The Moonwalkers, a new AV experience offering a unique perspective on humankind’s past and future voyages to the moon, has set the bar for immersive visitor attractions. Premiering at London’s unique immersive art space, Lightroom, on December 6th, Installation was lucky enough to attend a press preview prior to launch, and we can confirm that the immersive experience bar has been set extremely high with this show. This is a not-to-be-missed visitor attraction, with the best of audio and video working in concert to fully immerse attendees across all four walls and floor of Lightroom’s deep cavernous space.
The NASA moon landings are fully celebrated, thanks to the AV technology deployed, as well as the work of co-writers Tom Hanks (who also narrates as if picking up where he left off in Apollo 13) and Christopher Riley, and co-directors Nick Corrigan and Lysander Ashton, plus commentaries from astronauts old and new, and stunning original NASA footage and breath-taking images from Andy Saunders’ Apollo Remastered – alongside an incredibly moving movie-style soundtrack by Anne Nikitin that appears to riff off Apollo 13 at times.
Hanks and co-writer Christopher Riley tell the stories of the Apollo missions, with their gripping journeys projected across the four walls and floor of the Lightroom vast space, transforming it into an immersive journey to the lunar surface, brought to life by Corrigan and Ashton of 59 Productions – the team behind Lightroom’s David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away), with previous work including Apollo 50: Go for the Moon at the Washington Monument in collaboration with The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, marking fifty years since Apollo 11 touched down.
The pin-sharp projection is delivered by 14x Panasonic PT-RQ22K 20,000 lumens, 4k resolution, 3-chip DLP projectors, projecting across the walls of the space, with 14x Panasonic PT-RZ12K 12,000 lumens, HD resolution, 3-chip DLP projectors handling the floor – with immersive storytelling by disguise. Original NASA moon imagery is incredibly detailed, even across the vast canvass, and Hanks explains that in space there is no dust to blunt image sharpness; and the footage of the Apollo 11 rocket launch and pre-landing sequences are breathtaking.
Immersive sound from HOLOPLOT delivers crystal clear audio for the interviews, which are also captioned at the top of Lightroom’s front projection, and Nikitin’s score fully surrounds with impressive levels of bass – this is movie quality audio. Nikitin’s previous work includes the excellent Apple TV+ hit series HIJACK starring Idris Elba, and the cult heist movie American Animals starring Evan Peters and Barry Keoghan – and it shows!
Actor and writer Hanks has a lifelong passion for space. He served on the Board of Governors of the National Space Society and has been honoured by the Space Foundation. Hanks produced the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, co-wrote IMAX film Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D. He of course won acclaim for his performance as astronaut Captain Jim Lovell in Apollo 13.
“Growing up as humankind was first going to the moon, I was transfixed by the Apollo missions and dreamed of making the voyages with the astronauts,” said Hanks. “I’ve worked on several projects that have attempted to bring alive the breathtaking scale of going to the moon and the razor-edge drama of each journey, each chapter of Apollo. The extraordinary and unique production capabilities of Lightroom allow me, alongside Christopher Riley, to tell what we believe is the most visceral and enthralling story to date of humanity’s journeys beyond our earth, including a unique insight into the next time human beings will walk on the moon: the Artemis missions.”
Co-writer Christopher Riley is a double BAFTA-nominated writer-director whose work includes many of the most groundbreaking films and television programmes about space exploration for the likes of the BBC, National Geographic, Disney, Netflix, and PBS.
Lightroom’s CEO and producer of The Moonwalkers, Richard Slaney, added: “Lightroom’s mission is to create new kinds of experiences with the world’s greatest creative voices, using groundbreaking technology to tell stories for everyone. Tom Hanks is an icon, with unparalleled experience of great cinematic storytelling, and has a true passion and expertise for the history of space exploration. Alongside a world-class international creative team, he’s the perfect person to bring to life the Apollo and Artemis missions as never before and unlock even more of Lightroom’s potential. It seems timely to be telling this story now as countries from across the world launch missions to understand more about our closest celestial neighbour.”
Overall, the incredibly emotional imagery – filmed footage, still photography and diagrammatic animations – is simply eye-popping across the four huge canvases; this is a show that requires repeat viewings. And the accompanying audio – both narration and score – works perfectly with the visuals. The Moonwalkers is the ultimate in immersive infotainment.
