New partnership rewrites old business model by eliminating the middleman with turnkey solution
Holovis International (Jaguar-Land Rover, Madison Square Garden, Sony), a leading provider of turnkey and cutting-edge media technology, and Threshold Animation Studios (Marvel Superheroes 4D, LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out, Star Trek: Borg Invasion 4D), a leading film and theme park media producer, announced today a global strategic partnership to produce immersive and innovative media attractions and theme park experiences.
The partnership, called Threshold Holovis Entertainment, delivers new immersive dome attractions and simulation experiences that project filmed images literally all around you – in front, up, down, below. The technology fully immerses the audience inside the story and allows them experience it in a whole new sensory way.
Threshold Holovis Entertainment rewrites how attractions are produced in the following ways:
1. NEW IMMERSIVE DOME TECHNOLOGY APPLIES TO A BROAD VARIETY OF ATTRACTIONS, including Dark Rides, Domes, Immersive Tunnels, 4D Theatres, Simulators and Coasters;
2. IT SAVES MONEY BY ELIMINATING THE MIDDLEMAN. This turnkey solution eliminates wasteful ‘packaging’ fees from middlemen and allows the park to deal directly with Threshold Holovis Entertainment for a Turnkey Solution;
3. ‘ONE TEAM, ONE PARK’ – THERE IS A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARK AND PRODUCERS TO CREATE BETTER AUDIENCE EXPERIENCES (see attached graphic).
The experts at Holovis and film makers at Threshold are partnering together to produce fully immersive, 360 degree surround dome media experiences. Stuart Hetherington, CEO, Holovis (Marvel Superheroes 4D, Coca Cola, McLaren) explains: “We’re now applying to entertainment multi-channel, ultrahigh resolution projection and real-time simulation, all technology originally developed for the military.”
This partnership also saves money, using a project’s budget more effectively by removing a costly middleman that used to put together such theme park projects.
“Why, in a down economy, would a theme park want to spend upwards of 30% of their budget to middlemen that add no creativity and no technology? As filmmakers, our goal has always been to put as much of the budget on the screen and in to the experience, ” explains Amy Steele, VP of Creative, Threshold (Universal Studios Japan, Justice League Alien Invasion 3D, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man: The Ride).
The result is better audience experiences. “The client has direct access to experts in digital animation, unique theatre designs, complex projection surfaces and interactive media, which means they can have next-generation attractions now and not ten years from now, ” says Hetherington.
The partnership also eliminates problems at the end of a project because attractions are delivered turnkey. Hetherington explains: “Poor integration planning – and the finger pointing that follows — is an industry-wide problem we are solving. We eliminate these common installation issues, and the cost involved to fix them, because we can openly communicate during a project.”
“I once executive produced a movie called, ‘Strange Days, ’ that Kathryn Bigelow directed and James Cameron produced, ” says Threshold’s Chairman and film producer Larry Kasanoff (Mortal Kombat, True Lies). “It was about a future technology that allowed users to live experiences virtually that they could never have in real life. Today, with Holovis, we are close to making the science fiction of that movie into science fact.”
Holovis and Threshold will be hosting the North American premier of the latest such immersive technology, the MotionDomeTM, at this week’s International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Attractions Expo 2013, with a global rollout of their attractions and simulation experiences to the public expected by middle of 2014.
About Holovis International:
Holovis is one of Europe’s leading authorities on immersive media technology and is a specialist in immersive visualization systems. Through their extensive R&D, they are developing and implementing some of the world’s next generation media and display technologies.
Holovis designs and integrates advanced display systems, ultra-high-resolution media projections, virtual reality systems and custom media solutions. They have a long standing and proven track record with blue-chip companies including Jaguar Land Rover, Coca-Cola, Panasonic and Sony. Holovis’ clients and solutions cover many industry sectors, including military, entertainment, automotive, engineering, aerospace, oil & gas, education, medical and more.
See more of our work at www.holovis.com.
About Threshold Animation Studios:
Threshold Animation Studios makes Film, Television and Location-Based Entertainment (LBE) largely based on some of the world’s biggest brands, including Spider-Man, Mortal Kombat, Justice League, Lego, Star Trek and Star Wars. Through a unique technology alliance with IBM, Threshold has built an advanced digital production pipeline through which they have produced over 200 such projects.
Threshold's senior management has, as producers or studio heads, been involved in the production of over 200 films and collectively, in the music world, they hold over 100 Gold and Platinum Records. Threshold and its management have been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall St. Journal, USA Today, Time Magazine, Wired, Maxim and Playboy and has been featured on CNN, FOX News, ABC World News Tonight, CNBC, The Howard Stern Show and more.
See more of our work at www.thresholdentertainment.com.
