FEATURE: VISITOR ATTRACTIONS
on new projects and the majority of our projects here in the UK over the past 12 months have been new attractions. However, in the year ahead, it looks more like upgrades for the home market.” For Smart Monkeys, most of the new projects are in Asia and the Middle East, while Tejix’s Corrado claims that there are some relatively large projects in the works, with several new parks planned to open in the next couple of years.
“In the US and Asia, we
have seen a lot of new projects in addition to refurbishments and technology updates,” says Carru. “There are new projects in Europe – but there seems to be more activity in refurbishment and updating older attractions.”
IMMERSED IN ACTIVITY There seems, then, to be plenty of activity. But what, exactly, is being installed – what are visitor attractions providing in terms of an experience that can’t be replicated in the home that Carru referred to initially? “The trend is very much
towards immersive experiences as this is something you can't get at home,” believes Willrich. “A driving factor is the improvement in the light output and cost of projectors, meaning that it is much cheaper to create an immersive and exciting experience requiring the use of multiple projectors.” “LED lighting has made a big change too,” he continues. “The more positive aspect of this is in the theatrical range of RGB fixtures that can give you pretty much any colour you want. Furthermore, it is possible, if you wish, to control each fixture individually – giving greater
A three-storey multimedia space at the new National Research Center wing of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences features show control from Smart Monkeys
creative freedom without a dramatic difference in cost between LED and conventional lighting. Therefore, dynamic lighting is no longer only to be found in really high-end shows.” Villet believes the
contribution of 3D and very high-resolution video to creating a compelling experience is significant. “They’re used intensively in new projects, because they place the spectator in the middle of the action,” he says. Another important contributor is high-quality audio, with Villet noting his company’s growing use of Merging Technologies’ Ovation media server and sequencer. Carru too notes the
growing importance of LED lighting – but for different reasons, citing its low cost of ownership as well as the ease with which museums can control – and record – the amount of light falling on precious exhibits.
LED technology isn’t just
prevailing in lighting. Maria Dahl Aagaard, product
marketing manager at projectiondesign, notes that visitor attractions – which are becoming an increasingly significant market for her
Jeffreys, director and chairman of Paradigm Audiovisual. “But we’re also seeing a move towards greater interactivity – especially in the areas of motion tracking and 3D sensing.” Gillet is looking at a similar
‘There seems to be more activity in refurbishment and updating older attractions’ Alex Carru, Medialon
company – are embracing LED-based projectors. “Yes, the move is towards immersive displays – the creation of ‘caves’, for example,” agrees Greg
future. “We expect to see an increase in requests for wireless and/or cellular network connectivity of visitors with the exhibits – via text messaging and the like,” he says. “In addition, we continue to see unique interactive controls implemented to engage visitors via GPIO, USB, serial, etc, such as motion sensors, RFID, and so on.”
The consensus appears to be that interactivity is both an opportunity and a challenge for companies operating visitor attractions. Corrado is cautious. “Sharing is the main reason
why people go to attractions,” he says. “I believe that there's a danger in tampering with the social dimension of family outings by isolating guests. That
BRIGHTSIGN MEDIA PLAYERS HELP CREATE DUTCH MUSEUM EXPERIENCE
BrightSign media players have been chosen for a major refurbishment of the Letterkundig Museum, the Netherlands Literary and Documentation Museum in The Hague. A total of 115 BrightSign units have been installed: 100 of them for LCD panels in the Pantheon gallery of writers, eight driving short-throw DLP projectors and seven for individual kiosk-style installations. The installation, part of a three-
26 August 2012
year renovation project in the museum, was carried out by Visual Hardware Services BV in co-operation with interior architects and designers Opera Ontwerpers Amsterdam and the audiovisual agency MuseumStudio’s Amsterdam. In the Pantheon gallery, a wall
of fame features 100 literary figures from 1,000 years of history. Each of the small 1,280 x 800 LCD displays is powered by a BrightSign interactive sign
controller and, synchronised to all the others, forming part of a continuous video and soundscape designed by the architects, spanning all 100 displays. Visitors can interrupt the
videowall at any point by touching a button or picking up an audio handset on any specific writer’s screen. The author’s individual story is then played back and the display reverts to the videoscape on completion.
www.installation-international.com
being said, portable devices can be a powerful tool to plan and optimise a day at the park.” Villet shares his view. “The
mobile revolution that is shaking our everyday life is proving a bit challenging to integrate in visitor attractions,” he notes, “not so much because of the required technology, but simply because it is a very personal experience.” And while the apparently ubiquitous mobile phone can provide a convenient, low cost way of personalising an experience, it must be handled carefully – with the profile of target visitors front and centre of planning. “This is generational to a
degree,” points out Willrich. “Not everyone has or wants a smartphone, so there is a wariness on the part of museums in particular about going in too deep too soon, as they don't want to upset visitors that don't have smartphones.” “However,” he continues, “it is coming and already adding another layer to a visit. There
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