Bring A Theme Park Attraction To Your Booth

by Victoria Massulli
Vice President, Marketing
StrayLight Corp.
Warren, NJ

"Evolution: is a new 3-D animated adventure which offers exhibitors a theme park attraction in their booth, with visits to the deep sea, artic vistas, a barren desert and outer space

Almost every theme park in Orlando, FL, has a 3-D movie. One of my personal favorites is "Honey I Shrunk the Audience" playing at World Disney World's Epcot. Like myself, children and adults of all ages will line up again and again to experience these eye-popping ‘in-your-face' adventures.

Audience members scramble for the center seat, place their 3-D glasses over their eyes, and get ready for an action-packed, three minute adventure. Not just a throw back to the ‘50's, today's 3-D movies are more intense and technologically advanced, allowing for more enjoyable and realistic experiences. They can include special effects, sophisticated animation, and beautiful live-action footage.

Now, exhibit managers can bring these 3-D adventures into their booths without the need for a large staging area. People can experience 3-D movies in a variety of ways, from wearing sophisticated Virtual Reality (VR) Helmets, to the traditional projected screens with glasses, to Magna-Scopes (viewers where you just ‘peer' inside, like a periscope). With immersive technology, like VR Helmets and Magna-Scopes, every seat is front and center!

"Evolution: is a new 3-D animated adventure which offers exhibitors a theme park attraction in their booth, with visits to the deep sea, artic vistas, a barren desert and outer space Special sensory effects can be incorporated into the theaters, such as tactile, auditory and even olfactory, so people can feel, hear and smell the 3-D environments. StrayLight's Virtual Theater systems use pulsating shaker chairs so guests can feel the vibrations as they move through virtual worlds. There are headphones or speakers that surround the viewer with dynamic music and sound effects, all of which complete the illusion of ‘really being there.' The simple rule is: the more senses you engage, the more realistic the experience.

A new 3-D animated adventure entitled "Evolution: A Fantast Flight Through Time," has recently been released by StrayLight Corp. "Evolution" offers visitors a personalized 3-D ride which visits the deep sea, arctic vistas, a barren desert and outer space. The movie was specifically designed for event marketing installations, where clients could affordably take a theme park style attraction into their booth, without having to pay over-the-top licensing fees or the installation costs of a large-scale 3-D theater. Corporations, such as First Union National Bank, InterFirst Wholesale Mortgage Lending, and Bell+Howell Publishing, have already incorporated "Evolution" into their trade show programs.

StrayLight's "Evolution" has an orchestrated opening scene, including a graceful dance through marine life, where whales, dolphins and schools of brightly colored fish engage visitors. The next scene elevates guests from the ocean depths to the top of the world, as they soar high above a frigid arctic landscape.

Keeping with the theme of exploration, visitors are transported, as if by magic, into an Egyptian desert to experience the arid landscape, complete with a startling snake encounter and ancient pyramids. A mysterious happening occurs and teleports visitors into the future, where they race through a high tech city that pulsates with laser beams and revolving holographic towers. The finale is a weightless flight through the universe where colliding asteroids illuminate the dark planetary sky.

With "Evolution," exhibit managers can offer guests a memorable journey into the unknown. Marketing managers often tie the "Evolution" story into their booth theme, drawing parallels between the company's origin and stability, and how they will successfully power the industry in the future. Some clients even add an introductory and concluding voice-over to specifically unify their marketing program with the 3-D theater experience.

For example, First Union National Bank incorporated a custom voice-over into "Evolution," which tied into their AFP (Association of Financial Professionals) 2000 booth campaign; "...In the financial world, First Union has been evolving, too...Today we're pleased to take you on a virtual tour through the development of the world around us...from our beginnings through our tomorrows..." In addition to the custom narration, StrayLight also incorporated 3-D First Union graphics into the show.

Customizing "Evolution" with company graphics is a popular choice for extra branding, and StrayLight often animates logos and graphics in 3-D, so they fly out into the audience during the opening and closing of the movie.

For over three solid minutes, exhibit managers capture their audience's undivided attention. They reinforce their brand identity and marketing message, while entertaining guests with an unusual and cutting edge technology.

The flexibility of hardware options, allows clients to choose from various equipment for different events. InterFirst Wholesale Mortgage Lending has rented StrayLight's theaters in both large and small configurations, depending on the scope of their show and size of their booth. InterFirst always brands the front of the VR Helmets with their logos, for added marketing exposure.

Magna-Scopes, instead of VR Helmets, can be rented with StrayLight's Virtual Theaters. Magna-Scopes offer a wider field-of-view into the 3-D virtual worlds. Guests sit down and lean into the viewers, instead of wearing a VR Helmet. Because of proprietary advanced optics inside the Magna-Scopes, the visual quality is very realistic. IBM Corporation has used two traveling Magna-Scope theaters for a variety of career fairs and association trade shows. The kiosk-design allows for a modular configuration, from a one-seat theater to a circular six-seat theater. Each enclosure is beautifully designed with a high tech chrome finish and can also be rented for "Evolution" installations.

Typically, exhibit designers are in charge of theming and staging the Virtual Theaters, as StrayLight provides a technician and complete theater system, including VR Helmets, shaker chairs, electronics and the 3-D movie. For Bell+Howell Publishing Services' booth at the NADA 2000, the National Automotive Dealers Association show, Downing Enterprises of Copley, OH, designed the Virtual Theater enclosure. The backdrop was flooded with beautiful colored lights and with a very futuristic design; StrayLight's six-seat theater was the focal point of the booth, attracting attendees from every aisle.

The theater layout should have a designated entrance and exit, presenting opportunities for the sales staff to engage guests while they are waiting in line for their Virtual Theater ride. The 3-D movie itself also acts as a soft conversation starter for the booth staff, as guests enter and exit the Virtual Theater. Thank you gifts and sweepstakes are sometimes used for guests who participate in the Virtual Theater ride.

For more product specific presentations, StrayLight can develop a fully customized 3-D experience. Scripted from scratch, clients can virtually fly guests through their products and services, from the internal workings of a computer network, to touring them through a new corporate facility, and even launching them into the industry future -- the options are endless. Custom productions can be animated or live action. For live action sequences, StrayLight can conduct location shoots with special 3-D stereoscopic cameras to film real-life destinations.

For example, ITT Educational Services has been on ongoing client of StrayLight for over six years. Their recruiters use portable projected Virtual Theaters to conduct presentations at high schools nationwide, promoting ITT's Technical Institutes as an educational opportunity after graduation. Over sixty 3-D theaters operate five days a week, running a custom 3-D stereoscopic show. Their presentation incorporates live 3-D video shot on location at various ITT Technical Schools, showcasing their electronics laboratories and various ITT specific properties. ITT's presentation also includes animated imagery, which flies students through futuristic worlds, such as space explorations and virtual cities -- thus reinforcing the necessity of achieving an advanced education in a technologically driven world.

Trade show exhibitors and marketing executives understand the power of emotionally connecting with their guests, to make a solid and lasting impression. Similar to a theme park adventure, Virtual Technology offers attendees a memorable experience they will take home and talk about for days, weeks and even years to come. eb