Electrosonic provided audio-visual equipment and support for the interactives located throughout the seven inflatable domes housing the touring show. Systems were designed to fit inside set pieces and pack in custom road cases to meet the demands of an attraction touring worldwide. “The show is more akin to a concert or other large, temporary, high-tech venue that travels,” says Electrosonic project manager Steve Calver. “There are no fixed rooms. Everything was installed as part of a transportable show.”
Early on in the show’s conception, Hero Ventures worked with Electrosonic’s Design Consulting team to provide projection and audio system design services for the theaters of “The Marvel Experience.” Knowing Electrosonic’s experience with high-output, blended projectors and 3D systems, Hero Ventures sought help with technical challenges concerning multiple inflatable domes, including a 60-foot dome with full 3D.
Production Resource Group (PRG) went on to furnish the projection and audio systems based on Electrosonic’s design while Electrosonic moved on to provide the interactives for “The Marvel Experience.” Electrosonic established a mock-up of the interactives at Rando Productions in North Hollywood and supplied installation support at the show’s first venue in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“Our biggest challenge was supplying a touring show with the types of equipment normally used in permanent installations,” says Calver. “We had to use different mounting techniques and flexible cabling and ensure easy access. Everything had to fit properly into unusual scenic elements – each interactive was unique and required a slightly different approach and installation hardware. And everything had to be easily installable and removable from venue to venue.”
Interactives are found throughout the attraction’s seven domes. The Motion Comics Gallery features nine 32-inch Samsung monitors overlaid with touchscreens; Innovox speakers provide directional sound. Five Motion Comics Kiosks each have two HP 21- inch all-in-one PCs. Draw The Marvel Way lets fans demonstrate their artistry at three HP 24-inch all-in-one PCs with touchscreens.
Fans get to Swing with Spider-Man as they climb vertical treadmills while a pair of Christie projectors displays dizzying views of the ground 100 stories below them on the floor. Cameras under the truss snap pictures of the climb to take home.
The Adaptoid Recovery & Containment game has six long Cybertouch tables connected by lighted ramps to an illuminated central tower like spokes to the hub of a wheel. “Each table has two 55-inch Cybertouch monitors placed end to end,” Calver says. “LED lighting controls inside the game interface make the ramp columns light up and energize the tower.”
Four Hulk and Iron Man interactives feature 55-inch Samsung monitors hung in portrait mode. Fans interact gesturally with the superheroes via Microsoft Kinect and custom gaming computers.
The Villain Training Ship has Samsung monitors built into set pieces with Polywell PCs and touchscreens. Avengers Group Training uses augmented reality technology. As fans mimic the gestures of their favorite superheroes, Microsoft Kinect tracks the motion to the characters, which are projected next to them on the dome.
BrightSign signage is used in the vast Entry Plaza where Extron extenders distribute video signals to multiple Samsung monitors. Custom computer systems throughout the attraction feature NLE computers. Monitor mounts by Premier Mounts ensure safe, durable mounting for monitors of all sizes.
