David Andrade is one of the three co-founders of Theory Studios, an award-winning digital media company that specialises in projects across animation, games, attractions and the metaverse. A Fine Arts graduate, Emmy-nominated animator and entrepreneur, in 2013 he created Theory Studios, the world’s first virtual animation company, with a simple mission: to make the world laugh a little more.
Nearly a decade later, the company has grown into a larger team of creatives based across seven different countries and has pioneered the use of cloud animation technology that lets creators, artists and producers collaborate in real time around the world. The company works across visitor attractions, augmented reality, and themed entertainment projects, and has collaborated with clients like Sesame Street, Walt Disney Imagineering and Chimelong Group.
With the metaverse set to be the next big trend in attractions, blooloop spoke to Andrade to find out where he sees this technology going, where it can add value, and how operators can get ahead of the competition.
Theory Studios
Talking about how Theory Studios has evolved over the last ten years, Andrade says:
“Our claim to fame is that we were nominated for an Emmy for our work on Man in the High Castle in 2017. We worked on seasons two and three with our partners Barnstorm Visual Effects; we did a lot of the CGI, and they did a lot of the compositing. It was Amazon Studios’ first big flagship show, so it was a great experience.”
“Around that time, we also decided that we were all going to work remotely. We were one of the first companies to get into cloud rendering – we even did testing for Amazon Web Services looking at how to render on the cloud. This was way before the pandemic when working from home became the norm.
“We’ve always had that cutting-edge mentality and we have always strived to be at the forefront because we’re small. Your biggest advantage when you’re small is you can do things that other people won’t even try because it’s too risky.”
Working with Meta on the metaverse & entering the attractions sector
As time has gone on, Theory Studios has worked on a variety of different projects.
“Most recently, Meta, formerly Facebook, hired us to work on a metaverse world with them. They have a metaverse called Horizons and we helped them to make one of the elements in that world. We made this cool experience where you fly around in the clouds.
“In addition to that, a lot of our business lately has shifted into theme parks. We’ve realised that themed entertainment is a big area of growth, and there are still a lot of old ways of doing things, where we can bring change.”
“So, for instance, we can bring previsualisation, where we can show you how a ride looks before it’s made. We work a lot with Renaissance Entertainment & Chimelong, in China, and we went ahead and did some VR previews for a new park that’s opening over there, for example. We’ve been trying new things and experimenting, bringing media to theme parks – mostly Chimelong although we did also do an experience for Universal Studios Orlando.
“Today, the 15 or so people on the payroll are doing everything from gaming and the metaverse to theme parks and attractions, and we even have a group working on machine learning for robotics. So, it’s a quite diverse and mighty, yet tiny, business!”
Dreaming big at Theory Studios
While the scope of its projects has changed over the years, Theory Studios has always aimed to be at the forefront of technology.
“We try to be on the leading edge,” says Andrade. “Initially, our very simple mission statement was just to make the world laugh. When we started, we made a cartoon animation for an early YouTube channel called Channel Frederator, which was big at the time, and certainly fit with that mission statement.”
“But then we worked on a TV show about World War Two, so of course, there was no laughter at all. Now, my bigger thought about our mission, and what I’ve started to realise over the years, is we’re always on the edge. We’re always on the edge of doing something new, something big and great.”
Now, Andrade says the official tagline of Theory Studios is ‘Dream Big’:
“That’s what we do. We try to dream big, and even though we’re small we still try to punch way above our weight.”
Bringing the experience alive
Today that spirit can be seen in some of the work that the firm has done both for attractions giant Chimelong and for Meta, in the metaverse.
“There are also some cool things that are in the works that haven’t been announced yet,” he adds. “Right now, we are talking to a UK theme park about R&D and looking at how to bring interactive experiences in a new way.”
“That is one of the reasons why I think the themed entertainment industry is awesome because it’s like a big black box that you can play in as you try to bring the experience alive. Whether through AI or machine learning, there is a lot that we can do that can make it all come alive, and a lot of our current work encapsulates that.”
The metaverse and attractions of the future
On the topic of cutting-edge attractions trends, and what the attraction of the future might look like, Andrade starts by identifying some of the operators that he views as game changers, saying that he thinks Meow Wolf and AREA15 are some of the best examples of how the industry is evolving and where it may be going.
He also adds: “It’s interesting when you look at the fact that the revenue of gaming is now beating the film and music industries put together.”
The stats bear this out: In 2020, the US video game industry grew 27% to $56.9 billion in revenue, surpassing movies and music combined, according to NPD Group.
“Gaming has beaten other industries in terms of actual revenue for years. To me, that’s a sign that this current generation, those born in the 80s and on if you will, we’re all really into interactive things, things that are alive, things that are just more than a passive experience.
“A movie is a passive experience, whereas a theme park is a great extension of that experience. You get the stimulus of walking around and being there, there is small and touch etc. But then you can mix a lot of interactive elements into that as well. For example, at Universal Studios in Beijing, they have a whole Jurassic Park area where you can make your own dinosaur and things like that.
“At Universal Studios in Orlando, we worked on the pre-show for the Bourne Stuntacular. That’s a cool example because there are actors in front of you, but then behind is a whole digital screen that is transporting you to different places and worlds.”
The next step for attractions
Andrade goes on to consider what might be the next step in this evolution of the experience economy:
“It will be interesting to see what Universal does with their Nintendo land that they’re opening here in North America because that’s a giant brand dedicated to gaming. How can you work in a brand where you’re physically doing something, but there’s also an interactive element?
“We can also look at what Galaxy’s Edge did for Star Wars. When you are on the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, the ride is, partially, whatever you want it to be. As a guest, you have a unique experience and it’s a new ride just for you. Maybe you’ll go back again and fly the Millennium Falcon this way. Or maybe next time you decide not to shoot anything at all, just to let it do its thing.”
This shows how the visitor of today really values experiences.
“Maybe digital and interactive technologies will allow that to be even more unique and more exciting in the future. So that’s where I think we’re going to go.
“Even when we go back to the classic Star Tours ride from Disney, people would go back again and again to ride that, because each time the ride was a little different. It had five worlds that it went to. For the longest time, it was the longest queue ride because people wanted to see all the versions of it. It’s unique. Also, for the operator, you get that replayability, but you only have to build it once.”
The potential of AI
Where might this desire for a truly unique and individual experience eventually lead, when combined with the latest technology developments? Andrade believes that AI is an area to watch:
“AI is being used a bit now in theme parks, but where we’re using it most is in software creation and animation creation. Over the early spring and summer, everybody was using programmes like DALL-E and Stable Diffusion [machine learning models that can generate digital images from natural language descriptions]. And Google just released a new tool called Imagen which doesn’t just produce images, it also does video.”
While Andrade sees exciting potential in these types of tools, he also contends that they rely on human creativity in order to create something special; they cannot replace the vital work done by creative teams:
“I think it’s a great tool. Certainly, Theory Studios is a very artist-leaning group; more than three-quarters of our team are classically trained artists. What I say to them is, this is just another tool. AI depends on creative spark; it is trained on creative input. AI is a means of combining things very quickly and iterating content, but it’s not the initial spark.”
Creating unique experiences
“What we’ve used it for is to quickly iterate ideas and styles, and then we hand it over to an artist who can take it to the next level and help it to become what we want it to be,” he continues. “So, it’s a great tool.
“It’s also a scary tool, because how far can it go? We have just got AI video generation, and that’s interesting, and can maybe help us to expand on this idea that experiences can become more unique.”
With this type of technology, could we get to a point where every ride experience is unique?
“Think of it in terms of a buffet of content,” says Andrade. “The AI could pull it all together and generate that media for the ride on the fly, so that every single time you go on the ride, it’s unique. That sounds far-fetched and kind of confusing, but it’s very possible.
“At the core, this tech is just like a game engine. It’s an AI that comes up with new ideas that we have the experience to put together. So that’s where I think we’ll go. I understand that it’s frightening to a lot of people who are used to creating slowly by hand, but I like to remind them that an AI puts things together, it doesn’t make the ingredients. All it does is smash things together.”
Theory Studios, attractions and the metaverse
Attractions should be thinking about the metaverse, says Andrade, who sees it as an effective way for operators to add value and build connections with their audiences.
“The metaverse is interesting. I think what it does is it gives us a way to socially interact and hang out in a virtual environment, which was great during COVID when we couldn’t go anywhere. But at the same time, you can’t deny that everybody wants to go out and do stuff in the real world too. Everyone wants to come to Disney and Universal and all those places, where they can enjoy their time together. So where does Metaverse fit in with that?”
Andrade’s pitch is that, once those people leave, attractions want them to come back. They want them to keep thinking about the park and to tell their friends to visit too.
“So why not have a virtual world, for instance in Roblox, where they can walk around and experience your attraction or resort easily?
“There is a game for PlayStation called Dreams that lets you build worlds, and during COVID, a lot of people used it to build Disneyland. Just by making blocks and moving them around on their PlayStations, people made a fully functioning Disneyland space in this game, which can then be freely distributed for other people to experience.”
Meet your audience where they are
For the guest, these digital experiences cost a fraction of what it would take for them to visit in the real world.
“It functions a bit as a loss leader to keep people excited and interested in your attraction, it keeps them connected with you,” says Andrade.
David AndradeA metaverse is simply a virtual place to hang out. And it doesn’t always have to be in a headset
“Also, it taps into the fact that so many members of the current generations are gamers; you can meet them where they are. Nike is the biggest example. They went ahead and made a Roblox world dedicated to Nike and sports, and they even have people like LeBron James come on and talk to kids in this virtual game, in this world which effectively is the metaverse.
“A metaverse is simply a virtual place to hang out. And it doesn’t always have to be in a headset.
“I encourage attractions operators to look at the metaverse as another marketing tool, where guests can come in and enjoy and experience and then it gets them excited for when they can be there in person. VR and AR are tools, they are just windows into that world.”
The latest tech
A look at what some of the leading tech companies are working on certainly points to the fact that the metaverse is not going away. For instance, Meta recently previewed a state-of-the-art new VR headset that combines a real-world camera with a virtual camera.
“PlayStation VR is doing this, Apple is doing this, Meta is pouring a lot of money into this; they’re all developing newer and newer headsets so that we can experience things virtually. So why not meet the audience where they going to be?”
“Can you imagine if you had the Main Street of Magic Kingdom there? You just put your headset on, and you get the sights and the sounds, and you can have character interactions. I think that this kind of metaverse would be such a big win for an attractions operator like Disney because people want to be a part of the experience.
“If you look at some of the top-selling games on the Meta Quest, many of them are just experiences; you don’t accomplish too much, you’re just there, you’re just virtually visiting a place.”
Theory Studios and Chimelong
Talking about current projects that Theory Studios is working on, Andrade explains a bit more about the firm’s collaboration with Renaissance Entertainment & Chimelong Group in China.
“One thing that we’ve been working on with Chimelong Group is a cartoon series called Bug Buddies. Weeks before COVID, we were pitching to them, looking at when people come in and experience characters on site, and how could they connect with those characters virtually, once they are back home.”
“We pitched them the idea of doing these animated shorts of characters, and then when COVID happened we realised that Bug Buddies could be a good touch point, a way to reach audiences while we were all waiting for the parks to open again.
“We made a TikTok channel, and we made a YouTube channel for these animated shorts where the characters are experiencing life at Chimelong. They’re going on the rides and they’re having adventures in the park. And it was a giant hit, it had just under a million views on YouTube in the first year, and we also broke 2 million views on TikTok.
“The idea was, even if you’re not at the park and you literally couldn’t go for some time, you could still experience it and have a connection to it through these characters.
“This shows how, when attractions have a presence in the metaverse, however you want to define it, it allows folks to experience their world. It gets them excited and wanting to come back and see more of it.”
No better time for attractions to enter the metaverse
With the recession, the cost-of-living crisis and inflation, there is potentially a lot of fear around embarking on new and somewhat unknown projects right now. Operators might be thinking, ‘Why would I want to spend extra money to do this?’
“I would argue that now is the best time because your competitors are probably not wanting to spend a dime. Here’s an opportunity to take some market share. Nobody’s being brave. And this is a worthwhile thing.”
“One of my co-hosts at SATE in Sweden, Louis Alfieri, argued that a virtual experience is actually cheaper than the physical one. As we start to stratify with inflation and the pressure of rising costs, a lot of us have mobile phones and that allows us to experience things virtually, more easily and cheaply than in person.
“At the end of the day, our goal at Theory Studios is to be at the cutting edge and try the things that no one else will try. So, I’m hoping that we can bring some of these experiences together and do something great.”
