Specialist show creator Alterface has been creating a variety of interactive, HD and 3D attractions, using video projection technology from projectiondesign.
The company’s latest project saw it deliver a variation of its Haunted House concept to the Castle of Chaos in Branson, Missouri, USA – billed as the first interactive 5D haunted experience in the world. Here, a series of 3D HD movies are rear-projected onto three screens, using a pair of projectiondesign F32 DLP projectors for the largest ‘landscape’ screen, and projectiondesign F22 projectors for each of the two ‘portrait’ screens on either side. The 3D movie is augmented by animatronics and other effects to produce the ‘5D’ experience.
Building on the success of the Haunted House theme at Castle of Chaos, a new theme “Nightmare” opened at the Tusenfryd Amusement Park in Norway and is Alterface’s first interactive haunted house in Europe. Here, projectiondesign F32 projectors are used to display new video sequences alongside a new sound track plus new and spectacular pop-up effects to emphasize the terrifying and exhilarating atmosphere of this new kind of attraction. Nightmare was opened by famous Norwegian acting personalities Jeppe Larsen and Jenny Skavlan.
“As with all of our projects, the Castle of Chaos does not just present an audience with passive movie content,” said Xavier Marichal, chief technical officer at Alterface. “Using our patented technologies, visitors get the chance to ‘fire’ at ghosts, ghouls, zombies and other adversaries, which then react on-screen according to where and how hard they have been hit.”
“We’ve been working with projectiondesign for a number of years and have found that their high-performance projector products strike the right balance between high brightness and strong contrast,” he continued. “This is important to us, because our interactive ‘stories’ are played out in a variety of environments, from the darkest ‘castles’ to the bluest ‘sea’. Visitors to today’s attractions expect the same HD image quality that they get at the best movie theatres, and projectiondesign projectors give them that, while being cost-efficient enough to give our customers a rapid return on their investment.”
Other Alterface shows, such as ‘Pirate’s Plunder’ and ‘Desperados’, have also benefited from projectiondesign technology and image quality. These 2D interactive theatres have been installed in a range of locations, from Denmark’s Sommerland Sjaelland and Bakken and Walygator in France, and Germany’s Weissenhauser Strand family entertainment centre. These designs have used various combinations of projectiondesign F12, projectiondesign F22 1080 and the projectiondesign F32 DLP projectors, while at Bioscope in the Alsace region of France, the ‘Sea Safari’ 3D interactive theatre uses a pair of projectiondesign F32 projectors.
