Related: Special Venue Media: Musings on the Fulldome Market 

By Carolyn Collins Petersen, Loch Ness Productions

In May, we did the same thing for the Endeavour launch, also getting the chance for imagery of the rollover of Atlantis, the astronaut walkout, and the Rotating Service Structure retract -- all in fulldome. At both launches, we captured stereo sounds of the roar of liftoff, to add more to this depiction of reality we were recording. It was well worth it. Even now, as I watch our scenes in the dome, I am taken back to the sights and sounds -- and, since I was there -- the feeling of the events.

A few other fulldome-producer colleagues also set up gear to record these experiences for posterity. Some were more adventurous than we were, setting up remote cameras in the mangrove swamps closer to the pad. During the time we waited for the various launch-related events, we all chatted about our gear, our filming, and what we hoped to accomplish with our imagery.

And so we all gathered the last images of an era of spaceflight with some of the latest technology available to shoot time lapses for fulldome -- full-frame 4K resolution at 30fps or greater is still just beyond technology limits. And, I wondered how future audiences would receive these scenes in all their immersive glory. I suppose it depends on people's ages and perceptions of human spaceflight history. Young ones would see them as quaint reminders of an earlier epoch. People who grew up with the space shuttle flights -- me among them -- would think of the amazing things they enabled for the space station, for Hubble Space Telescope, and other missions. To be sure, these scenes represent what WE thought people should experience about space shuttle launches whenever we use them in our productions. They reflect our vision as filmmakers, our decisions about camera placement and sound. We did what we could, because someday we will want to share that experience with our audiences--to give them that same vantage point we had and experience some of the sights and sounds of the final two launches of space shuttles.

As we waited for the liftoffs, I thought about how these would look in the dome. We were at the water's edge behind the countdown clock at the press site, three miles away from Launch Complex 39A -- as close as audiences were safely permitted to be. Through a fisheye lens with no zoom, the images spread out across the dome, the shuttle and its launch looked smaller than one would expect, at first.  To the unaided eye, the actual ignition and flaming and exhaust trail was much more blazingly bright; when the camera sensor saturates to full white, that's as good as you can project -- but there was much more dynamic range than can be captured and hence projected.

But, the images really are in "real" space... and so they do reflect what we saw on those sultry Florida mornings. And, they are closer to the action than most people saw from their vantage points along the causeways coming into the space center area, although not as close as a few scenes we've seen taken a few hundred yards from the launch site using remote cameras. They're immersive, and as far as they go, they reflect reality as it once was. And, there's value in that for the fulldome medium. They tell a story. They reflect a time in history. That's their true value -- not how close we were to the launch site, or what equipment we used. Now, we have a fulldome story to create and share with others. What will it be?

(Note: Videos of the Endeavour and Atlantis launches can be found at http://www.vimeo.com/lochnessproductions)

Still image credit (if you use the attached still):  Fulldome view of Atlantis launch by Mark C. Petersen.  Copyright 2011, Loch Ness Productions.

Carolyn Collins Petersen is vice-president of Loch Ness Productions, a media production company specializing in fulldome production, exhibit and online media.

Related: The World's Most Beautiful Theme Park? LEGOLAND Florida's GM, Adrian Jones, Talks to Blooloop  / Merlin Entertainments announces two additions to its LEGOLAND Malaysia senior management team / Nick Varney, CEO of Merlin Entertainments Group sets out his six point growth driver plan / Merlin Entertainments 2010 Results - Still Rocking Round the World  / Interview with Merlin Entertainments' Mark Fisher

LEGOLAND Florida, set in Winter Haven Florida on the site of Cypress Gardens will be the biggest LEGOLAND  park so far, and promises to be “one of the most beautiful theme parks in the world” according to Adrian Jones, General Manager.  In attendance at the update, representing the Florida team, were Kim Isemann (Sales and Marketing Director), Todd Andrus (Sales Manager) and Nigel McShine-Jones (Trade Sales Manager).

Jakobsen was keen to emphasise the lessons learned from the first foray into the US market with LEGOLAND California.  That move was, said Jakobsen, like “going into the lions den”, and not a decision that had been undertaken lightly in view of the local competition.  Having learned in California the importace of sticking to core values and market in order to differentiate the LEGO experience, Jakobsen said, “Our success formula is now very clear.  We are a family park for families with young children offering an interactive experience based completely on LEGO theming.  As long as we stick to that people will consider us different and we will rank as one of the things they absolutely have to do.”

With seven million visitors in 2010 across the four LEGOLAND parks in 2010 it’s clear that the focus on families with pre teen children is hitting the spot.  Although the provision of theme parks in Orlando is rather good already, LEGOLAND aim to win over the families with younger children who want an experience designed just for them, and become one of the “must see” attractions on a holiday itinerary.  The 150 acre site will have more than 50 rides including some “pink knuckle” coasters and a nod towards Cypress Garden’s history with a stunt water ski show.

Jakobsen then went on to set out the key elements of LEGOLAND Parks’ overall strategy:

• Cash invested on a defined cycle so that each park has at least one new component a year to encourage repeat visits and keep the product fresh, eg the £8m Atlantis submarine ride at LEGOLAND Windsor (see image).
• Resort development – hotels planned for Windsor (2012) and California (2013) and “aspirations” to add a hotel in Florida and at other parks
• Second Gates – LEGOLAND California has a SEA LIFE centre next door as well as a waterpark

As with all Merlin’s attractions, expansion continues apace and LEGOLAND’s first theme park in Asia,  LEGOLAND Malaysia, is set to open in 2012.  Ambitious plans, but as Jakobsen says based around a deceptively simple strategy: “we specialise in knowing exactly how we can make children happy”.

See below for video of Adrian Jones showing us what to expect when LEGOLAND Florida opens:

Related: "All that's left are Patterns in the Grass" : The Magic of the Carnival

By Architect David Price, TEA Western Division Board Member

In a very personal way, the stories helped turn our loss into a very sweet journey.  Many of these recollections were set against the backdrop of a campaign by the Themed Entertainment Association Foundation to raise funds for a scholarship in dad’s name – The Buzz Price TEA Ryman Arts Endowment – which to date has raised over $70,000.  

The success of that effort reflects the tremendous respect and admiration that friends and colleagues felt for Buzz.  It also reaffirms TEA’s own commitment towards creating opportunities for talented high school students who represent our industry’s next generation of artists and creative thinkers.  

By Walter Jonker

Related: Sate Europe Attracts A World Class Line Up of Themed Entertainment Specialists / Jora Vision Company Profile / Let's talk about Marty Sklar / Marty Sklar Announces Retirement from Disney

Some of the key issues that were discussed:

No story, no glory

Some old wisdom is still useful in visitor attractions, like: “People like to collect memories rather than things.”

At the SATE conference the discussion is not about the relevance of stories and experience, but on how to measure this very important ingredient. Especially at the start of a new project it’s important to make an estimate of this Key Performance Indicator.

The speakers shared information on how to organize your research, and also the main pitfalls in predicting the visitor experience, like:

• Misinterpretation of statistics
• Missing some cultural differences in the survey
• Guests who do not know what they want (Parks have to make the right suggestions)
• Personnel are a key factor in translating the concept to the audience.

Realizing dreams is about teamwork

Teamwork is one of the key success factors. At the conference many of the discussions were between the ‘creatives’, who want to see their dreams come to life and the people who have to build and realize them, like the technicians and architects. One good piece of advice for the last group: ”If a certain part of an idea is not feasible, start your answer with ‘yes, but…’ and not with ‘no, because…’. It’s a way of communicating with different disciplines that was already discovered by Marty Sklar when he had discussions with Walt Disney. 

Bob Rogers (BRC) noted one area that is often excluded from the teamwork; “It seems that retail and food follow their own rules of maximizing the profit per square meter. There is often a wall between storytelling and these areas. Why not reserve some space to introduce the story of your attraction into the shops and restaurants. It makes your experience complete.”

Role of IP

The role of Intellectual Property (IP) in attractions is increasing. There was an intense discussion on the relative merits of buying an existing and popular brand, or developing the IP yourself. 

Movie Park Germany (MPG) chose to make use of known brand such as Sponge Bob and Shrek. Wouter Dekkers from MPG said: “Although the licenses are very expensive, it is a good deal for us, because we can pick the brands that are popular at the moment. If you develop your own characters there is always the risk if the character will be accepted by a broad audience.”

Dekkers added that Movie Park also makes use of several stories without a license, like Jules Verne and Van Helsing. “This way we make a mix of expensive, but proven successful licenses and some budget friendly but nice experiences.” 

It’s all about people

Designer Chris Conte advised: “Do not design technology for yourself. Audience first; talk to your clients. It’s not always wise to make use of the latest trends in technology. For instance, interactivity is the trend, but it’s not always the right approach.”

Bob Rogers (BRC) added: “Always put the guest first. It’s not about the attraction, but how people experience the attraction. The Efteling is a good example; children walking through the fairy tale forest accept this world as genuine. Try to involve the guest in your visitor experience.”

What about the future?

Key points raised included:

• “We can predict evolution, but not revolutions,” says Chris Conte, Electrosonic.  Most people missed the rise of Twitter, but many other trends are predictable."
• Built and design for the future.” If you are planning for a new attraction, also consider the options that are not feasible yet.
• “Lessons from the past.”  Many of the most interesting buildings are the ones that could adapt to different purposes over time. Like museums in old historic buildings. We like to design to fit the purpose perfectly. But purposes can changes over time.
• “Technique”  New technical options come up every day. The themed attractions expect much of augmented reality that can ad experience and stories to a design.

Evaluation from the organizers
Jan Maarten de Raad from Jora Vision started two years ago with conference preparations: “It was a good idea to bring the SATE conference to Europe. In Europe the architects have a more dominant role in developing theme parks and I saw a lot of new faces. For next time I hope that we can also attract more people from different disciplines in the parks; like operators, marketing, design, etc.”

Conference Chairman Reinoud van Assendelft de Coningh said: “I saw several good new  developments. There was a good discussion about teamwork in developing visitor attractions, with a specific role for each of the disciplines. A conference like SATE is good for building knowledge and finding out which companies have a distinguishing vision. Experience and knowledge are often underestimated, but they are usually worth the extra dollar.” 

Image:  Marty Sklar and Reinoud van Assendelft