PW Aug 09 P8.qxd 7/29/09 11:59 am Page 8
Park News
www.parkworld-online.com
Future City
Beatles Story gets bigger!
In an effort to catch more tourists, The Beatles Story in Liverpool, England,
Augmented reality arrives in Asia
has opened a second outlet just a stone’s throw from its existing site at the
Albert Dock. Constructed at a cost £10.5 million ($17m/Euro.03712m), The Beatles
Story Pier Head can be found inside the Mersey Ferries terminal building on
the city’s renowned waterfront.
Anchoring the new extension is a custom-built 40-seat effects theatre by
Simworx, showing the film Fab4D by Red Star Studio. Audiences are taken on
a multi-sensory journey through the music of The Beatles in this custom-made
production. Also featured inside the terminal building are a Beatles exhibition
area and Fab4Store.
Now run by Mersey Ferries, the original Beatles Experience at the Albert
Dock was expanded last year with the addition of an interactive children’s
Discovery Zone, new exhibition area and themed Starbucks outlet. Revenues
are up by 60% as a result of the expansion.
A full feature on Fab4D will follow in the September issue of Park World.
Augmented reality at Future City
www.beatlesstory.com
The first installation of Total Immersion’s Interactive Live Show (ILS) is due to
Fab4D
open any day now as part of a new visitor attraction in Incheon, South Korea.
Future City was developed by Independence Creative on behalf by SK Telecom
and provides visitors with a glimpse into one of the newest and fastest growing
districts of the city (Songdo City).
This first ILS installation has been realised less than 12 months after Total
Immersion demonstrated the concept at IAAPA Attractions Expo last November
and allows Future City visitors the chance to shape and star in the action on
screen.
After an introductory movie, a performer appears on screen as various 3D
props and effects appear around him, including an image of the audience
itself. Guests are then transported from present day Incheon to the Songdo City
of the future in a stereoscopic movie hijacked by a robot.
Total Immersion has also supplied Future City with an attraction featuring its
augmented reality (AR) technology, already in use at a variety of locations
Halloween Horror Nights 19
around the world. In this latest installation, visitors use goggles to view a
model of Songdo City enhanced with synthesized images on top. Sensors
Guests at Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights will this year get an
exclusive preview of two blockbuster movie franchises before they hit the big
detect each participant and allow them to interact with the virtual content as
screen.
they learn about crime and fire prevention, traffic and weather reports. In total
Halloween Horror Nights 19: Ripped From the Silver Screen will feature The
16 sets of AR goggles are provided, but thanks to a giant screen positioned
Wolfman, which hits American movie theatres on November 6, as well as SAW,
behind the model (as pictured below), a further 60 people can passively the latest instalment of which opens on October 23.
witness the action taking place. “Halloween Horror Nights is the perfect launch for The Wolfman,” says the
“It’s great to see the Interactive Live Show open so soon after we unveiled
film’s producer Scott Stuber. “The horror audience is
the concept last winter,” says Total Immersion’s Nicolas Bapst. “This is our first
one of the most enthusiastic and loyal so we are so
reference project in Asia and I’m pleased it’s such a unique attraction
pleased they are experiencing it first.”
experience.”
Never before has Universal Orlando’s
Headquartered close to Paris, Total Immersion was founded in 1999. Much
Halloween Horror Nights featured such a
catalogue of horror. Also featured will be Chucky,
of the company’s early work was with the military but in recent years it has
plus re-imagined Frankenstein and Dracula
caught the attention of the attractions industry with attractions such as The
concepts. Halloween Horror Nights 19 takes
Future is Wild at Futuroscope and a handful of smaller augmented reality
place for 23 selected nights between September
projects. 25 and October 31.
IAAPA reveals Las Vegas events
Co-founder of the Blue Man Group, Matt Goldman, will be the keynote
speaker at this year’s General Managers and Owners’ Breakfast during
IAAPA Attractions Expo in Las Vegas.
Blue Man Group performers will also make a special appearance at the
breakfast on Wednesday, November 18. The event takes place at the
Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center,
and tickets can be booked via www.iaapa.org/expos.
IAAPA has also revealed this year’s Thursday night social will be held at a
nightclub. The IAAPA Bright Lights Party takes place at LAX on Thursday,
How the AR attraction will look at Future City
November 19. The three-hour bash (7-10pm) will cost $109, including drinks
and hors d'oeuvres.
8 AUGUST 2009
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