IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
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Hive provided 44 Beeblade Pluto media servers that powered the exhibition’s visual content and ensured smooth playback throughout
parts of the story our historians and Egyptologists wanted to tell and discussed how that could be structured using modern technology. We ended up building these elements of old-school textual information panels, museum rooms with artefacts, originals and replicas and scenic designs on display. We’d then go to all the digital parts. Next was writing the scripts for the several rooms; from there, it was storyboarding.” The Mad team’s next priority was the animatics in black & white – box-grey shading animations which the team then started to fill in. Layered onto this was a complete, tailored and composed soundtrack and special effects and sound effects – along with a narrator and voiceover. “I always call it like a big movie production or a theatrical projection because my background is in theatre,” de Jong continues. “We like to record all the music in-house with an orchestra to add to the quality and production value.” Another important element of the exhibition is the sensory features and smells used within some of the rooms. Howard Carter’s own voice also narrates the moment of the tomb being unveiled, which adds to the authenticity of the
experience. De Jong felt that these components would not only improve the show, but also help to elevate the event. The experience features its own soundtrack, composed by musician and composer René Merkelbach. AN AUDIO-VISUAL MOSAIC The show took a staggering two years to complete, and at the heart of it was a towering 8m, 360° projection-mapped environment. Known as the black box, the central immersive space was designed and installed by multimedia specialist PWL. With a tight schedule to complete the project, PWL had just under four months to design, build, install and commission the black box for the show’s opening night – a full-scale immersive theatre powered by 44 Epson projectors and featuring spatial audio, projection mapping and synchronisation. Hive’s technology was also integral to the visual experience of the exhibition. A total of 44 WUXGA projectors delivered nearly 8K resolution. Hive’s Beeblade Pluto media servers, housed in three compact Beehive enclosures, served as the backbone of the experience. The projection canvas covered more than 1200 sq m, with content playing across
Visitors can view artefacts dating all the way back to 4000 BC
massive ultra-wide resolutions and at 30fps. The venue presented a number of its own challenges, which included uneven flooring, changing ceiling heights and limited build time. With multiple international partners involved, it was critical to deliver a fully integrated solution that would set a standard for
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