulled into the main gate parking area Walt Disney himself happened to be walking by our car. He paused to say hello to my Dad, then leaned into the car and said, ‘Hello, young man.’’’

Through his father’s work at Disney Studios, and later as an employee working his way up, the young man absorbed the art and business of filmmaking and attractions. He was exposed to the day-to-day process of shooting, directing and producing.

One project he recalls vividly through going to work with his father during a summer break from school. “He was directing behind-the-scenes of the original Pete’s Dragon” [the beloved 1977 Walt Disney Productions original starring Helen Reddy; a new version was released in 2016]. “My Dad’s work at Disney Studios, and later on, his stories of work on special projects for the 1964 New York World’s Fair and the early days of Epcot, were what hooked me,” said David.

Starting in the mail room David Love’s own professional journey to becoming a media producer began in the Disney mail room. “That’s where I spent my first year. I remember delivering mail to Ron Miller’s office.”

From there, he moved into film shipping, which sent him to all the old film vaults around the lot to retrieve reels. He started in production doing film lighting and 30 years later is still active in the Set Lighting Technician Union.

One of the 4D films in the Hollow Studios library

a union member, David had the opportunity to learn production on the job through experience and observation. From lighting technician, he worked his way up to gaffer (the head of the lighting crew, who works directly under the cinematographer).

He was exposed to the work of such colleagues as director Arthur Hiller (“Outrageous Fortune,” 1987 - “it was interesting to watch him work with actors; how he composed scenes”); and cinematographer Dean Cundy (“Big Business,” 1988 “my first real exposure to motion control camera work, green screen and a few pioneers from ILM”).

Digital Video & 4D

David never went to film school – he was too busy learning in the field. “I like to say I went to the University of Walt Disney Studios.”

He founded Hollow Studios in 2008, one of many independent ventures. “I always had my own production company on the side, and it was always busy.”

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Learning curve

He was exposed to visual effects work in addition to live action, and dove into CGI work in the early days of desktop computer production. “I got heavily involved in production using The Video Toaster, and learned to do CG animation and editing,” he said. “It was great training for me. I was there during the launch of the digital video age.”

During his time at Disney, where he continued on and off from 1985 to the early 1990s, in addition to other jobs open to him as

David was also there for the launch of 4D attractions. He was a set lighting technician for MuppetVision 3D, working with

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cinematographers Peter Anderson (one of the great 3D pioneers) and Isidore Mankofsky; Jim Henson was director.

David had become enamored with ride films since experiencing Star Tours in 1987 and formed a long term ambition to create them. “The first CGI ride films were very expensive and only the big operators could finance them, but I kept my eye on it while I was doing other projects.” In 2008, as Hollow Studios (first iteration, Hollow 4D Studios) he had become well versed in 3D animation as well as live action 3D, and the company rolled out an original media-based turn-key attraction at the IAAPA Attractions Expo, where the company received IAAPA’s First Place, Best Exhibit 600-1000 Sq. Ft. award. They built a library of six films over the next several years, licensed to several companies including SimEx-Iwerks.

Hollow Studios is currently engaged on a dome theater production under contract to Visioneering, creating two films for a destination theater in San Diego set to open in 2019.

Giant screen cinema veteran Sean Phillips is on his team. The company is also creating an animated film for a venue in China (under contract to a European motion seat manufacturer) and

has become active in Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) production as well. For Cedar Fair, Hollow Studios produced the 2016 haunted experience FEARVR. David Love’s career embodies his dedication and flexibility.

“I am committed to never losing sight of imagination, while at the same time staying on top of the constantly emerging technology that can help us to tell amazing stories for any media platform.” • • • David will be attending the 2016 IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando and looking for his next production adventure. He can be reached at cell: 805-3418819 or email dave@ hollowstudios.com.

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Show. Ride. Integration.

Dynamic Attractions marks one year since opening Orlando office

by George Walker

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t’s been one year since Dynamic Attractions introduced its triangulated philosophy of Show-Ride-Integration as part of a new service called Unlimited Attractions™. This comprehensive approach that offers design, development, and execution of entire attractions, from ride systems to show elements, is the intrepid new strategy of the leadership team of Mike Haimson, VP Technical Development, Cindy Emerick, VP Business Development, and myself, George Walker, VP Creative Development. The Unlimited Attractions process builds upon the legacy of our company’s engineering prowess, and combines this with our new, in-house creative/technical expertise in a way that allows us to deliver a range of scope from the earliest development of the story, to the creation of the solidified concept, through the progression of the design, and all the way to the fabrication and installation that leads to a successful opening day of world-class attractions.

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President and CEO Guy Nelson refers to us, his Orlando-based executive team, as the Dynamic Trio. “With this team we have coupled our strength in engineering with project management and creative execution,” he said. “It was a response to where we found the needs of the clients were greatest.” This three-pronged approach was even the inspiration for our new triangle logo.

Even our neckties, you’ll notice if you stop by our booth at the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando this November, are tied in the official Dynamic triangle-shaped trinity knot. Triangular thinking is part of everything we do at Dynamic. We all face the paradoxical time-money-quality three-cornered stool, and of course the love triangle of client-vendor-guest. By any name, these three-sided relationships are at the heart of every project, and we believe that the key to our successful approach is in carefully balancing them, thus the symbolic meaning behind

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the Dynamic triangle. And all these clever metaphors do have a real purpose: to provide the best, total show-ride-integration available in the industry.

“We are looking to augment our talent resources in very specific ways. We are expecting to collect a lot of resumes in Orlando this November, to handle the increased scope of our projects.”

Where does the development of the attractions happen?

What’s life like at Dynamic?

The new logo is now proudly displayed on the front door of our Attraction Development Center in Orlando. Our new facility is home to the top-secret R&D efforts and creative mock-ups that we have in development, and serves as the design and sales headquarters, which has been busy almost since we set down the first packing box in its new home.

It was September 19, National Talk like a Pirate Day, and a group from our design crew took advantage of a promotion that earned every person a free box of donuts if they came to the store dressed like a pirate. Which they did. In some ways, that’s the best description of life as a “Dynamite.” Sure, the days are long and the nights are often late, but that is a reflection of our dedication and eagerness to keep going. There is an excitement in the air that accompanies the deadlines. I know the feeling well.

In my transition to Dynamic Attractions, I also have the privilege of overseeing the Ferrari World Abu Dhabi expansion as Creative Director where, this past February, the latest attraction, Flying Aces, opened with great success. Providing Unlimited Attraction Service is a challenge we live to fulfill.

We are in fact already doubling the size of our facility. “More toys to play with, more innovative partners under the same roof, more exciting designs and technologies, more R&D engagement with strategic partners!” said Mike Haimson, sitting at his desk in the office next to mine, his face covered by VR goggles. “In order for theme parks to succeed with VR technology, we have to push the envelope and give guests something they can’t do on their couch in the living room,” said Mike, who was a pioneer of the first VR wave in the 1990s.

“A bigger facility means we are assembling an even bigger team with an even greater diversity of skills!” said Cindy Emerick, whose office is down the hall. “It’s a good complement to our fabrication facilities in Vancouver and China.” Those facilities mean Dynamic can not only talk the talk, but walk the walk and physically deliver what we promise. Cindy is armed with an engineering degree and a project management background, which give her an edge when dissecting client needs. She said,

A Dynamic year Our clients are coming from all parts of the world, and with a full spectrum of needs. We like to say that Dynamic can do as much or as little as the project requires, depending on the situation. At the same time, we want them to consider the obvious synergy of grouping clusters of attractions within a park under a single provider that can integrate all the elements. This is especially true of our Space Park project in China, announced recently. We are excited because we are more than involved with the client as a supplier - we are also invested as a partner. At Dynamic,

Opposite: The Dynamic Motion Theater is the latest creation to come out of the “Secret Lab” inside the Attraction Development Center in Orlando. Above: Teamwork is critical to any Dynamic Attractions project. Mike Haimson is shown here on site working with project staff and clients. All photos courtesy of Dynamic Attractions.

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Mike Haimson, Cindy Emerick and George Walker at the IAAPA Asian Attractions Expo in Shanghai, China

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we believe that the best results come from bringing all the contributors together early so that we can pool resources and work smarter, not harder. Our motivation to deliver excellence is high.

can’t stop thinking about how great your attraction is going to be. You can almost see the crowds in your mind lining up at the gates already. But how does one actually build a great theme park attraction?

Morning sunlight peeks through the curtains of another unfamiliar hotel room, waking me up to the daily question I’ve become accustomed to, “What city am I in today?” 2016 saw the celebrated opening of Pier 57’s Wings over Washington Flying Theater, realized in combination with the talents of Super 78, Electrosonic, and a visionary client, Kyle Griffith. In Dubai, another attraction in IMG Worlds of Adventure welcomed its first guests, and another will open soon at Dubai Parks and Resorts.

We are also extremely excited about an upcoming project at Futuroscope – our first such in Europe, opening later this year, as well as a new flying theater to thrill guests soon in Doha, and more on the horizon.

Let’s be honest. It isn’t easy. It takes a lot of personal sacrifice, a lot of time, a lot of energy, and it’s pretty exhausting. As the saying goes, “If it were easy, everybody would do it.” It’s also not cheap, and when the bill comes, the tab includes stress, anxiety, pressure, strained quality of life, and a lot of missed sleep.

So you want to build a theme park attraction?

So why do we do what we do? And what, exactly, are we creating? Is it art? Is it spectacle? There is definitely artistry in theme park design, and there is even opportunity for selfexpression, but theme design is not “art” in the traditional sense.

So is it mostly spectacle, like a circus? There are circus-like qualities that overlap, but again the definition does not quite match. So what is it we are creating when we build theme park attractions if it isn’t art or spectacle?

You’ve just returned from a benchmarking trip to some of the great theme parks of the world and your mind is in a tizzy.

Freshly doused in pixie dust, projection, and pyrotechnics, you

Theme parks reach to the core of the human condition. They touch a nerve within each person and offer an escape from this often harsh world. They give us an opportunity to be something

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Clockwise, from top left: Guy Nelson speaks at the grand opening of Wings over Washington; Cindy Emerick inspects coaster track in production; George Walker provides artistic direction on a project; the theater at Wings over Washington

we otherwise couldn’t be; to feel something we otherwise would never feel. Our industry is an industry dedicated to mastering the craft of imagination so that we can all know what it feels like to fly, or experience the thrill of battling like superheroes, or the magic of casting spells like a wizard. It is an elusive and complicated craft. One that is part wizardry, part construction, part science fiction, part psychology. It brings together the unlikeliest of companions in the most unusual disciplines to create unprecedented and irresistible new guest experiences.

When attractions are done right, it almost seems all too easy (after the fact, anyway) and it definitely seems fun. Compare it to acquiring a sports car. If you had to buy a car the way you buy a theme park attraction, it would be a very daunting task.

Imagine: you’ve never built a car before. You are trying to figure out the parts and pieces needed. You go shopping. You buy a transmission for a Ford, an engine for a Ferrari, and then the body style of Mercedes. It’s time to think about the interior of the car, but you’ve started to run out of money. You settle for seats and a dashboard from a used Yugo. You start to realize that nothing actually fits together. You hire a mechanic to help you put it all together, who points out you are lacking an exhaust system.

Your finished car looks nothing like your original vision, and it has taken longer to build and cost more than it could have.

Now let’s say that instead of shopping for individual components, you go to a car dealership. Clean. Organized. Multiple facilities and experts on site and on call. You order your car all from a single provider who is familiar with the workings, and can advise you on a variety of sizes, budgets, and features. There are upgrades, color choices and warranties to be negotiated, but in the end, you sign one contract and drive away in a finished vehicle that mirrors your original vision.

The dealership model is the metaphor and the model for Dynamic Attractions: vendors and strategic partners, working well together and forming a single, cohesive product. The end product is better. Everybody wins. • • • George Walker is VP of Creative Development, Dynamic Attractions. Visit Dynamic Attractions at booth #1078 at the 2016 IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando. Email: George.Walker@ dynamicattractions.com

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Photo courtesy of Europa Park

Project V

New flying attraction comes to Europa-Park in 2017

by Stefan Rothaug, Brogent Technologies

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ith the big operators leading the way, media-based attractions are everywhere in North American parks, and growing quickly in Asia. But in Europe, such attractions are proportionately fewer and the primary innovation drivers tend to be smaller operators, such as family-owned Europa-Park in Rust, Germany, which will open Project V next year. (The “Vee” represents an abstraction of birds’ wings.)

The contrast from one continent to another is significant. In the Americas, Six Flags parks have been adding new, media-based interactive dark rides based on the Justice League IP. VR Coaster rides have also become part of the Six Flags experience. In its parks, the Cedar Fair chain has introduced new media-based, immersive experiences based on popular video games such as Mass Effect.

For their part, Universal and Disney both doubled down on the usage of projection technology in their rides for the 2016 season, including “Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken

Treasure” at the new Disney Shanghai and “Skull Island: Reign of Kong” at Universal Studios Florida.

China’s theme park developers like to compare their offerings with the Western market leaders and therefore media-based attractions are an important ride type in each new development.

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom features the world’s largest 4D cinema and Wanda and Fantawild have flying theaters, which are inherently media-based, as standard rides in all their parks ride portfolios.

Due to the hot climate in Southeast Asia as well as in the Middle East, indoor attractions are often more popular than their outdoor counterparts and media-based rides are a natural choice.

When it comes to media-based rides, Europe, in our view, is still lagging behind. Having no Universal Studios park, the continent lacks an operator that elsewhere in the world is a major driver

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for media-based attraction development. Attractions such as “Terminator 2: 3D,” “The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man,” “Transformers: The Ride” and “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” all major milestones in media-based attractions history in the US and Asia, are not available to the theme park audience in Europe. For its part, Disney seems to be very selective about adding high-tech, media-based rides to Disneyland Paris.

“Ratatouille” is one of the few instances; an attraction based on this Pixar movie would have been too good a fit for France to miss. But other Disney media-based attractions, such as “Toy Story Mania” and “Soarin’” are still US/Asia exclusives.

just next to the Main Street. It will be a double installation with two 70-seat theaters, and be ranked as the largest flying theater installation in Europe.

It may be that traditional, European amusement parks tend to stay away from media-based attractions due to a guest preference for outdoor activities. By their very nature, mediabased attractions are indoor events. A significant exception is Futuroscope, a French park that has been a showcase of specialty cinema from its early days in the late 1980s, offering unique, media-based attractions even before the term was invented.

Several pioneering cinema systems first seen at world expos are preserved at Futuroscope; but the park continues to innovate and broaden its family appeal with unique 4D experiences such as Time Machine.

Michael Mack, managing partner of Europa-Park and initiator of the project, is confident that putting an even stronger focus on storytelling will add a new dimension to all the rides and attractions at the park, not only to Project V.

This relative lack of media-based guest experiences in European parks creates opportunity for operators to move into the territory. And Southern Germany’s Europa-Park has begun to do so, introducing attractions that combine storytelling and new technology into the old continent’s theme park industry.

Europa-Park’s own creative arm, Mack Solutions, is in charge of developing the background story - as well as integrating into the park the huge, 4,800-square-meter building that will house the attraction, including two giant dome screens and the sophisticated ride system. Project V will be a key attraction, positioned near the main entrance and helping lay the storytelling foundation for a day at the park.

European fans of flying attractions who wanted to experience Brogent’s unique, multi-story, flying theater system have had to travel to the US or Canada to try it out, at FlyOver America at the Mall of America (Minneapolis), or FlyOver Canada at Vancouver’s Canada Place. That will change with the opening of Project V. It will be Brogent’s first European installation of its panoramic flying theater system, that can simulate sophisticated flight paths with six-degree-of-freedom motion base technology, and plunges guests into a media environment projected onto a dome screen.

Europa-Park can proudly claim the world’s first VR coaster - the Alpenexpress - which quickly began a worldwide trend. The park’s own library of 3D movies was the driving force. And now, Project V. Despite all this technology usage, Europa-Park is not oversaturated with media. It is not turning into a video arcade or technology showcase; it is maintaining a balance. For instance, Ireland, the new area for 2016, puts a strong emphasis on nature and active play.

Introducing “Project V” The year 2017 will once again push the boundaries for mediabased attraction technology in Europe with the opening of Project V. This new, flying theater experience at Europa-Park is being created collaboratively with our company - Taiwanese ride system manufacturer Brogent Technologies - plus Austrian AV experts Kraftwerk Living Technologies, as well as Mack Media for ride film production.

Project V was recently announced during the 2016 IAAPA Euro Attractions Show in Barcelona. More details have since been revealed. It will be located in the German zone of Europa-Park,

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Tim Chen (Brogent), Manfred Meier (Kraftwerk), Michael Mack (Europa-Park), C.H. Oyang (Brogent), Ariel Hsieh (Brogent) at their press conference during EAS 2016.

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In our opinion, Project V, as a state-of-the-art, media-based, flying attraction will make Europa-Park competitive with Disneyland Paris, offering a type of guest experience unavailable elsewhere on the continent. We predict this is the spearhead of yet another trend being launched by Europa-Park, which was recently honored with the Golden Ticket Award for World’s Best Theme Park the third time in a row. Ironically, the flying attraction is a genre of ride that Disney pioneered 15 years ago with the first Soarin’ theater at Disney’s California Adventure, and introduced a version of in Shanghai, but hasn’t made available at its European park.

Project V is not only the first installation of Brogent Technologies in Europe, it also marks the entrance of Mack Media into the field of ride film production. The team is currently using helicopters and drones to produce the movie that will debut with the attraction next year. They are filming at 14 locations all over Europe. • • •

Project V checklist Scale: Two theatre halls with 70 seats each Ride equiment: Seven gondolas spread over three floors per theatre Special effects: various, such as wind and water during the show Capacity per hour: 1,400 people Flight time per show: 4.5 minutes Building area: 4800 m² Base of the main building: 63 x 39 m Diameter screen: 21 m Screen size: 425 m²

Stefan Rothaug (stefan_rothaug@brogent.com) recently joined Taiwanese media-based attractions manufacturer Brogent Technologies in a marketing role. Besides writing as a journalist in our industry for the past 15 years, he has also gathered experience by working part-time for different German theme parks.

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Dave Mauck and Bill Bunting answer questions about the Revolution™ Tru-Trackless™ ride system at the 2014 TEA Summit All photos courtesy of Oceaneering

Under the Hood

The secret to Oceaneering’s trackless technology

by Matt Kent & Caroline van der Weijden, Oceaneering Global Marketing and Communications

W

hether or not you have heard of automated guided vehicles (AGVs), chances are you have already seen them in action. Think of familiar innovations like the disc-shaped robotic vacuum cleaners that zigzag around one’s home, or the self-driving cars that are currently being tested in nine U.S. states. It’s all got to do with AGV technology. Simply put, AGVs are intelligent vehicles that follow a predetermined path based on a combination of software and passive markers, lasers, global positioning systems (GPS), vision aids (cameras) or guide tape for navigation. The AGV industry has been evolving since the 1950s, and, today, these vehicles are used in many industries to transport goods, materials, and even people.

Oceaneering Entertainment Systems (OES), well known as a dark-ride provider to the theme park industry, is a division of Oceaneering International, Inc. a custom engineering firm that is pushing boundaries and endeavoring to create a safer and more intelligent future in various industries. In 2014, OES was honored with a Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) Thea Award for the breakthrough technology driving its motion base, trackless theme park ride: the REVOLUTION™ Tru-Trackless™ Dark Ride System. The details of this technology have been less well

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known – until now. For the first time, Oceaneering has agreed to reveal what makes the trackless capabilities of the REVOLUTION system possible and to share the story of what’s “under the hood.”

Origins of Oceaneering AGV Systems In 1984, three young graduates of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands embarked on a new business startup, called Frog AGV Systems. These entrepreneurs had a promising idea: to apply ‘dead-reckoning’ navigation technology to create autonomous vehicles. They were pioneers in the development of this new method to combine vehicles with automated logistics, without a driver and without a set track or visible path. These young innovators worked tirelessly to evolve AGV capabilities and identify new target markets. In 1988, only four years later, their work attracted the attention of another tech innovator (we can’t divulge the name, but it was named after a fruit), which hired Frog AGV Systems to upgrade the company’s warehousing logistics. In the ensuing years, the AGV technology evolved, becoming more and more state-of-the-art, and carrying heavier and larger loads, while using a range of navigation techniques and performing with increasing precision.

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Trackless, driverless vehicles transport goods at the Cleveland Clinic campus

AGV’s transport massive containers at the Port of Rotterdam

The safety of the AGV system (next to its intelligence, reliability, and high-end technical performance) made it possible to extend its usability in creative ways. Over time it also became more costeffective. Today, AGV systems are more affordable than ever, and relied upon to support productivity, flexibility and stability in multiple applications. Frog AGV Systems has installed projects globally across diverse markets, including automotive factories, hospitals, warehouse automation, metals manufacturing and processing, container ports, electronics, plastics, and – last, but not least – theme parks.

uses the AGV technology on an enormous ride vehicle that seats several dozen passengers. That critical synergy and application sharing made possible the success of the project.

In 2013, Oceaneering acquired the small Netherlands-based company, which enabled combining Frog’s refined AGV technologies with existing Oceaneering products. OES jumped at the opportunity to work with the new Oceaneering AGV Systems group in developing OES’s very first trackless-ride vehicle, which gained immediate acclaim in the theme park industry and led to its first installations as well as the aforementioned Thea Award. The proprietary Oceaneering REVOLUTION™ TruTrackless™ system has been used in several unique attractions, and, with the benefit of the Oceaneering shared services model, continues to benefit from evolving technologies and methods.

Moving your audience AGVs require the use of some critical technologies: fastrecharging battery power, Wi-Fi, and load-bearing mechanical capabilities. The AGV products that Oceaneering offers are modular, in that each unit can be outfitted for multiple applications. Oceaneering AGVs are designed to lift or pull small, light loads (such as cardboard, metal boxes or plastic totes), as well as extremely heavy loads (such as cars, containers and bulldozers). As an example of a real-world application, at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, enormous diesel-powered and driverless trucks use Oceaneering AGV technology to move huge shipping containers around the port. It was this kind of largescale, proven application that enabled OES to apply heavy-cargo lessons-learned to a recent, high-profile theme park project that

“One of the things I tell our customers is that when you hire Oceaneering Entertainment Systems for your crazy new, never-been-done-before project, you are hiring Oceaneering International,” says Bill Bunting, Director of Business Development for OES. “That we operate on a shared services model means that our customers’ projects benefit from access to the unparalleled knowledge base developed across multiple divisions, with multiple applications experience, and more than 50 years of experience creating custom solutions for the harshest environments known to humankind. Deep water, space, military, and yes, even theme parks!”

The Oceaneering shared services model is the secret to the success of the company’s OES and Oceaneering AGV Systems divisions. As the innovators of safe and reliable systems in a multitude of industries encompassing land, sea and space, Oceaneering looks to the dreamers for inspiration on how to make the world a better, safer place. Often working behind the scenes (such as enhancing the automated factories around the world that build the cars we drive, providing exciting ride experiences in theme park attractions that thrill and enchant, or supporting the exploration of the infinite reaches of space), Oceaneering is there. Our slogan is - Oceaneering: Connecting What’s Needed with What’s Next.™ • • •

Matt Kent and Caroline van der Weijden are part of Oceaneering Global Marketing and Communications.

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The magical mobile media tour Panasonic Solutions Center Tour launches in November New technologies to showcase collaboration between Panasonic, Apple, and Videro

by Joe Kleiman

C

ollaboration between Panasonic, Apple, and Videro has led to a newly announced, innovative mobile technologybased solution for theme parks, museums, branded retail, and other attractions. It is being promoted as something that will simplify the creation of highly personalized experiences for guests at an affordable cost. The Panasonic Solutions Center Tour will launch in November at the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando, followed by stops in major American cities [dates and locations to be announced]. Participants can meet with Videro and Panasonic media solutions experts and see demonstrations of cross-platforming and interaction of a variety of media display devices using the “Internet of AV” and real-time data transmission through Panasonic LinkRay Powered by Videro.

Three companies, one box One of the challenges facing attraction operators and designers is finding the appropriate AV equipment to turn their visions into reality, and then to seamlessly integrate the gear. Panasonic Hollywood Lab established the Panasonic Solutions Center with the goal to create versatile, turnkey solutions for the entertainment and attractions industries without the need for extensive integration. These will be demonstrated at the Panasonic Solutions Center Tour.

Ron Martin, Vice President/Director of Panasonic Hollywood Lab, explains, “A technology company usually goes through its R&D process and develops something that they hope the market will embrace and purchase. An entertainment industry designer or executive searches the technology landscape and hopes they can find something to accomplish their vision.

Our goal at Panasonic is to bridge that gap, by integrating the design and vision early on. We solve problems and deliver on the client’s promise to their guests. This is our mission at Panasonic Hollywood Lab: guide technology development to address creative vision.”

Above: Panasonic LinkRay Powered by Videro is triggered to deliver information about a dress to a user’s phone.

Opposite Top: Orbi Osaka Opposite Bottom: The Intercontinental Hotel in Miami Page 24: The Windows 8 launch in Times Square, New York

According to Roberta Perry, Vice President Edwards Technologies (ETI, exclusive distributor of Videro North America), “This tour will show the cost savings that customers can realize by using the solution-in-a-box approach that the three companies bring together.”

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All photos courtesy of ETI

Brian Edwards, Founder and Chair of ETI, adds, “With this new collaboration, we were trying to compress the development timeline and make new advances available to clients faster and at lower costs. By joining forces with Panasonic’s displays and Light ID technology and the computing power of Apple, we’re able to provide a cost-effective package that takes full advantage of the cutting edge technology of each company.”

Videro: from Times Square to the palm of your hand The Panasonic Solutions Center Tour will feature a variety of media displays, including interactive tables, monitors, projectors, tablets, and smart phones, all powered by the award-winning Videro wireless media system and Apple computers. There are already more than 5,000 systems in operation worldwide using Videro and its unique “Internet of AV.” The system is designed to facilitate attractions operators uploading a wide variety of digital media to appear on any display within their wireless network, now including mobile devices. ETI provides 24-hour remote support to its clients to keep the systems running: monitoring centers at ETI’s California headquarters and in Germany keep an eye on all aspects of operation from real-time images on digital displays to projector bulb life.

Videro supports multiple applications operating simultaneously to immerse guests in the media and experience. Some Videro installations are running in very prominent places. If you’ve ever stood in the middle of Times Square in New York City, you’ve

been surrounded by Videro, which powers many of the digital billboards. Videro’s WorldSync technology allows multiple screens to be combined into a single kinetic sign, as was done in 2012 for the introduction of Microsoft Windows 8. Videro is also behind a 19-story-tall video display on the side of the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami.

Videro’s relationship with Apple and Panasonic is of long standing. In Yokohama and Osaka, Japan, Videro powers the Orbi natural history indoor theme parks, running off Apple computers and projecting images through Panasonic digital projectors. A joint project of SEGA and BBC Earth, Orbi uses unique media applications to stand in for live animals and static displays (see InPark issue #50).

Being introduced during the Panasonic Solutions Center Tour is Videro’s mobile solution. “Videro mobile allows attraction guests to experience the same powerful media server in the palm of their hand,” says Edwards.

Also on display at the Panasonic Solutions Center Tour will be two new technologies fully integrated with Videro and the Internet of AV: Videro Swoosh and Panasonic LinkRay Powered

by Videro.

Videro Swoosh allows an image to be moved between two or more devices connected to the Videro system with the flick of a finger, allowing an object to be viewed in high

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definition and more detail. Visitors to the Panasonic Solutions Center Tour will have the opportunity to experience Videro Swoosh in person across a variety of display platforms.

Light ID: A hidden signal in sight Panasonic LinkRay Powered by Videro technology is embedded within existing LED lighting and provides the next generation interface between an area or object and a mobile device. A user points the mobile device’s camera toward an LED light source or the illuminated object, and the app immediately recognizes the Light ID. It functions even at considerable distance, which is useful in situations with large crowds.

Panasonic LinkRay Powered by Videro provides a tool to create highly interactive experiences, with the ability to deliver information quickly and act as a virtual queue or wallet. Because interference is not an issue with Light ID, it possible to provide a range of information sets via multiple Light ID transmitters installed in adjacent locations, a new level of functionality in image reading methods. • • •

For further information about the Panasonic Solutions Center Tour and products featured or to schedule an appointment during the IAAPA Attractions Expo, please contact Roberta Perry: roberta. perry@etiemail.com or (310) 536-7070.

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Making it personal

Technology enhancements for fan events

by Aimee Roy, BaAM Productions

G

oogle “customer experience for modern audience” and prepare to be overwhelmed with the search results. There is no shortage of polls, surveys, white papers, and reports trying to uncover the secret behind engaging with the masses of modern day. Especially given the constant distractions in today’s world, it’s hard to compete for attention. Consumers are more empowered than ever, with new media and information at their fingertips, all of which fuels the development of new methods of engagement to combat the ubiquitous handheld screen – a challenge that is being met head-on in the sports industry.

The second-screen effect – described as “a mobile device used while watching television, especially to access supplementary content or applications” – has become the sports world’s best and worst friend, and it is having an impact on game attendance.

The second screen is both a distraction from one source of entertainment, and a portal for supplemental and/or potentially more direct contact with the consumer. When guests enter an experience, the second screen in many ways becomes the first screen. Their phone becomes the primary means with which guests document and engage with others who may or may not be in the same physical space.

An iconic tower at MLB All-Star FanFest

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This blending of the digital and physical worlds continues to be a delicate balancing act as experience designers try to find technological synergies that add to the experience without sacrificing the most important, human piece of the puzzle. The first hurdle to tackle for sports organizations was to ensure WiFi access for fans at their sporting venues. Now that 75.3% of international sports leagues and US universities report access to high-quality Wi-Fi at all seating, it’s time to harness the technology that’s available (Source: 2016 State of the Stadium Technology Survey published by Sports & Entertainment Alliance in Technology and Mobile Sports Report). The challenge for designers is to create compelling experiences that share stories rooted in history and tradition, seemingly the antitheses of technology. However, just like today’s consumer, stories can also be empowered by embracing technology to build newer significance and personal connections for each guest.

A great example of how technology can deepen this significance was perhaps best described in less than 140 characters a few months ago. While thousands of world-class athletes were competing in Rio this past summer, a popular tweet shared and favorited by second-screening fans around the world was broadcast to the twitterverse by a Bill Murray parody account:

Not only does this tweet paint a hilarious picture for anyone who can visualize the possibilities, but it points to exactly what people want to know… how does this relate to me? How can I comprehend the skill and strength of an MVP through my own experience? New technologies and mobile devices have the ability to shine a light on the individual. We are better equipped to understand the world around us because we have a handheld device to interpret and share our story for us. This use of tech reveals how the personal is the universal – or how personalization available with new technology can be applied to create a universal experience. This certainly seems to be the trend for brands aiming to breathe new life into popular attractions or traditions. A look at fan experiences like Super Bowl City, MLB All-Star FanFest and the Scotiabank World Cup

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Fan Energy Zone at Super Bowl City. All photos courtesy of BaAM Productions.

of Hockey Fan Village reveals how the integration of technology has been embraced to amplify the personal experience.

MLB All-Star FanFest: Updating a fan favorite Often referred to as “baseball heaven on earth,” MLB All-Star FanFest is the quintessential sports fan event. Like a theme park, it offers a multifaceted, guest experience devoted to the sport, offering hands-on interactive games, celebrity autograph signings, baseball clinics hosted by professional players and coaches. Like a museum, it offers educational exhibits dedicated to exploring baseball’s history. Although its creators knew they had a winner, they had no idea that FanFest would maintain its appeal through the years and become a mainstay as part of the MLB Midsummer Classic festivities more than 25 years later.

arrival. As guests entered the space, they were enveloped in video, audio and large scale graphics, immersing fans in the baseball stories about to unfold and ushering them into a bigger and better experience. New elements included six iconic towers designed to connect fans with their teams. Measuring 21 ft. tall, each side of the five-sided structures highlighted an MLB team. Whether or not fans were rooting for the local hometown heroes, their team still had a place at MLB All-Star FanFest - just like the All-Star game itself. The towers provided great photo ops – and great content for personalization. These new additions created a dynamic sense of place and put fans in the center of the action, compelling them to document their experience with their smart phones and share content far and wide.

Super Bowl City: Personalized fan activations

In 2016, MLB All-Star FanFest returned to San Diego (where it had previously been staged in its sophomore year, 1992) with an updated and upgraded look and feel. FanFest attractions have evolved over time, changing to reflect each new host city annually, but for the most part, its main attractions and event architecture have remained the same. That is, up until now – and this is where our discussion about personalization, digital media and two-screen usage comes back in.

Few will argue that the NFL Super Bowl is the “ruler” of sports entertainment in almost every sense of the word; providing the crème-de-la-crème of sports fan experiences and often setting the benchmark for other leagues and teams. It’s interesting to look at how the NFL has engaged fans in the past and how it continues to grow its fan experiences outside the stadium with leading edge sponsor activations that tap into the personalized story.

In fall 2015, MLB committed to move forward with a re-design of event elements, which will be rolled out over the next three years, starting with the recent installation at the San Diego Convention Center. The updates focused on changing the environment to create a greater sense of scale, giving the immediate impression that baseball fans were walking into an experience like no other.

FanFest set the scene from floor to ceiling, beginning with the

Earlier this year, Super Bowl City was a free, massive outdoor fan experience on Market Street in downtown San Francisco, celebrating Super Bowl 50 with sponsor activations like the Fan Energy Zone Powered by SAP. SAP aimed to reflect the innovative technologies coming out of the Bay Area and live up to the Host Committee’s goal to make Super Bowl 50 one of the most technologically advanced Super Bowls with immersive

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Entrance to SAP Skills Challenge at the Scotiabank World Cup of Hockey Fan Village

activations like “Quarterback Challenge.” SAP applied a variety of technologies to put the fan in the center of the action. In this case, virtual reality headsets transported fans to Levi’s Stadium – home of the San Francisco 49ers – where fans could participate in training drills or lead their team in a game-winning play. At the core of this experience was SAP’s “gaze detection” technology, which meant that fans could select the receiver that they wanted to pass to and a handheld trigger could simultaneously measure their timing and accuracy. Whereas MLB All-Star FanFest built an environment that compelled fans to interact with the space by using their own handheld tech, SAP’s Super Bowl City activation used responsive VR technology to transport them to a different environment. Users were able to control their actions, creating a heightened sense of personalization within the virtual setting.

Scotiabank World Cup of Hockey Fan Village: A global celebration of culture Later in 2016, the Scotiabank World Cup of Hockey Fan Village opened its doors to welcome World Cup of Hockey fans in Toronto’s Distillery Historic District. This free, 10-day event meant that fans who couldn’t get tickets for a game at the Air Canada Center still had a place to experience the excitement of the World Cup. The Fan Village blended the tactile with the digital.

Fans could check out exhibits showcasing the World Cup trophy designed by Frank Gehry while also stepping into an assortment of high-tech fan activations like the Pepsi 360 Experience, which created shareable GIFs of fans experiencing an Air Canada Centre locker room re-creation.

One of the most popular attractions offered a blend of digital metrics with real-time coaching. The SAP Skills Challenge incorporated cutting-edge responsive technology with fan-

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favorite hockey interactives. BaAM worked closely with SAP who developed software enhancements for this in-demand attraction. It featured a 15 ft. SAP Skills Challenge leaderboard at the entrance displaying live scores for all to see. Each set of players was provided a coach to guide them through the skills then guests could compete against each other and watch the scoreboards light up at each game. Fan match-ups tested skills like “hardest shot,” “perfect pass,” and “sharp shooter.” Cumulative results from their competitions were summarized for the players and then top scores made their way to the leaderboard. Each interactive game incorporated the latest technology and actual training tools used by professional players.

The hockey equipment and approach to coaching at SAP Skills Challenge ensured authenticity to the sport while custom printed scores and real-time leaderboard ranking captured fan interaction. Fans could experience the hockey skills required of players in a best-on-best tournament like the World Cup of Hockey in relation to their own accomplishments.

Although each fan experience embraced technology in different ways, the examples from MLB, NFL, and the NHL highlight technology’s supporting role in the guest story. An experience that connects with the personal is far more likely to resonate with an audience and encourage them to share the excitement outwards. And there are multiple ways to create that connection: by creating an environment that awes and engages; by harnessing technology to respond to specific actions; by sharing individual metrics to participants; and so on. Ultimately, technology can be high-tech, low-tech, or a combination of both and still achieve the sense of personalization and guestcentered experience that fans crave. • • •

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The face of animatronics

Garner Holt Productions, Inc. celebrates 40 imaginative years

by Bill Butler

F

or many products, a single brand name stands for the height of quality, innovation, and charismatic, diverse creations: Apple for electronics, TESLA for cars, Disney for entertainment.

In the unique market of animatronics, we believe our company, Garner Holt Productions, Inc. (GHP) is the first and last name for exceptionally well-designed and built figures for parks, attractions, and other locations around the world.

And in 2017, the company founded by a teenager will celebrate its 40th anniversary.

“When I first started my company, I was out in my parents’ garage with one card table,” said Garner Holt, GHP founder and president. “I was 16, the only employee, and still in high school.

Now I’ve got a 70,000 square-foot garage and hundreds of card tables!” All that - plus close to 100 talented employees – helps establish GHP at the apex of an unusual and esoteric line of business.

Inspired by a childhood trip to Disneyland that planted the seed of a lifelong love for animatronics, Holt began tinkering with mechanical figures and effects around age 12. At first, they were just toys, his initial forays into animatronics just a hobby. But in a few short years, Holt’s fascination grew from mere child’s play into something much more. “I wanted to have some sort of attraction, something where I could show people what I was doing,” said Holt. “My parents were tired of me almost getting the neighborhood kids killed with my crazy backyard rides, so they insisted I come up with something more low-key that still challenged me creatively. Most of all it had to be safe.”

What followed was a backyard haunted house that attracted more than 100 guests on Halloween night - “To my delight and my parents’ horror,” said Holt - and a larger, more elaborate version at a local shopping mall the next year. Between Halloweens, Garner came across the August 1963 issue of National Geographic Magazine in a classroom at school, featuring an indepth story about Disney’s earliest Audio-Animatronics efforts for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, including the first iteration of the famous Mr. Lincoln figure. Suddenly, Garner was interested in much more than the relative simplicity of a haunted house.

Lincoln inspires Uncle Sam “I wanted to build my own animatronic person,” said Holt.

“I thought of doing a figure depicting Uncle Sam that was

sort of similar to a Lincoln, which was a good fit for the US Bicentennial in 1976. It would stand up from a chair and do a show.” In the pre-Internet days of the late 1970s, a teenager desiring to build an animatronic human (in his garage...) faced almost insurmountable challenges. “I had pictures of the Lincoln figure from the world’s fair from National Geographic,” Holt continued, “But that was about it. I went to Disneyland a couple of times and was fortunate to meet one of the animatronics maintenance guys, who told me a little bit about pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders and steel frames.” Holt set a goal of having the figure ready for July 4th, 1976. Working at home (in the garage) writing the script at school (and recording a history teacher’s voice), designing the mechanism in drafting class, and begging, borrowing, and (not quite) stealing all the time and materials he could muster, young Holt prevailed. He presented his animatronic Uncle Sam at the same local mall where his haunted houses had thrilled visitors the previous year - and both the haunted house and Uncle Sam were profit-generators for their young creator.

In the summer following Uncle Sam’s knockout debut - which netted Holt lots of local and even national publicity - he decided to found a company, and, in July 1977, incorporated Garner Holt Productions. Not long after, he tested out of high school, allowing him to skip his senior year and to focus on perfecting Uncle Sam (the original’s frame was steel fence posts and door

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hinges) and growing his business. Holt soon found other clients, including more haunted houses and trade show exhibits. For one scientific display, Uncle Sam transformed to Dr. Johnson.

Now we jump ahead a few decades in our history, to the present day. GHP is now ranked the largest animatronic designer and builder in the world. With its creative design capability for attractions, exhibits, and more, plus fabrication of show action systems, special effects, sets and scenery, GHP may also be the most complete design and production organization in themed entertainment.

“Just getting started” The GHP portfolio includes creating nearly 500 animatronics shows for Chuck E. Cheese, and hundreds of animatronics for entertainment operators such as Disney and Universal Studios, plus dozens and dozens of other clients from McDonald’s to Nike, NASA and Lockheed-Martin to Mattel and Hershey. In all, GHP has now created close to 5,000 animatronic figures in 34 countries. The company’s name is synonymous with animatronic excellence, and in 2014 Garner Holt received a very high honor from the Themed Entertainment Association: the Buzz Price Thea Award for a Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements. “I love what we’ve accomplished in 40 years,” Holt said. “But I’m just getting started.”

To keep the company’s focus sharp and its output broad, Holt has fostered a continuous research and development program for methods and materials. “Many innovations that are standard practice in animatronics production began here,” said Holt. “Things like magnetic hatch attachments for figures and silicone masks. We were an early innovator in the use of electric actuation, and introduced one of the first all-electric figures to Disneyland in 2008. Electric actuation is going to become the dominant system in parks in the next few years.”

A better face Holt has continuously focused on novel and ever more realistic animation for decades. One of GHP’s most famous creations is Wendell the unicyclist. While the figure is a popular character at trade shows because of his ability to ride a unicycle with no visible means of support, the fluidity and lifelike motion of the character add tremendously to the effect. “Making a figure ride a unicycle is one thing,” Holt said, “But making it in such a way that it looks like a living person doing it is a huge challenge.” In the same way, much of GHP’s current R&D work is directed toward an all-new, electrically-actuated head.

“The subtleties of facial expression are one of the trickiest things to replicate with animatronics,” said Holt. “Every time a university comes out with a new expressive robotic head, there’s a big deal

Left: Garner Holt. Right: Animatronics are used in military training scenarios. All photos courtesy of Garner Holt Productions.

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made about it, but to me, the results just aren’t really convincing.

My goal has been to make an astonishingly realistic human face.

We’ve done it.” Following small steps taken in the past decade to add subtle realism to animatronic human faces at GHP – including smiles, frowns, lip curls, eyebrow motion, and more - the new expressive head currently in production is expected to prove a milestone in animatronics’ realism capabilities.

a real person can.” The project owes much of its realization to advances in rapid prototyping and the ongoing miniaturization of electric actuation. “Four years ago, we were just dabbling in rapid prototype 3D printing,” said Holt. “Now we have four machines and it’s an inextricable part of our process. We make mechanical parts, figure shells, maquettes, props, mockups of collectible items, even finished pieces that go into attractions.”

“Some of the technology was developed for a project we created for the US government,” explained Holt. “We created a series of animatronic characters for a Marine Corps training facility that could be either friendly or hostile, and facial expression played a huge role in that.” In that exercise, currently in use at the Infantry Immersion Trainer at Camp Pendleton, California, figures could go from passive villagers who smile and greet trainees to hostile enemies with frowns and scowling brows, as they drew handguns, threw grenades, or threatened with other weapons.

The immediate visual transformation of the characters has brought unprecedented versatility and realism to the training environment. GHP’s current fully-expressive face project will ultimately prove much more peaceable, while using some of the mechanical/silicone interface lessons learned with the Marines.

Holt plans to debut his new expressive animatronic head in the fall or winter of 2016 as part of the celebration of his company’s 40th anniversary. “Something like this is a pretty amazing progression of animatronic technology from where I started out in the garage,” said Holt. “Four decades have gone by in the blink of an eye. During that time, I’ve been so blessed with the talented team I’ve been able to put together over the years—many have been with me for 10 years or more. All creative endeavors are at their heart a collaboration. What we collaborate on at GHP is some of the greatest magic ever seen. It’s a dream come true.” • • • Bill Butler (left) is Creative Design Director of Garner Holt Productions, Inc.

“Everything I’ve ever done with animatronics has been with the intent of making them look more alive,” said Holt. “The expressive head we’re developing now has been in production in one way or another for a decade. It will have close to 50 individual functions and will be capable of making nearly every expression

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World’s fairs, planned & proposed Astana 2017, Dubai 2020 and more

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year ago, Milan Expo 2015 ended a successful run with 22 million visits. This followed the 2012 world’s fair in Yeosu, Korea (8 million visits), Shanghai 2010 (73 million visits) and Aichi Expo 2005 (22 million visits).

Now attention shifts to Astana Expo 2017 in Kazakhstan, and Dubai Expo 2020 in the United Arab Emirates. Astana 2017 will run three months: June 10-September 10, with organizers anticipating 2 million visitors/5 million visits. The Dubai expo will run six months: October 2020-April 2021, bringing together more than 180 nations and projecting international attendance of 25 million visits.

Construction is underway Astana and Dubai, like all world’s fairs, require major lead-time preparations. At Astana construction has been under way for the past few years; organizers report that the process is on schedule and 85 percent complete. Participants, including 103 countries and 17 international organizations, will be able to enter the International Building and begin construction of their exhibits at the end of this month. The smaller, three-month expos provide a building to house exhibits and allocate space to participants; it is at the larger, six-month expos that one sees unique pavilions designed and built by individual exhibitors.

At Dubai, it’s all about infrastructure at this time. A $2.8 billion spur for its metro system is under construction that will bring visitors to the Expo site from Nakheel Harbour in 16 minutes. In addition to bringing visitors to the fair, it will serve a metro area with a commuter population of 270,000.

Dubai organizers report that the site will have a large percentage of buildings ready by the end of 2019. This will allow trial events to take place prior to opening day. By early 2017, work is scheduled to begin on the main buildings, including the Al Wasl Plaza and the UAE’s three main theme pavilions.

Post-use plans For both Expos residual use is integral to planning. At Astana the site will be repurposed as the Astana International Financial Center. The plan for Dubai is that 90% of the infrastructure will be retained and utilized after closing day. Under this plan, the expo’s conference and exhibition center will become an event venue operated by Dubai World Trade Centre, while more than 200,000 square meters of nations’ pavilions will also be reused as collaborative work spaces for companies and institutions. Two of the UAE’s three theme pavilions will be converted into learning centers, with the Mobility Pavilion becoming an educational

by James Ogul

institution focused on logistics and the Sustainability Pavilion becoming a science center. It is estimated that by this method, 80 percent of Expo investments will be retained.

In order to boost international attendance at Astana Expo 2017, Kazakhstan will provide visa-free entry for citizens of 20 developed countries and beginning in 2017, a visa-free regime (up to 30 days) will begin for citizens of all members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as well as Malaysia, Monaco, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

Will North American hosting initiatives succeed?

The U.S has not hosted a world’s fair in 32 years but that may change in the near future, as Minnesota prepares to submit its bid to host a smaller scale Expo in 2023. It will be competing against Lodz, Poland, which already has its bid in for 2022.

The Minnesota effort has been dual-pronged as it not only had to develop a comprehensive plan to be approved by the Department of Commerce and ultimately by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE), but also had to mount an effort for the U.S. to reinstate its lapsed membership in the BIE - such membership being a prerequisite to winning a bid to host an Expo.

That effort has now resulted in H.R. 5624 - a Bill that states, “To require the Secretary of State to take such actions as may be necessary for the United States to rejoin the Bureau of International Expositions, and for other purposes.”

Beyond the 2022-2023 competition, the year 2025 has attracted bid interest from Toronto, Paris, Rotterdam, Greater Manchester, UK, Osaka, Japan, San Francisco and Houston. Each potential bidder is working with community and government elements to rally support for bids.

World’s fairs, which have a history going back to 1851 (Crystal Palace exhibition, London) have a busy future. The 150 million people who have attended them so far this century will be augmented by millions more in the decades ahead. • • • Since retiring from the US State Department in 2011 after a 30+ year career in world expos, James Ogul (jogul@comcast.net) has remained on the scene in an advisory and consulting role. He writes regularly for InPark Magazine about world’s fairs. See his free online book, Tales from the Expo, at www.inparkmagazine.com

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An underwater acrylic tunnel leads to a viewing gallery where state of the art automotive technology shares penguin facts at the Detroit Zoo’s Polk Penguin Conversation Center Photo courtesy of The Detroit Zoo

Pairs of Aces Things happen in pairs for The Producers Group: two rides for SeaWorld, two movie franchises for Dubai, two new international office locations, and a new joint venture with Premier Rides

by Judith Rubin and Joe Kleiman

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os Angeles-based The Producers Group (TPG) recently completed work on a pair of roller coasters for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and on two high energy shows for Dubai Parks & Resorts. TPG bills itself as “international attraction production specialist” and the company fulfilled that role on these four unique, highly integrated projects, that presented specific challenges in technical design and production management.

The SeaWorld pairing: sharks and cobras SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is actively growing its portfolio of thrill rides that tie into SeaWorld wildlife conservation and education programs. TPG was recruited to help create two, new themed roller coaster experiences that opened in Florida in summer 2016 - Cobra’s Curse™, a unique, family oriented spin coaster at Busch Gardens® Tampa; and Mako™ at SeaWorld Orlando, the new hypercoaster within the new realm of the sharks. On both projects, TPG was part of an external team working with SeaWorld’s in-house creative arm. SeaWorld educational and zoological teams were also involved.

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For Cobra’s Curse™, TPG provided show production and technical coordination with their scope touching media, lighting, sound and audio. TPG staff on the project included Rob Palmer (associate producer), Andrew Rubio (project manager) and Doug Storm (technical director). They answered to SeaWorld’s internal team headed by Brian Morrow (creative director for the project), Jeff Hornick (project manager), Mike Denninger (overseeing ride engineering and install) and Mark Rose (local project executive at Busch Gardens Tampa).

The backstory of Cobra’s Curse is an ancient Egyptian archeological mystery. The ride takes riders 70 feet up on a vertical lift where a cobra statue of equal height looks back at them, fangs bared, and delivers the “curse” that sets them spinning along a track above the park’s Serengeti Plain. Detailed theming and storytelling details and effects begin with the facades and queue and continue throughout the ride.

According to Edward Marks, co-CEO of TPG, “One of the highlights of Cobra’s Curse takes place in the queue, where a

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relief of the Snake King comes alive through projection mapping.

We spent a lot of time and research on that, creating 3D models and maquettes. Guests are in close proximity to the wall, so the effect is right on top of them. To make it effective, we found a way to hide a series of short-throw projectors in the area so that guests can’t place their hands in or block the projection cones.

The effect has been very popular since opening day.”

The 200-foot-tall Mako™ hypercoaster was designed to be the tallest, fastest and longest coaster in Orlando, and to move in ways that evoke its namesake creature. Mako sharks or “blue pointers” are known for their speed and ability to quickly change course. The coaster anchors the two-acre Shark Wreck Reef which includes the Shark Encounter attraction, interactive learning exhibits and retail. Said SeaWorld Orlando President Donnie Mills: “Our guests now have a whole new underwater world to explore - and a thrilling new ride to conquer.”

rather than the ride itself,” said Marks. “It’s a really remarkable coaster and we wanted to complement that in the new realm.

The lighting has an underwater vibe, giving you the impression of walking along the bottom of the ocean. We achieved a seamless effect, concealing the lighting fixtures within scenic elements.”

As guests board the Mako train, an overhead screen shows a school of sharks swimming above, which increase their speed as the train departs towards the lift hill. Marks says, “The ceiling has proven to be very effective in helping keep guests immersed in the experience. We had to take into account that since the station is open to the outside, daylight changes the type of images that are visible. But that was part of the challenge that we were able to meet with the entire project – making sure that all lighting and scenery work properly under all conditions.”

The Dubai duo

The SeaWorld internal team included Morrow (creative director/project manager), Michael Spencer (project manager), Denninger (ride design and install), and Hornick (regional director for the company’s attractions in Florida). “Bringing in top outside specialists is good for our company,” said Morrow.

“It allows us to be most efficient, to find the best talent for individual projects and build the best possible team. It allows us to be fast, nimble, and to make the best choices at any given time in the marketplace and for the type of project.”

“Our work on Mako was geared more towards development of the overall realm and the Shark Wreck Reef, including the queue,

For two projects at Dubai Parks & Resorts, (DPR) TPG brought its battery of tech and production skills to help realize two live shows. Each is based on a contemporary movie franchise with a large international following: Dabangg (Arbaaz Khan Productions) and Step Up (Lionsgate). Both shows are slated to open in late 2016 within the region’s largest integrated theme park destination, which when complete will include motiongate™, Bollywood Parks Dubai, Legoland, a Six Flags park and a waterpark. Each of the parks has its own, separate internal design team.

Left: The media-enhanced station at SeaWorld Orlando’s Mako coaster. Right: Promotional art for the Dabangg stunt show in Bollywood Park (courtesy The Producers Group). Opposite: Cobra’s Curse at Busch Gardens Tampa.

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The first Dabangg movie, a hugely popular action film, was released in 2010. Its protagonist, Chulbul Pandey (played in the films by international superstar Salman Khan), is a bold, athletic police officer. (Dabangg 3 is currently in the works.) DPR has announced a mid-December opening for the Dabangg stunt show at Bollywood Parks Dubai. TPG is providing show production and equipment for the show which, to be true to its namesake, demands an elaborate combination of live stunts and effects. “Bringing Dabangg movie stunts to a live show is a challenge requiring precise choreography of live actors with high-end gear, special effects and complex technical integration,” said Dubai Parks & Resorts Chief Technology Officer Matthew Priddy.

According to TPG co-CEO Bob Chambers, the Dabangg show structure takes some inspiration, loosely speaking, from the style of Universal’s popular Waterworld stunt show, with its approach to non-stop action and audience involvement. “We say ‘loosely,’ because in every way, this is a very Indian show,” Chambers said. “There’s a dance number in the middle of it [in the movies themselves, Dabangg and the villains will occasionally pause battle for a bit of dancing]. Even the stunts are very Bollywood – with a fantasy action feel to them. We did quite a bit of rigging to achieve those effects.”

The robust Lionsgate Step Up franchise is currently five movies strong with number 6 on the way. Step Up was born in 2006 with the first movie starring Channing Tatum as a troubled high schooler who finds his path (and love) through becoming a dancer. Subsequent Step Up movies have all played on this basic theme in diverse ways that have far reaching appeal.

The live show that is scheduled to open in mid-November at motiongate™ Dubai, in a 1,000-seat theater in the Lionsgate zone, will feature singing, dancing and acrobatics and is based on the two most recent titles in the series, Step Up: All In and Step Up: Revolution. Unlike Dabaang, where TPG, as show producers, are handling all aspects of the show other than

providing performers and stunts, the company is taking on a more limited, but still pivotal role with Step Up, providing a design/build package for the sets, rigging, and lighting, all completely designed to meet the producer’s vision for the show.

Dubai and Shanghai offices; new projects In 2016, TPG again expanded. The company established an office in Dubai and moved its Shanghai office to Puxi. “Our old Shanghai office was closer to the Shanghai Disney grounds, which served us well at the time,” says Chambers. “Puxi places our staff of four in better accommodations and closer to corporate and client developer offices.” TPG is also adding staff at its headquarters in Los Angeles.

TPG has maintained a steady and growing stream of work since co-CEOs Bob Chambers and Edward Marks formalized the company five years ago. Although the staff levels fluctuate based on workload, the company averages around 50 at any given time. Core staff include: Brian Paiva (VP, Business Development), Rob Palmer (Associate Producer/Sr. Technical Director), Judd Nissen (Sr. Project Manager/Sr. Technical Director), Andrew Rubio (Project Manager), Madison Rademacher (Technical Coordinator), Lauren Olivarez (Design Manager), Cynthia Blackstone (Producer), Jennifer Miller (Sr. Project Manager), Scott Weitz (Creative Director), and Eric Nolfo (Technical Director).

TPG staff are expert in a range of technical disciplines including project management, show production, technical direction, CAD, lighting design, AV and show control, show action and special effects.

TPG will soon be able to announce more details of some upcoming projects, which include three contracts recently signed with a Chinese entertainment developer, in addition to being under contract to provide work on a major, global theme park in Beijing. The company also has new projects in Eastern Europe and the Americas. • • •

Judd Nissen, Brian Paiva, Bob Chambers, Edward Marks, & Praveen Rao in The Producers Group booth at IAAPA’s 2016 Asian Attractions Expo in Shanghai

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Napkin sketch: TPG and Premier Rides join forces to create EVAD™

By Keith Loria The Producers Group (TPG) and Premier Rides, Inc. formally announced a new joint venture, Extraordinary Voyages Adventure Dining™ (EVAD™) and are setting up meetings to discuss the new product with potential partners at the 2016 IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando.

“This is a first for both companies, partnering together to design a new patented ride system and multifaceted guest experience,” said Edward Marks, TPG co-CEO and executive producer. Marks and Jim Seay, president and owner of Premier Rides, (Baltimore, MD) recently came up with the plan to collaborate and launch EVAD which is billed as a next-generation entertainment experience and immersive dining attraction.

“Working with Premier Rides, renowned innovators of some of the world’s most incredible rides, has given us the opportunity to create a truly unique immersive guest experience for the industry,” said Marks. “Extraordinary Voyages is designed to deliver the perfect mix of delectable dining, cinematic adventure, and theme park thrills for a memorable, family-friendly experience.”

According to Marks the experience will allow visitors to journey virtually to exotic locales where they will encounter colorful characters and “find themselves swept up in an unforgettable adventure as an exciting cinematic experience unfolds all around them.”

Seay said, “It will place guests at the heart of a blockbuster cinematic adventure through a mix of dynamic motion, immersive media, live actors and special effects.”

It will also respond to user input. “The immersive theme design extends into the EVAD venue itself, surrounding guests with an interactive experience they help create before their journey even begins,” said TPG producer Rob Palmer.

repeat visitation and take advantage of new trends in entertainment and advances in technology.”

The flexible platform is seen as a key to longevity and versatility. “The capability to change and even customize experiences ensures that guests will have a variety of available journeys awaiting them at EVAD,” said Premier Rides project engineer Mark Stepanian.

Collaborations of one kind or another are often critical to meeting the demands of turn-key projects such as EVAD. Combining strengths of two firms allows ideas to flourish and more quickly come to fruition. “Jim Seay and I always said we needed to find a project to work together on because we are very like-minded folks,” Marks said. “We’re both very production-minded, we’re both very technical, and we just needed to find the right project.”

Continued Marks, “When we decided we were going to formally start pursuing experience design internally at our office and bring these projects here, we knew we would need to partner with a ride manufacturer that wanted to diversify.

Premier understands the market. Our relationship allowed us to have that conversation and develop this project together.”

The Producers Group has two new patents deriving from their collaborative efforts, and negotiations are already underway to bring EVAD experiences to entertainment destinations in three countries - locations to be announced soon.

Visit both companies at the IAAPA Attractions Expo: The Producers Group (booth #675), Premier Rides Inc. (booth #5100). Websites: www.producers-group.com, www. premierrides.com

TPG’s extensive technical and production background complemented Premier’s ride engineering acumen to develop and deliver what Jim Seay terms “a distinctive and advanced technologically integrated experience, with an infinitely flexible platform. With the ability to add and change destinations, EVAD can be refreshed as desired to encourage

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4D revealed At nWave, success has many dimensions

by Janine Baker, nWave

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ight. Colors. Still images moving at 24 frames per second across the screen (or 30 frames...) telling a story of adventure to families, to young and old, in a 15-minute time frame. This is the attractions market - a market nWave has led in production and distribution since the early 1990s. In business for over 20 years with success among amusement parks, aquariums, science centers, zoos and the cineplex - nWave shares some of the secrets to the company’s long-term success.

Practice innovative thinking and leadership - even when colleagues say it won’t work Innovation drives a company forward. Ben Stassen, founder of nWave, has always been a bit of a visionary when it comes to providing entertainment. He was among the first to create a 3D stereoscopic animated feature for the cineplex as an independent filmmaker. He was the first among filmmakers to create a Halloween film for the IMAX screen – and “Haunted Castle” is still playing today on Giant Screens around the world.

He was among the first to make a live action 3D film for the Giant Screen market. He was among the first to state that digital would replace film. His bold statements have often ignited controversy – and usually come to fruition.

Do one thing and do it well; in our case, that’s 3D 3D content is and has always been Ben Stassen’s passion and the signature product of nWave. The company only accepts acquisitions that have been filmed and created for the 3D screen. Even though the TV market failed in creating a viable business model for 3D, the attraction market still thrives with films distributed in 3D as an effective, immersive storytelling medium. nWave films have made more than $250M worldwide and the company has been called “the European Pixar.”

Lately, we have been asked whether the waning of 3D in commercial cineplexes as well as the home market will make us de-emphasize 3D in the attraction market and the Giant Screen industry. From our point of view, the primary reason 3D did not move forward in commercial markets has to do with quality.

Too many opted for the easier route of creating 3D behind the screen as opposed to in front of the screen. This diminished the visual effect and immersive quality, and this is why consumers have come to resist paying more for 3D over 2D – they don’t see

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any outstanding value there. Our 3D is still in front of the screen maintaining the truly immersive quality that keeps our 3D films successful and clearly differentiated from a 2D experience.

Embrace diverse markets; maintain quality nWave began in the simulation market providing ride films, then expanded into the Giant Screen sector with 3D films, then enthusiastically jumped into 4D attractions, where we had immediate success with the film Pandavision. We have maintained a continuous, high level of business success in all three markets over three decades – even in the face of continual change.

Markets change over time – technology is a leading factor – and the companies that change with the market are companies that stay successful. nWave foresaw and foretold many of the changes that have affected our markets. It’s important to be observant, to listen to clients’ concerns, and to be prepared to adapt to change. Throughout, the one thing that we work hard to keep constant is quality.

These days, there is a lot of buzz about Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality and how they might fit into a specialty producer’s overall scheme of multi-platforming and content creation. These are some of the new platforms for cinematic content that keep popping up, thanks to digital technology.

Again, the consumer drives the industry, and the consumer notices quality. Many companies are diving in head-first to provide first VR themed installs at amusement parks and museums; however if the content quality isn’t there, then the market will die quickly. There are challenges to VR in particular: the quality of the resolution is not as good as theater systems, it is not a shared experience, the headset is expensive, hygiene

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K E A T V A M O E W EAS M ID P H G

f o RS

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N O I T R O INA F G G A N I T E IM A R B L E B L I E C RED INC A E Y TY

For four decades, we’ve been creating the finest, most lifelike animatronic characters available anywhere. From theme parks to museums, grocery stores to US Marine bases, Garner Holt Productions, Inc. leads the world for innovation, style, and quality in everything we do.

And the best of all is that we’re just getting started.

www.garnerholt.com

is a potential issue. Costs will come down as the technology advances, so VR could find a lasting place, for instance in simulation experiences - if designers and operators can solve the challenges of monetization and throughput.

Be truly international; be versatile; know your consumer nWave is an undisputed leader in the production and distribution of content for rides, attractions and Giant Screen cinema. We maintain a large worldwide client base and in doing so naturally encounter challenges in serving a wide variety of countries with diverse business cultures.

These challenges and differences make us stronger as a company because they teach us about the nature of the markets we serve. With offices and staff around the world, we use the company’s in-house international diversity to support this. Our teams review the films submitted for distribution and give feedback on what will or will not work in each territory. We have a lot of Moms on our distribution team which helps us look at films from the point of view of the primary decision maker on the consumer end. Ours is one of the very few distribution teams that is female populated and gives us an advantage of insight into the market.

companies form and compete with you. New clients enter the market who never heard of you. Your client list can shrink – a company goes out of business or is acquired; there are changes at the top and you lose your best contacts; a competitor courts them and succeeds; your product no longer fills the needs of the market…

In addition to being adaptable to change, it’s important to gauge it. A new platform doesn’t necessarily displace an established one. A new platform represents opportunity. VR and AR will not be replacing the 3D experience or the Giant Screen theaters any more than 4D replaced simulation. VR is an experience that, if done well, can add value to the guest’s stay and complement other media experiences. The key is in knowing how to effectively plan a content program so that each experience unfolds in a satisfying way that motivates the customer to come back for more. Generally, the difference between whether something is a novelty or fad versus a long sustaining business comes down to marketing and content. The consumer will naturally be drawn to try something new that stimulates the senses but it is the high quality of the content and valued experience that will keep that same consumer returning again and again. Meet the expectation and then go beyond for the audience to want to pay for it again and recommend the experience to friends.

Maintain a large, diverse high quality content library

Be adaptable to change – always – and keep them coming back We couldn’t do any of the above if we didn’t follow this maxim.

No matter how established your company, how many years in business, how big your client list, stagnation can creep in. New

Our diversity of voice and style in storytelling with our producer partners adds to the versatility as well as the different topic choices for our clients in the various markets. In addition, our films are for families and school groups while keeping to current

Recent releases from nWave include family friendly films and thought-provoking documentaries. Photos courtesy of nWave

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#62 • volume 12, issue 2 • 2016 www.inparkmagazine.com

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topics and high resolution that audiences expect. Quite frankly, if the theater and film don’t live up to or surpass the Ultra High Definition that you can see in your home, no one will pay for it.

Believe in your product and industry I believe the people I work for are extraordinary human beings.

They are driven, they believe in hard work and they inspire me to achieve. I have been with this company for almost ten years which is a long time in any company. I believe in the product and the people. I believe in my clients who are also passionate about what they do. I am not interested in working with people who punch a time clock and are all about the money. I love the people of passion who believe in a dream - this is the magic that drives anyone towards success.

Meet us and see nWave content at IAAPA Orlando In the nWave exhibit booth at the 2016 IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando this November, we will be showing our recent release Robinson Crusoe, which continues to be very successful. We will also showcase two new ride films and one new attraction film as well as two that are in production and several in development.

Coming in 2017 we have two new Giant Screen titles and well as

one in development. nWave will also have a VR film on display at the IAAPA Attractions Expo this November in Orlando.

Our model has always been to continually release new films every year as well as continually develop for the future while looking to new platforms for distribution. We will always distribute in 3D - and for multiple platforms - in the highest quality possible. • • • Janine S. Baker, SVP nWave Film Distribution (jbaker@nwave.com) began her entertainment career working in licensing for EMI Capitol Records. She began her attraction career after joining Simex-Iwerks film department in 2002 then joined nWave Pictures Distribution in 2007 as Senior Vice President of Film Distribution & Development where she successfully oversees the Giant Screen, 4D attraction and ride film market for nWave Americas. She has been on various panels speaking on distribution and has been a judge for the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival.

At Lake of Illusions, fountains line the side of the icon tower, while fountains in front are pierced by laser generated shapes.

Lighting up the night

ECA2 builds evening spectacles for two Chinese clients

by Martin Palicki

“I

f it’s done correctly,” says ECA2 President and CEO JeanChristophe Canizares, “a nighttime attraction can bring a fast ROI.” The process is quicker than building a resort, can be costeffective, and encourage repeat visitation.

Canizares is in a position to know. Since 1974, ECA2 has been creating shows and events around the globe at World’s Fairs, Olympic Games and for top entertainment clients and venues such as Universal, Disney, Futuroscope and the Eiffel Tower. In recent years, the company has further established its long ties to Asia, with projects in Yeosu, South Korea (The Big O Show), Sentosa Island, Singapore (Wings of Time), Wuyishan, China (Fountain of Dreams) and Shenzhen, China (Mangrove Moove).

The success of ECA2 is largely due to continuing innovation, evident in both of the company’s latest shows, opened this summer in two very different settings in China.

An Iconic Tower: LAKE OF ILLUSIONS The story of “Lake of Illusions” is one of layers. Opened July 2016 at OCT’s Shanghai Happy Valley, the nighttime spectacular

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engages guests by playing with depth in the theater, turning various two-dimensional screens into a rich three-dimensional palette. But it’s also a tale of how different divisions of OCT (a large Chinese tourism, resort and theme park corporation) and ECA2 partnered to develop the park’s first foray into evening entertainment.

Happy Valley Shanghai opened in 2009 (the fourth theme park in the OCT chain). Over the last few years, the park has started expanding and reinvesting in its product. In 2013 a second gate, Playa Maya waterpark, debuted followed by the Happy Ocean kids’ area in 2014.

In 2015 the park added additional rides and upgraded its architectural lighting, in preparation for extended evening hours. It was a necessary step to prepare for Lake of Illusions.

“We want our guests to have the best experience before they leave the park in the nighttime,” said the park’s Vice General Manager and Artistic Director Zhang Ji Bin. “In addition to entertainment, we want guests to have information about Chinese culture and history.”

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The park is located in one of two national tourism resorts in Shanghai (the other is centered around Disney’s property).

Happy Valley is committed to enhancing the value of tourism to the region, and understands that a nighttime spectacular benefits not only their park, but the whole SheShan tourism resort area.

Planning According to ECA2 Chief Architect and Stage Designer Julie Moreau, the brief from OCT was simple: build something impressive that becomes the new icon of the park. Make it visible from afar, impressive, and contemporary. OCT staff had seen ECA2’s work on The Big O Show and were not only impressed with the multimedia elements of the show, but with the architectural “O” integral to the production.

The team developed the idea of a tower, one that leans in towards the audience. It is visible immediately upon entering the park, but doesn’t dominate the skyline. The tower rises out of a central, river-fed lagoon that was already on the property.

ECA2 set up a valve and pump system that can control the water

level, lowering to provide access to submerged equipment and pumping out water when excessive rains arrive.

The components of the show are simple: Two 17m high water screens flank each side of the 35m tall tower. Six misters provide fog effects at water level and up the sides of the tower. 231 LED lights illuminate both moving and stationary fountains. 18 flame generators are located around the lagoon. 20k Christie Roadster projectors provide content for the water screens. Robe moving head lights and a color laser bring movement and color to the show.

Innovations The SpiroScreen® was a key innovation for this project. Mounted atop the tower, two rotating spinners (think of an old-fashioned spinning lawn sprinkler, only mounted vertically), one on each side of the tower, create enough spray to continue the projection surface from the large water screens at the tower’s base.

According to Technical Director Gael Picquet, the SpiroScreens® filled a gap that regular water screens could not reach due to

Interview with Shanghai Happy Valley’s General Manager and Marketing Director, Mr. Yue Feng, & Vice General Manager and Artistic Director, Mr. Zhang Ji Bin Feng Why did you select ECA2 for this project?

Feng: The first reason is because ECA2 is a world-class multimedia show producer. They created many great shows, and we had the opportunity to go to South Korea and Sentosa to see two of them (The Big O Show and Wings of Time).

The second reason is because ECA2 has already worked with other departments of OCT. When we wanted to create a fantastic and new show for our park, ECA2 was the company that came to mind.

How do you expect the show to impact the park?

Feng: Since our park is quite far from downtown Shanghai, we only had the park open until 6pm for half of the year and until 9pm the other half.

Our goal with the show is to make our audience stay longer in the park and improve the park experience.

By adding this show along with all the other attractions and rides at night, we are aiming for the operation time to be longer at night so our guests can fully enjoy themselves not only at day but at night.

What was the development process like between the ECA2 designers and the Happy Valley construction team?

Bin: Our collaboration has been seamless. Since the beginning of the project, we started on the traditional Chinese elements as the focal point of the show, combined with the very modern technology ECA2 is experienced with.

We had many detailed discussions on the show script, including where and how the effects are placed during the show, the music, lighting and architecture of the show, and the voiceover text as well. Of course, in

Bin

art there is no best, only better, so we will keep working on improving the show.

What do you see as the biggest trend in the Chinese attraction industry?

Feng: The market in China has been developing. There was a 5% attendance increase compared to 2014. And when you look at Asia Pacific the percentage increase is much more than the global increase, and most of that increase is due to China.

In my over 30 years of experience operating theme parks, I can say that all the [Chinese] parks have been a true success -- in 2015 there were more than 30 million guests at OCT parks.

I also see an increased role for global theme parks. Disney has chosen Hong Kong and Shanghai, Universal has chosen Beijing, and Six Flags has chosen Haiyan and Chongqing. It means the big chains are expecting a lot from the Chinese market. China is a growing market due to our economic growth and the increasing income of Chinese.

How does OCT feel about Disney arriving in mainland China?

Feng: We are not afraid because history indicates that where there are Disney parks other theme parks have also been successful, like in Orlando, Hong Kong, Japan, and Los Angeles. Even since Disneyland Shanghai has already opened, our recent operation has been successful.

Disney and Universal opening in China means all the theme parks in China will need to update their scale and service, so during the next few years there will be a quality increase in theme parks in China. So it’s very bright for the future of theme parks. • • •

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back, lasers cut through meters of fog, and color dances across the lagoon and up the tower.

In many respects, the tower disappears during the show – and that’s the way they designed it. With images and lighting surrounding the tower, and emanating from it, during the show it becomes less of an architectural piece and more of a technical component. In essence, it helps to create the different dimensions projected on the water and mist. In one memorable moment, a grid of lasers opens up above and below the audience sightline, creating this futuristic moving world that beckons for exploration. It’s one of dozens of those kinds of moments that combine to create the entertaining Lake of Illusions.

Sharing the Sunshine: EASTERN SUNRISE By contrast, “Eastern Sunrise” in Rizhao, China is an intense, storydriven production that was completed in an extremely short timeframe, thanks largely to the help of a quasi-governmental development company skilled in construction.

The back of the Lake of Illusions tower features the SpiroScreen® mechanics at the top

the height of the tower. The team tried using single arcs of water, but the lack of movement resulted in uneven surfaces for projection. They tried multiple arcs and finally rotating arcs.

After additional testing, they found the proper speed and water amount to make the screen as full as possible.

Lake of Illusions also marks the first ECA2 show with variable flame effects. Normally the flame generators spray the Isopar fuel at a certain pressure. The new system allows ECA2 to adjust the spray pressure and, in turn, the height of the flames to fit the show storyline.

Building the Layers According to Artistic Director Moira Smith the show narrative is more loose and flowing than past ECA2 productions. There is a basic love story inspired by a Chinese tale, but it is not central to the show. After the initial frame story is set up, each different scene is a play on a physical law or concept, like inertia, gravity, time, or infinity. The creative team then took those concepts and used the various special effects and tools to create a compelling experience.

This is where ECA2’s true talents come to the fore. Using only water, light and sound, the team turns the tower and lagoon into a multi-layered stage where images bounce forward and

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Located on the Eastern seaboard of China, Rizhao is known for its expansive beaches, and according to legend, receives the first sun of the day in China. For the 2008 summer Olympics, Rizhao built large aquatic facilities as a backup and as practice sites for the Beijing games. Since then, Rizhao has become known for water sports and recreation.

Recently, the local government has emphasized tourism and charged the state-owned LLC RCCI (Rizhao City Construction Investment Group) to focus on developing projects in line with that mission. RCCI is essentially an urban construction firm that acts as a project manager. According to Mr. Li Zhifeng, Deputy General Manager of RCCI, many cities in China are set up this

The future of Happy Valley Shanghai In July, OCT began pouring the foundation for a new resort hotel at Happy Valley Shanghai. Three different hotels will open up in the resort, all themed to be a European town. The first hotel to open in late 2017 or early 2018 will have a Spanish theme, followed by one with a Bavarian Black Forest motif, and a third Scandinavian-themed property.

The park is also planning a new international indoor show in the already existing OCT Theater. In 2018 the park is planning to open a new themed area called “Shangri-La”, a 1 billion RMB project covering 80,000 square meters.

OCT has also announced two more Happy Valley parks opening by 2018 in Chongqing and Nanjing.

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The striking sunrise scene during “Eastern Sunrise” captures the bright orange and yellow hues of a real sunrise over the ocean.

way. When the government decides to pursue a new urban land development agenda, they engage a company like RCCI to execute the plan.

Similar to OCT, RCCI brought knowledge of local culture and customs and asked ECA2 to lend their technology expertise.

But in this case, RCCI also brought their construction skills to the table. In essence, ECA2’s client was also a vendor, and RCCI’s knowledge of the area and project was critical to completing everything in the short 12-month timeframe.

“When our team arrived on site, everything RCCI had constructed was to specification,” said Canizares. “It really was an amazing experience working with a skilled and knowledgeable client like RCCI.” Inside the Show Looking at just components, Eastern Sunrise has mostly the same building blocks as Lake of Illusions. The show utilizes fountains, lighting, misters, water screens, projection, lasers and pyrotechnics. Both shows are also built into lagoons, although Eastern Sunrise is connected through a series of dams to

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the Pacific Ocean, and therefore is in salt water. Beyond that, however, the shows are drastically different.

Eastern Sunrise is heavily driven by narrative. The 24-minute show is a love story: Boy meets girl and falls in love. Girl’s father does not approve of boy, tests the boy to see if he is worthy nearly destroying a fishing village in the process - and ultimately deems him good enough for his daughter.

The stage is dominated by eight large sails rising up out of the water, each one unique and inspired by sailing ships. A small wooden pier sits close to the audience, used briefly by actors during the show (who are repurposed show maintenance workers), and flanked by fishing nets that double as nearhorizontal projection screens.

Each of the sails acts as a projection surface, with a large gap in the center of the sails filled by two giant water screens, one forward and one back of the lagoon. In front of the sails, a large system of fountains, lights and additional water screens allows images to move closer to and away from the audience. Fireworks accentuate the performance.

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More innovations Eastern Sunrise utilizes new water jets and lighting for the show, giving more creative control to show designers. In addition to the typical water screen jets (which make a giant fan shape) and standard jets (think Bellagio fountains), ECA2 incorporated Wave Water Screens® and focus jets. Wave Water Screens® work similarly to standard water screen jets, but also pivot towards the audience, in effect “waving” the fan. With an image projected on the fan, when the fan pivots forward, the image appears to enlarge and move closer to the audience.

Focus jets work similarly to a garden hose nozzle, adjusting between a single focused stream and a flower or cone shape.

When used at a low level, they actually can function as misters, and they are less susceptible to wind.

Audio for the show comes from three beach-mounted speakers and 20 speaker mounts behind the audience. ECA2 designers wanted to minimize the height and distraction of the beach speakers, so all bass is transmitted from the rear speakers. Most of the sound effects come from the rear, even though the visual effects are in front of the audience. There is no noticeable difference in the audio experience.

The lagoons for Lake of Illusions (top) and Eastern Sunrise (bottom) are seen during the day.

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Interview with Mr. Li Zhifeng, Deputy General Manager of RCCI Why build a multimedia attraction here?

Zhifeng: Rizhao is a tourist city but most of the sightseeing takes place during the day. We don’t have any nighttime cultural projects yet. So this show will give us a new opportunity for tourists to see more of Rizhao.

Were there any specifications you required for the attraction?

Zhifeng: We were not trying to be bigger or better – we wanted ECA2 to create a brand new concept show. We wanted them to balance modern art, modern technology and local traditional culture.

Why did you choose ECA2?

Zhifeng: First of all, we wanted a world-leading provider of multimedia shows and large events. Before we decided to do this show we went and saw Wings of Time (Sentosa). It combined technology and art well. The Mayor of Rizhao was impressed, so we decided to do a show like this.

Why did it have to be done in only 12 months?

Zhifeng: We needed to get the show open as soon as possible to make sure we were showcasing the latest technology. Also, our busy tourist season is from May to October, so the show will have a couple months for our busy season and then we can improve the show with ECA2 from October to May. How many tourists come to Rizhao and where are they from?

Zhifeng: Our official tourist numbers are 30 million visitors in 2015. For marketing and tourism promotion, we have several sister cities that have direct flights to Rizhao that we primarly work with: Harbin, Xian, Chongqing, Guangzhao, and Zhengzhou. • • •

Also, the water is seawater, and salt content is higher up north than in the south. So ECA2’s work on the Big O Show in Korea indicated that they could work in very salty water.

What other entertainment is planned?

Zhifeng: The area the show is located in, the Olympic water sports park, was built for many water sports and other global competition. It is also a park for citizens to relax. This year we finished development of the seaside park beach and opened it in May. We are currently building a Chinese old style tourist town which will open in phases starting in 2017. We are also opening an aquarium and Japanese garden in 2017.

Eastern Sunrise is also ECA2’s first seasonal show. From October through May the show will be dark, although maintenance staff will continue to run equipment once per month during the offseason to ensure everything functions to its highest level.

Reflections of self The ECA2 and RCCI teams are pleased with Eastern Sunrise, even though the timeline was condensed.

“We were extremely lucky with RCCI,” says Canizares. “They understood construction, they were interested in the details, and they helped make decisions quickly, keeping the story and process simplified.”

Eastern Sunrise. Photo by Julien Panié

explained Zhifeng. “It was a wonderful balance between our Chinese elements and their technology and design.”

“The show is about a group experience that you enjoy with your family and friends,” says Canizares. “So we created entertainment that appeals to a very large and broad audience.”

More than anything, Eastern Sunrise is a show about Rizhao itself. It represents the city’s transition from a fishing village into a regional tourist destination. And the story at the center of the show illustrates that love is as enduring as the rising sun. • • •

“ECA2’s background in Western culture, modern art and technology really helped showcase our Chinese storyline,”

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Visit inparkmagazine.com to see technical specs for each show.

In Memoriam Remembering Tom Weber

by Sam Weber

M

ore than three decades ago, my father, Tom Weber, and uncle, Donny Weber founded The Weber Group when I was eleven months old. Though the great American dream of small business ownership is an arduous and demanding venture, my brother Max and I had the rare opportunity to watch our father and uncle pursue their entrepreneurial spirit and transform their dream into reality.

The backbone of their business was bolstered by the bond of brotherhood, and their shared belief in the value of hard work, business ethics and excellence in quality. Over time, they developed a unique aptitude for creativity in both design and construction for the theme park industry, which began during their childhood summers spent together at a local amusement park called Fountaine Ferry in the west end of Louisville, Kentucky.

While staying true to their roots in architecture and traditional construction, my father and uncle managed to carve out a niche in the entertainment industry. All the elements of their lives,

their trials and triumphs, and their perseverance and unity, fused together to form a rare and magical blueprint for success. Some of those successes include clients like Disney, Kennedy Space Center, SeaWorld, Crayola, Merlin Entertainments, Great Wolf Lodge and Six Flags.

The business has evolved and grown exponentially, beyond what my father and uncle originally envisioned. In part, because Weber Group was never just a business to dad; it was an extension of his family. He viewed every member of the company as a brother, a sister, a son or a daughter, and treated everyone with dignity, respect, and compassion.

During his 30+ years in the entertainment industry, he developed a great joy and love for anything and everything that was “bigger than life”. If you were fortunate enough to meet him, you knew he was ‘bigger than life.’ He carried a wise, gently powerful and immensely benevolent presence. He was well liked by all who had the opportunity to meet him, deeply loved by many who came to know him, and will be dearly missed by all of us. • • •

Tom Weber

DREAMED BIG, LIVED BIG. The legacy lives on.

1947 - 2016

Please come see us and learn more About our latest attractions at Booth 5731 IAE 2016 in Orlando

Mass Effect: New Earth Cedar Fair’s branded 4D experience can please even a sophisticated Silicon Valley audience that knows its video games

C

by Joe Kleiman & Judith Rubin

alifornia’s Great America recently gave the former Action Theater a complete overhaul. It re-opened in 2016 as a major new attraction – Mass Effect: New Earth, based on the popular Electronic Arts/Bioware video game franchise. The park’s location in the heart of Silicon Valley proved ideal for the digital technology initiative of parent company Cedar Fair. “We’ve been considering digital technologies in the broader sense of the word,” says Christian Dieckmann, Cedar Fair Vice President of Strategic Growth, “which has resulted in a broad range of new attractions.”

Mass Effect: New Earth is a pioneering attraction for a number of reasons: • Successful integration of a leading videogame IP into a regional theme park attraction • 3D LED and near-field beamforming audio playing key roles in a permanent attraction • Integration of a live actor with pre-rendered video and audio • Destination park quality attraction in a regional theme park • New levels of guest immersion into the story and environment thanks to today’s digital technology, tools and integration capabilities Guest experience Guests receive passive 3D glasses and are separated into three tiered rows along the exterior of the attraction building. At the end of each row, a monitor shows a three-minute preshow

covering the backstory – a trip to a vacation resort on a distant planet.

As they enter the theater, guests find a live actor portraying the ship’s captain. What makes Mass Effect: New Earth stand out from its predecessors is the level of immersion and integration.

During the four-minute experience, the 3D projection and audio make it seem as if the ship’s captain is communicating with holographic characters that appear on either side of the actor via the stereographic animation. It is for these reasons that the park calls the attraction a “4D Holographic Journey.”

The 3D LED screen Mass Effect was designed to break new ground in several ways.

It is centered around what is likely the first application of a patented 3D LED screen technology in a permanent attraction.

In their twin quests for new technology and IP collaborations, Dieckmann and his Cedar Fair team became acquainted with Los Angeles based firm 3D Live, which specializes in 3D LED screens and virtual reality programming.

“We began experimenting with a live actor placed in front of the 3D screen, interacting with it,” said Nathan Huber, CEO of 3D Live. When Dieckmann paid 3D Live a visit, they showed him a demo. Dieckmann agreed to have 3D Live develop the entire attraction, from concept to set and costume design. Huber and his team would report to Dieckmann and, once Electronic Arts was onboard, to Mac Walters, of Mass Effect developer BioWare.

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Above: The audience at the grand opening of Mass Effect: New Earth. Photo courtesy 3D Live.

Previous page: The closing scene of Mass Effect: New Earth, which pits a live actor interacting with a 3D film on an LED screen. Photo courtesy Cedar Fair.

Show control, media servers and AV integration While attending the 2014 IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando, Huber met Eric Cantrell of Medialon (now part of Barco), a leading specialist in show control systems for themed entertainment.

According to Cantrell: “Nathan and I met to have lunch and talk about a 4D attraction using 3D Live’s LED technology instead of projection. I thought it sounded like a cool project, and we sat and made a napkin sketch of how the different technologies could work together, all coordinated with a Medialon show control system.”

Cantrell continues, “But I also knew that in order for the project to be successful, Nathan would need uncompressed video players for the content to look its best, so I recommended 7th Sense Design media servers and made an introduction right there on the trade show floor.”

Cantrell also led Huber to Electrosonic. “Video playback and LED walls are not all it takes to make a 4D attraction,” says Cantrell. “3D Live would need to collaborate with a seasoned engineering, integration, and project management team familiar with themed attraction work. Medialon has worked on many attractions with 7th Sense and Electrosonic, and I know that whatever these teams band together to create will be simply awesome!”

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In addition to its role as turnkey designer and project coordinator on Mass Effect: New Earth, 3D Live would construct and install the screen. Electrosonic would install the preshow, the show control equipment, and the far-field audio in the theater, while Crescendo, recently acquired by its licensee Comhear, installed the near-field audio.

About the audio Mass Effect: New Earth utilizes a pioneering application of audio technology developed jointly by the University of California, San Diego and the University of Southampton. The finished product at California’s Great America features 70 far-beam channels, designed by Crescendo and installed by Electrosonic, along with binaural near-field beamforming audio speakers, a form of 3D audio that allows for discreet audio beams to target each ear directly and independently, in a bar placed exactly four feet in front of each rider’s head, its first application in an attraction.

Theater configuration The theater utilizes a semi-circular curvature to its raked seating area, with the front of the theater having been expanded into a large stage area from what previously existed in the Action Theater. At the top of the seating area lies the former projection booth, which had utilized a number of 70mm projectors. It has been turned into the attraction’s control room.

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For seating, 3D Live chose MediaMation. The company supplied its MX4D motion effect seats, which include pneumatic motion in six directions and a complement of in-seat effects, which include water and scents emitted from the armrests and neck ticklers built into the seatbacks. The 78 seats (there are also the two wheelchair spots, with near-field audio bars) are separated into four-seat, moving benches. According to Dan Jamele, President of MediaMation, “The key advantage of our pneumatic system is that everything is modular and can easily be switched out with off-the-shelf parts. It responds like a hydraulic system, but with far less maintenance, and far less expense than electric seats.”

According to Clint Reagan of Halon, “We were very sensitive to BioWare’s need for precedent for the existing games. We consistently went back and forth with the BioWare art directors on art directions. The story elements became more challenging.

We had to come in line with what they desired. It helped that we hired a number of Mass Effect gamers as artists.”

Reagan noted that one of the biggest challenges was to keep the ride family-friendly while still maintaining the Mass Effect brand and culture – “Violence and sexuality were removed from the ride. We kept action-adventure. We needed to make sure that whatever happens in the ride, there’s no indication of a funeral for anyone.”

Many effects, few restraints Mixing and mockup There are no seatbelts or harnesses on these 4D seats - which is pretty much unprecedented and unexpected for a motion simulation experience. According to Jamele, “It was very important to avoid seatbelts as it increases the load time.” This, however, does not mean that safety factors aren’t in place. The arrangement is based on an understanding that the real hazard potential is colliding with a moving seat - as opposed to sitting in it. Jamele explained, “Cal/OSHA has extremely strict safety regulations. We’ve added a safety mechanism by which our server can tell if someone leaves his or her seat. If that occurs, it shuts down the entire row of seats, to ensure that someone doesn’t get hit by another rider while trying to exit the row.”

The effects within the MediaMation seats are complemented by many others integrated into the attraction. Crescendo’s nearfield audio is used in conjunction with a film produced by Halon Entertainment, to create 3D holographic effects. The audio gives the impression that the characters are appearing at distinct distances from the screen, surrounding the live actor, the pilot of the ship guests are riding in.

Transmedia transformation Halon animated the film as a video game cinematic using the Unreal 4 game engine at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second (fps). This was designed to dovetail with the 4K resolution of the screen, made up of 576 LED modules.

Transforming a popular IP from a home gaming platform to a theme park attraction and retaining authenticity to satisfy an exacting audience would be yet another of the challenges met in the creation of Mass Effect: New Earth. The attraction is based on Mass:Effect, the popular series of videogames from Electronic Arts studio BioWare, which tells the story of Commander Sheppard, and his attempt to save Earth from an incoming alien menace. The game series combines shooting and role playing elements and offers thousands of potential gameplay possibilities.

Onsite mixing is generally considered ideal for immersive theme park attractions, but in this case, the theater was not available to test the film and sound mix by Crescendo. Initial tests were done at 3D Live’s offices. Eventually, 2/3 of the screen was built in a Long Beach airplane hangar. “The lower left and right couldn’t see the edge of the screen,” says Reagan, “We tried various depths and made small adjustments in the software by 3D Live.

Most of the issues were minor.”

According to Cedar Fair’s Dieckmann, “Mass Effect is an attraction families can enjoy together. It’s skewed towards teens and young adults, but it’s also bringing in fans who might normally not come to the park. It’s important for our park fans to know this is a custom experience built for them, not just a generic experience ported in.”

Mass Effect: New Earth is an integral part of Cedar Fair’s technology initiative, which also includes new physical and virtual architectures for ticketing and the FunPix digital photo platform and smartphone apps. With attractions, this emphasis on digital technology has resulted in the interactive dark rides at other Cedar Fair parks. The new partnership with Electronic Arts also includes an interactive Plants vs Zombies attraction at Carowinds, with additional IP from the gaming company being considered for additional attractions.

Cedar Fair has been redefining the regional park scene, but also the park scene as a whole. These contributions can stand up to what the big operators are doing. Mass Effect: New Earth shows that a regional theme park can now competitively produce and offer high tech, high caliber experiences that rival those of a major destination park. • • • Reprinted from Sound & Communications Magazine with permission of Testa Communication. For more information, visit soundandcommunications.com

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Being Beijing InPark’s Martin Palicki visits Kelly Ryner at Thinkwell’s flourishing office in Beijing, China

I

n 2014 Kelly Ryner moved from Los Angeles to Beijing to kickstart Thinkwell Group’s first office in Asia. As President of Thinkwell Asia, Ryner has been responsible for building a team of mostly Chinese employees, growing the company’s list of clients in Asia and developing local relationships and resources to support new projects.

On a recent visit, IPM publisher Martin Palicki visited Thinkwell Asia and spoke with Ryner about the progress she has made during the last two years.

Why did Thinkwell choose Beijing for its first Asia location?

Beijing is the capital and really the heart of China. We’ve been doing work in China for 10 years and it seemed that for just about any project we were working on, the client was headquartered in Beijing. So I got used to coming here all the time and realizing the strategic benefit of being able to meet in person with all the clients who are located here.

Government relations is also a benefit. As a company we really wanted to make the statement that we were committing to China and not just here in passing. We work with a lot of clients who are making big land development deals and I believe the government looks at us a little bit differently because we are here in Beijing.

We chose Beijing long before I knew I was coming here, but as a personal perk to me, I prefer the weather up here. It’s drier and has only a short humid summer.

What have you learned during your two years in China?

As a result of having to staff and build up the office, I now know more about Chinese tax and labor laws, and that has been an interesting journey.

At first, I was concerned about how to transfer from the home office our Thinkwell culture – it’s collaborative and fun, containing a gregarious sensibility about our company. People in general think of Chinese office spaces as being very quiet, somber and hierarchical.

Kelly Ryner and Martin Palicki in Thinkwell’s Beijing office.

It turned out that creating that Thinkwell culture was much easier than I imagined. It’s not about the cultural differences, it’s about finding that human connection. You find the right people that you can connect with and you simply encourage the collaboration. When we first had some of our team from L.A. come out and do some mentoring, the team leader would say, “You can’t stay at your desk all day. You have to get up and get people together.” It has now become such a culture in this space, I don’t see how any of my team members will be able to go back and work in the other kind of office again.

What are some trends you’re seeing in Asian themed entertainment markets?

There is still a huge desire for IP product. It seems insatiable.

Whether it’s a small mall developer or the guy who has a massive piece of property next to the lake, they are all saying “I want IP!” That’s a challenge because there really are only so many IPs right for location based entertainment, and many larger ones are only interested in certain sizing. When you have studios wanting the big theme park, they aren’t also doing the one-off thing for the guy down the road. So we have been doing a lot of IP creation for people, such as SongSong Town. There are five other developers nearby who want to license that little squirrel that we created for SongSong Town. So we have proven that you can create an IP for someone and with the right support, they can then also build that out within China.

Of course, there is still a lot of interest in building the really big parks, they just take a really long time because getting the land is challenging.

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How have you managed to collaborate with the L.A. home office? Has technology made the world so small now that distance doesn’t matter?

No, it is totally challenging. Even with the fantastic setup we have here with video conferencing where we can hop into any meeting room in the US, nothing replaces the human connection of being in the same space. Nothing can replace being able to walk up to someone at 4pm and say, “I have an idea, let’s talk about it.” Here, you have an idea at 4pm, you send an email about it and then you wait - there is a big lag. We send people back and forth between the offices frequently to help collaborate and glean from one another. The more we do that, the stronger it makes the team as a whole. Nothing replaces the human part. But there is a ton you can do with the virtual tools.

However, we have had scenarios where L.A. starts working on a design and sends it over to us at the end of their day with notes for how to start the 3D rendering, then we will work on it and send it back for them to pick up at the start of their morning.

That’s always been my dream - to have that 24-hour work cycle - because every client wants things to go faster. We’ve been pretty successful with some of that work recently. It doesn’t work that way for everything, but for some projects it is ideal.

Where are the most promising areas of growth in Asia?

To be frank, China is so hot, it’s hard to keep up with China. We are doing work in various companies in Asia, but by default we have ended up focusing more of our energy in China because projects keep coming from here. Within China I’m amazed at how much Harbin continues to be a hot spot. Guangzhao and that whole area is hopping.

It’s more about size of cities that are hot, rather than locations on a map. The big push out here is for mall owners. They know that people here will do their shopping online. So in order to get people to come to the malls, they have to have something else other than shopping to get them there, and that is a big boon for our industry for sure. • • •

Celebrating Alterface

The Belgian technology company celebrates their 15th anniversary, new patents, and IAAPA 2016 compiled by Martin Palicki

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lterface, leader in interactive ride technology, will celebrate its 15th anniversary at IAAPA with a dedicated Anniversary Awards Ceremony and Cocktail at the end of the first day – everyone is invited to join the party! Another opportunity to celebrate will be at the TEA Mixer, sponsored by Alterface.

Visitors can experience Alterface’s latest technology at an interactive demo unit in their booth. This superior guest experience is offered in ETF’s latest generation dark ride vehicle and driven by Alterface’s unique Salto show control. ETF Ride Systems is exhibiting at IAAPA on booth #4809 “Our new tagline ‘Enjoy the ride’ reflects the experiences of our customers during the exciting period of creating their dream ride with our technology and team,” said Alterface CEO and Founder Benoit ‘Ben’ Cornet. “Ultimately, it is our mission and greatest satisfaction to make sure visitors enjoy the ride. They keep us excited and remain at the center of our activities, also for the years to come.”

Back in 2002, Alterface started its business with “interface-less” applications. In 2004 the company even installed a complete museum in Spain, using the patented Gesture detection technology as the only way to interact with giant screens.

Alterface is proud that many of it’s “older” attractions are still highly successful today. It demonstrates that aging of rides is not an issue if there is a good mix of great content, powerful theming and outstanding quality. This year Alterface celebrates 10 years of the Desperados attraction, which keeps drawing crowds in Fraispertuis, France. After five years Maus-au-Chocolat remains in the top-3 attractions of Phantasialand in Germany.

And in Belgium, Mini Europe today hosts Alterface’s first mediabased attraction implemented some 15 years ago and is still reaching a wide and enthusiastic public.

The anniversary coincides with an increase of interactive dark rides powered by Alterface all over the world. This includes most recently Justice League: Battle for Metropolis at Six Flags, US, Plants Vs Zombies dueling theater at Carowinds, US, and Benno’s Great Race at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. To date there are 16 Alterface installations at Lego Discovery Centers across the world. In January the brand new Ghostbuster attraction

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Celebrate Alterface’s 15th anniversay during the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando, starting November 15th, 2016.

opens at MotionGate in Dubai, a close cooperation with ETF Group.

Alterface also recently received a patent in the US for its innovative shooting technology “Multi-user pointing apparatus and method.” The European patent for this technology was obtained in 2006. This patent is protecting the unique Alterface pointing system, used in theaters and dark rides. It complements two other important patents: one for Alterface’s successful interactive show control system named Salto! and another for hands & body gesture tracking solutions.

“The ‘Multi-user pointing apparatus and method’ patent had been requested six years ago and has meanwhile been implemented in several interactive attractions. It now comes for us as cherry on the cake during a busy and successful year,” said Cornet. “While there are many ‘patent pending’ products in our industry, the ones that make it to the final patent stage are scarce as it requires thorough innovative work.” • • •

Alterface will celebrate their 15th anniversary on November 15th at 5pm in booth #862 during the IAAPA Attractions Expo.

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