Supplier Update
parkworld-online.com
Be pro-active! W
e see that almost every theme park wants interactivity these days to some extent. But as well interactivity, you also have what I like to
Benoit Cornet
With new backers on board for 2014, Alterface Projects is ready to introduce more innovations to the attractions industry. The Belgian company that made its name with the interactive theatres and various ‘5D’ products is busy these days creating bespoke interactive dark rides around the world. But, argues Alterface CEO Benoit Cornet, it’s time to think outside the box. Here he offers a challenge to parks and attractions operators to adopt the next generation of ‘pro-active’ experiences
call ‘pro-activity’. Interactive is shooting at something on screen, or perhaps some theming in a dark ride, and seeing a simple reaction. With pro-active though the screen is taking care of you and shaping the story around you. That’s where I believe the next generation of attractions is heading – personalised experiences that provide everyone with a different adventure. Video projection mapping is one way of achieving great results, and switching the content of a dark ride without changing its footprint. At Alterface Projects we are currently developing new technology that will allow people to ‘pro-act’ as part of a ride or attraction. The key here is to provide your guests with an experience they cannot get at home. Too many parks are going down the route of taking a simulator, a 4D cinema or a video game and trying to turn it into a dark ride. Moving people from one screen to another is the same paradigm as you would have it home in front of the TV, all you are doing is putting wheels underneath it. We want to make it more expansive and get back to the magic of the Disney rides. If you make it a comprehensive experience with strong theming, animatronics – and then augment it with media content – you have a totally different ball game.
Too many ‘D’s? We have shown that if you combine a ride with good scenery you can get a real reaction just from 2D imagery, because it is more magical. Sometimes a good magic trick is not too complicated. And if you ride an attraction without glasses, for example, you do not feel any limitation to the experience. As 3D/4D technology gets cheaper, you are seeing a lot of low and medium quality products coming onto the market. A 4D experience is no longer enough to persuade people to buy a ticket to your park or attraction, but the answer is not 6D, 7D, 8D or whatever. 4D was nice, 5D was already a bit over the top, anything else is just ridiculous because we all know it does not really exist. Do apps have a part to play in interactive attractions? We learned a lot on a project in Louvain-La-Neuve (Belgium) called Ice Break. It was based in movie theatre and everyone in the audience was issued with an Android type device that they could use to play a sound every time an instrument came on screen, a bit like the game Guitar Hero. Now that worked very well, because the audience was part of the action, but imagine if you went to see something as spectacular as Cirque du Soleil and everyone was staring down at their smartphone. A lot of people use technology because it is trendy, but they forget about the big experience.
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Maus au Chocolat at Phantasialannd
Alterface Projects develops next generation of interactive attractions
Long life attractions We are very strong in the Toy Story Mania type of interactive media-based dark ride, what we market as 4D Shooter Technology. We have had great success with attractions like Maus au Chocolat at Phantasialand in Germany, yet these kinds of experiences are only accessible to about a third of the market. The vast majority of parks want something affordable, easy to maintain and with a significant life expectancy. I am pleased that since we relaunched the company late last year we have signed more maintenance contracts. The customers have always been our friends, but now we like to think of them as out partners. The fact that they are signing up for maintenance contracts shows that they want to have a long-term relationship and are at ease with our ability to keep their attractions up and running. Because we are dealing with technology, 99% of issues we can fix remotely. In fact, most of the issues are fixed before they even occur because we have a preventive way of looking at things; measuring the temperature of the projector, seeing if the filters need cleaning, this kind of stuff. We can tell ahead of time what needs to be done and advise the park’s maintenance staff accordingly so that the attraction remains operational day after day. Compare that to a wooden coaster, where the maintenance is horrendous. Previously Alterface was backed by a public institution and, whilst I was given a lot of independence in running the company, it was always something of a political animal. So we made a bold move, and now at Alterface Projects we have new shareholders and a new company structure with more input from the industry; people with experience of running attractions and partners with production facilities. Now it is like a family and things will be much easier moving forward.
Benoit Cornet was talking to Owen Ralph. Alterface will be participating next month in the DEAL trade show in Dubai. For details of some of the company’s upcoming projects see the previous page.
alterface-projects.com LEFT: The same scene before and after – brought to with video projection mapping MARCH 2014
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