Khopoli, India (April 19, 2013) — Opened to the public on April 18, Adlabs Imagica is the flagship venture of Adlabs Entertainment Limited (AEL). The park, around 90 minutes from Mumbai, celebrates the Indian legacy of story telling and is the country’s first and only theme park of an international scale and standard, spread over 80 acres of land.
Orlando, FL, USA (April 18, 2013) /PRNewswire/ — SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. (“SeaWorld Entertainment”), a leading theme park and entertainment company, today announced the pricing of an initial public offering of 26,000,000 shares of its common stock at $27.00 per share.
SeaWorld Entertainment is offering 10,000,000 shares to be sold in the offering and selling stockholders affiliated with The Blackstone Group L.P. are offering an additional 16,000,000 shares to be sold in the offering. The selling stockholders have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 3,900,000 shares at the initial public offering price. The shares are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on April 19, 2013, under the ticker symbol “SEAS,” and the offering is expected to close on April 24, 2013, subject to customary closing conditions.
SeaWorld Entertainment will receive net proceeds of approximately $245.4 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by SeaWorld Entertainment. SeaWorld Entertainment will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the shares sold by the selling stockholders. SeaWorld Entertainment intends to use a portion of the net proceeds from the offering to redeem $140.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 11% Senior Notes due 2016 issued by its subsidiary SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc., at a redemption price of 111.0% plus accrued and unpaid interest thereof, and to repay $37.0 million of its senior secured term loan B facility. In addition, SeaWorld Entertainment intends to use approximately $47 million of the net proceeds from the offering to make a one-time payment to an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, L.P., in connection with the termination of a management advisory agreement.
Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan are acting as joint bookrunning managers and as representatives of the underwriters in the offering. Citigroup, BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays and Wells Fargo Securities are also bookrunners in the offering. Blackstone Capital Markets, Lazard Capital Markets, Macquarie Capital, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Nomura, Drexel Hamilton, LLC and Ramirez & Co., Inc. are acting as co-managers in the offering.
A registration statement relating to shares of the common stock of SeaWorld Entertainment has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described above, nor shall there be any sale of such shares of common stock in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
The offering of these securities will be made only by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained from Goldman, Sachs & Co. at Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282 or by telephone at 866-471-2526 or by facsimile at 212-902-9316 or by email at [email protected] J.P. Morgan at c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue,Edgewood, NY 11717 or by telephone at 866-803-9204, Citigroup at c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717 or by telephone at 800-831-9146 or by email at[email protected], BofA Merrill Lynch at 222 Broadway, New York, NY 10038, Attn: Prospectus Department or by email at [email protected], Barclays at c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717 or by telephone at 888-603-5847 or by email at [email protected] and Wells Fargo Securities at 375 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10152, Attn: Equity Syndication Department or by telephone at 800-326-5897 or by email at[email protected].
CinemaCon – Las Vegas, NV (April 18, 2013) — MediaMation announces that Sony Pictures International Releasing and Warner Bros. Pictures International have committed on a non-exclusive basis to release certain of their respective titles in the X4D® format, in each case subject to reaching terms with the exhibitor(s).
Earlier this year, MediaMation launched the X4D® Motion EFX format into the cinema marketplace with a planned roll-out of multiple full auditorium 250+ seat installs for Cinemex, the 6th largest cinema chain in the world, in 2013, featuring a slate of new release films programmed in X4D® format. More cinema chains worldwide to be equipped with the X4D® technology are to be announced shortly. MediaMation has relationships with all the major studios to provide multiple titles in X4D® format, based on the request and the negotiation between exhibitor and studio.
To date in 2013, the following titles have been released in the X4D® format. More titles to be announced soon.
· HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS
· JACK THE GIANT SLAYER
· GI JOE: RETALIATION
The X4D® technology offers a 4D cinematic experience that immerses moviegoers into the film’s environment, utilizing a patent-pending air-driven pneumatic system, with a combination of motion seating and effects including air and water blasts, neck and leg ticklers, seat transducer, seat poppers, back pokers and scent. Atmospheric effects include wind, rain, snow, strobing, fog, and bubbles. MediaMation offers the cinema marketplace two versions of X4D® Motion EFX seat technology, the 2DOF Cinema Seat (with limited effects and motion) or 3DOF Attraction Seat series (with full effects and motion).
“After twenty years of serving the attraction industry, we are thrilled to be able to bring this new and proven technology to the cinema marketplace. Audiences the world over have validated 4D as a fun, exciting and interactive form of immersive entertainment. Cinemagoers will love the opportunity to see their favorite films in X4D,” remarks Alison Jamele, President, MediaMation.
Las Vegas, NV, USA — RealD Inc. has announced the introduction of Precision White Screen technology for cinema projection, combining 2D white screen performance with the ability to project polarized 3D images. Designed to deliver enhanced 2D and 3D presentations with wide viewing angles similar to white screens of equivalent gain, Precision White Screen technology features edges 4 to 5 times brighter than a standard silver screen. The improved screen efficiency results in 40% more total light coming off the screen, providing more uniform brightness than a standard silver screen. Precision White Screens also feature a smooth, white surface which generates better image contrast for improved image quality in 2D and 3D.
Precision White Screen technology is expected to be available exclusively to exhibitors, production and post-production facilities utilizing RealD 3D Cinema Systems initially through Ballantyne Strong’s Strong-MDI. Additional details on price and availability are to be announced.
“Precision White Screen technology delivers high quality 2D and 3D images with better brightness uniformity for an exceptional image on screen. With up to a forty degree half gain angle, optimal reflection performance can be designed for individual auditoriums depending on screen size and curvature; high gain for extra brightness or broader distribution of light for wider viewing angles,” said Joe Peixoto, President, Worldwide Cinema at RealD.
“Coupling RealD’s industry expertise with Strong-MDI’s state-of-the-art screen engineering and manufacturing capabilities has created an exciting advancement in cinema screens as the Precision White Screen technology delivers a bright, uniform picture that is ideal for premium viewing of both 2D and 3D content. We look forward to marketing screens utilizing RealD’s Precision White Screen technology under our High White brand beginning immediately,” said Chris Stark, COO of Ballantyne Strong.
RealD Precision White Screens installed in select test locations received endorsements, including:
“For most of the past decade, RealD has been a great innovator dedicated to delivering the highest quality movie going experience. They’ve now raised the bar even higher with the introduction of Precision White Screen technology. Once again, the winners will be audiences and exhibitors alike,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chief Executive Officer of DreamWorks Animation which has a Precision White Screen installed in their Campanile Theater.
“The RealD Precision White screen allows for a brilliant presentation with very even brightness and smooth texture to the image. It is simply the best 3D I have seen. And 2D presentations on this surface have a forceful visual impact when compared to a silver screen. Combined with the RealD XL’s high light output, this screen provides the best 3D cinema presentation available today,” said Ian Bidgood, Technical Director – Digital Intermediate, Park Road Post Production which utilized a Precision White Screen for the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
“RealD’s Precision White Screen is a great step forward in screen technology. It is now the centerpiece of our new “MuviXL” experience in Thousand Oaks, California, and soon to be in Chicago and South Florida. Guests, wherever they sat in the auditorium, have offered praise for a perceptibly clearer, brighter 3D image that seemed to float off the screen,” said Neil F. Bretan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Muvico Theaters.
“Finally, a screen for great looking 3D that respects the quality needed for white screen 2D presentations. As a replacement for high gain white screens and for polarized 3D shows, the Precision White Screen product fills the need for both,” said Chapin Cutler, President and Principal, Boston Light & Sound, Inc.
RealD is the world’s most widely used 3D cinema technology with approximately 22,200 screens equipped with RealD 3D by approximately 1,000 exhibitors in 68 countries around the world (as of December 31, 2012).
EDITOR’S NOTE: This development is one mile south of Caesar Entertainment’s The LINQ, the highlight of which is the High Roller, which will be the world’s tallest observation wheel when it opens later this year. Design and art direction for the High Roller are being provided by the Hettema Group. — JK
Las Vegas, NV, USA (April 18, 2013) MGM Resorts International unveiled details today about the experience it is creating in Las Vegas surrounding the world-class 20,000-seat arena under development in partnership with renowned sports, entertainment and facilities organization AEG. Plans include new Stripside experiences at New York-New York and Monte Carlo resorts and a public park leading to the new state-of-the-art arena. The Company also announced details about the team who will bring this robust new experience to fruition.
THE VISION
For centuries, plazas, squares and grand boulevards have served as important gathering places where people take in the sights, sounds and flavors of great cities. Enlivening one of the city’s most exciting intersections, MGM Resorts will create an experience that encourages social interaction and one of Las Vegas’ best-known pastimes – people-watching.
Providing opportunities for visitors to enjoy Las Vegas outdoors, this vibrant plaza will connect New York-New York and Monte Carlo as well as the newly announced arena on land behind the resorts. Construction will begin on the outdoor experiences at New York-New York and Monte Carlo in the coming weeks, with anticipated completion in early 2014.
Jim Murren, Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International, said, “All great cities offer vibrant pedestrian experiences, and Las Vegas is certainly no exception, as The Strip is one of the world’s greatest boulevards. Our vision is to extend the excitement we traditionally create within our world-class resorts outside onto The Strip, and ultimately in an entertainment district leading to our new arena. To bring that vision to fruition, we have assembled a team recognized around the world for creating special venues and places.”
LAS VEGAS BLVD. ENHANCEMENTS
The front facades of New York-New York and Monte Carlo will be transformed into an outdoor plaza experience featuring a series of casual bars, eateries and retail destinations. New York-New York will modify its skyline and Brooklyn Bridge to create a wonderful environment brought to life through a vibrant patio culture and retailers new to the market. Anchoring the new experience will be Hershey’s Chocolate World™ flagship store, a two-story interactive, experiential destination that celebrates the incredible array of Hershey’s-branded products that inspire the “Hershey’s Happiness” mantra. Additionally, the hotel’s Irish pub, Nine Fine Irishmen, will be enhanced, including an expansion of its high-energy patio culture both on the casino floor and the Brooklyn Bridge.
At Monte Carlo, the current formal European-style exterior features will be removed to make way for new partners, including Double Barrel, a casual roadhouse restaurant and bar concept by the leading hospitality experts at sbe; Sambalatte, the art of sipping found in the ultimate coffee experience, beloved by Las Vegas locals, and soon available to visitors; and 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria, serving build-your-own personal pizzas prepared to each guest’s liking and baked in around a minute in an 800-degree wood-burning oven, right before their eyes.
Between the two properties and leading back to the Company’s new arena will be a park environment featuring dining pavilions and performance spaces complemented by areas for quiet relaxation. At the gateway to the park will be Shake Shack, a modern day “roadside” burger stand known for its all-natural burgers, flat-top dogs, frozen custard, beer, wine and more by restaurateur Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group.
Additional partners and details surrounding both properties and the park will be announced in the coming months.
THE TEAM
Master Planner: Cooper, Robertson & Partners
Cooper, Robertson & Partners was founded in 1979 on the premise that the pursuit of excellence in two distinct but related fields – architecture and urban design – would best serve the needs of clients. The firm is recognized nationally for the creation of distinctive urban public places, from the Battery Park City Esplanade and Zuccotti Park in New York to Fountain Square in Cincinnati and Cityfront Center in Chicago.
!melk
!melk is a leading Landscape Architecture and Urban Design firm that focuses on large-scale urban-landscape interventions as well as public spaces and parks. !melk, led by renowned landscape architect and urban designer Jerry van Eyck, will produce the design for this reinvigorated public space on the Las Vegas Strip.
MGM Resorts and AEG recently announced plans to build a 20,000-seat indoor arena on land west of The Strip between New York-New York and Monte Carlo. The arena will be capable of hosting boxing and other sporting events, major headline entertainment, and special events. Design and planning for the arena is well underway and the partners are working toward appropriate approvals.
As the two entertainment companies move forward in this process, they have built a world-class team to develop and construct the arena:
ICON Venue Group
ICON Venue Group will serve as Project Manager for the new Las Vegas arena. ICON is consistently recognized as the leading Owner’s Representative and Project Management firm in the sports, entertainment and public assembly industry with a project portfolio that includes many of the preeminent live entertainment venues around the world.
ICON’s portfolio includes landmark venues like the Pittsburgh Penguins’ CONSOL Energy Center, the first NHL arena to be certified LEED Gold and ranked “Best NHL Arena” by Sports Business Journal; and AEG’s O2 Arena, the first-ever venue to be named by Pollstar as “Best New Concert Venue” and “Best International Arena of the Year” in the same year.
Marnell Architecture
Marnell Architecture and its affiliates at Marnell Companies provide full-service Consulting, Master Planning, Architecture, Interior Design and Construction Management. For more than 35 years the Company has been associated with the Design, Construction, Development and Operations of numerous Global Gaming Landmarks including Bellagio, The Mirage, MGM Grand, New York-New York and Monte Carlo.
Arena Architect
MGM Resorts and AEG are currently undergoing a detailed RFP process with the world’s premier arena architects and anticipate a final decision and announcement in the coming weeks.
by Judith Rubin, IPM co-editor
We attended the 50th anniversary celebration at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium at the Saint Louis Science Center in Saint Louis, Missouri. The planetarium currently has a Zeiss Universarium Model IX fiberoptic starball projector (installed in 2001). There is talk of acquiring a new, high-end, digital dome video (fulldome) theater system in the near future. Representatives of Carl Zeiss International, including Wilfried Lang (VP, Planetarium Division) and Ann Wagner, project manager were on hand for the event. Laura Hammonds Misajet (Sales Manager) represented Seiler, the local Zeiss distributor. Several members of the Seiler family were also present.
Also present were Bert Vescolani, President and CEO of the St. Louis Science Center, plus members of the McDonnell family. Since the James S. McDonnell Planetarium’s doors opened on April 16, 1963, more than 18.5 million people have experienced a connection with astronomy, space exploration and aviation through a visit to this iconic structure. James S. McDonnell, the chief executive of McDonnell Aircraft Corp., contributed substantially to the building costs.
The evening began with a private reception, followed by a public lecture, “50 years of Astronomy” given by Professor Charles Schweighauser. Following this crash course in astronomy and physics, there was birthday cake and coffee for all.
Wilfried Lang, VP, Planetarium Division, Zeiss was on hand to talk about the company’s history in the planetarium community, its products and the upcoming, 7th annual fulldome festival at the Jena Zeiss-Planetarium (May 29-June 1) in Jena, Germany which is the Zeiss headquarters town. He spoke of Zeiss’s pioneering role in the creation of the planetarium, beginning in 1923 with the Deutsches Museum in Munich and the company’s dedication to the facilities as “homes for education and training in astronomy and other sciences.”
Lang explained that the company viewpoint is that a truly complete fulldome system must combine the classic star projector with the digital playback and real-time systems in order to always have the option for real-time in any show and “the ability to communicate with the audience and answer questions on the fly.” Subsequently Zeiss fulldome systems integrate all three elements and support simultaneous operation, controlled by a single software program and console.
Student participation in the Jena festival is fostered as an important element for developing the medium. Lang points out that all technical high schools in Germany now include a media technology curriculum, and this is where many of Jena’s student contributors are drawn from.
According to Lang, Zeiss has invested some 4 million Euros to research and development of its Velvet Black fulldome system over the past 3 years, and the equivalent amount to each of 3 sizes of its classic starball projectors.
Other facets of the planetarium’s anniversary celebration include a return to 1963 prices for star shows (50 cents!) and a new exhibition, Gateway to the Universe: Celebrating 50 Years of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium – and…
LASERIUM returns!
Another highlight of the 50th anniversary celebration is the revival of LASERIUM® in a limited engagement. “It’s the one thing that I have been asked consistently since I first arrived in Saint Louis over a year ago.” said Bert Vescolani. LASERIUM first premiered at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium in the summer of 1975 and became an instant hit. “When you show that on the Planetarium’s 80-foot dome, you’re just blown away,” said planetarium director John Lakey. “LASERIUM was a huge sensation,” Lakey reported. Shows sold out all the time.”
The long lines and full houses for LASERIUM shows in the 1970s were a rejuvenator for many planetariums that booked the laser shows, introducing new revenue streams, new audiences and a new business model for the facilities. Those aspects have been getting renewed attention as more and more planetariums upgrade their systems to fulldome digital cinema and consider the new programming options available to them. At the 2013 IMERSA Summit in February
at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (IMERSA is a trade group devoted to promoting the uses of immersive media, with a special focus on fulldome), LASERIUM was celebrated in multiple ways. Its creator Ivan Dryer was the keynote speaker, and was presented with IMERSA’s first award for lifetime achievement, and its legacy of multimedia artistic exploration in the dome was robustly on show in the VJ programs and systems demonstrated by SAT, Laser Fantasy and Signal to Noise.
One of the first to see LASERIUM at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium was Saint Louis-based laserist (laser artist) Brian Wirthlin, who is a tech specialist with Seiler Instruments. (He gave us a hint about the pending return of LASERIUM during the IMERSA Summit in February, which he attended.) Wirthlin became not only a fan but also a student of the art and technology, and in reviving LASERIUM, he digitized the original analog tapes. The music selection is a mix of classic and rock, from Holst’s Neptune to Pink Floyd’s Echoes.
The revival of LASERIUM opened to the general public in Saint Louis on April 5, 2013, and shows will continue on selected dates through the summer.
Flight of the Butterflies, lovingly customized for the dome
The Saint Louis Science Center complex includes the James S. McDonnell Planetarium, a state-of-the-art Boeing Hall and a four-story OMNIMAX® Theater. As part of the 50th anniversary celebration for the planetarium, it showed classic giant screen space titles for one week in the OMNIMAX dome. Also showing there is Flight of the Butterflies, one of the standouts from the recent Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA) Film Expo & Digital Symposium at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas, and already booked on 100+ screens.
“Butterflies” initially premiered in September 2012, at the Johnson IMAX Theater at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and is acclaimed as a success both in terms of filmmaking and in spreading awareness of the loss of habitat threatening the Monarch butterfly. Visitors have been snapping up the free packets of milkweed seeds (Milkweed is the Monarch’s main food) distributed in connection with screenings – some half-million seeds so far, according to SK Films.
Distributor SK Films is rolling out “Butterflies” across a wide range of exhibition formats, including fulldome as well as giant screen and conventional cinema. They took pains to create a series of digital intermediates to optimize each one and their process may well become a defining model for distributing a special venue title across a variety of educational markets and theater configurations, from science centers to planetariums to multiplexes. “We want everyone to run it,” says SK Films president Jonathan Barker.
Giant screen film dome operators have protested for a number of years that the dome format tends to receive short shrift. In the giant screen universe, the primary focus of producers and distributors in the past 10 years or so has been on the flatscreen 2D/3D markets. Added to the outcry from film dome operators is a growing awareness of the sizable planetarium market, where hundreds of digital dome (fulldome) systems are viable candidates for distribution of the science and nature documentaries that typically show in giant screen theaters.
[Our related article, Supercharged Digital Theater, makes the case that distributors could target some 400 additional theaters by planning for fulldome.]
Cross-platforming is an inexact science, and it’s challenging to make a film work across the board. Adding fulldome to the spread increases the challenge, and an effort to address this 
with specifications has led to the creation of DIGSS (Digital Immersive Giant Screen Specifications). GSCA has assumed stewardship of the DIGSS initiative and the committee includes prominent IMERSA members such as Ed Lantz of Vortex Immersion, and Martin Howe of Global Immersion. Christopher Reyna of New Paradigm Films – fresh from his role as technical director on Samsara – recently added his industry clout to the committee.
[Joe Kleiman digs deeper into the standards issues in his recent IPM story, Can You DIGSS It?]
All this is background for the enthusiasm with which dome operators hailed Jonathan 
Barker’s presentation at GSCA Dome Day last September at The Tech Museum in San Jose. “We showed what we had done to make the film look its best on the dome, with a side-by-side series of frames demonstrating the changes from flatscreen to dome. They were pleased with the trouble we went to,” he said. “We created the film from a variety of different image capture sources. Those were processed into three separate digital intermediates from which we filmed out: one for 1570 3D and 2D, one for 1570
dome, and one for 16 x 9 aspect ratio digital cinema. On the dome version, we took the flatscreen digital master as a starting point, and reframed it shot-by-shot to put the action in the dome’s sweet spot. Sometimes, the repositioning required that we extend other areas in
the frame. We also put a grade on during the color timing process, meaning that we darkened the sides and top of the frame to reduce cross-reflection, because one of the biggest potential problems in the dome is cross-reflection causing light to wash out in the middle of the frame.”
“Butterflies” is already booked to show in the HD Digital Dome Theater at Telus Spark science center in Calgary (open since May 2012, the theater has a Digistar projection system and Spitz Nanoseam screen), and chances are it will soon be showing in many more planetarium domes. To ready it for fulldome, “Butterflies” must undergo another custom mastering process. Evans & Sutherland (E&S), a leader in adapting giant screen titles for fulldome exhibition, will collaborate with SK Films to create a series of Dome Masters, the accepted specification for fulldome.
Fulldome projection systems are designed to completely fill the hemisphere of the dome. The seating configuration and tilt of the dome correspondingly work to surround the audience with imagery as fully as possible. In comparison, giant screen domes such as OMNIMAX theaters fill somewhat less of the screen. According to Michael Daut, Director of Show Production/Marketing at E&S, a giant screen dome theater frame is 180 degrees wide by 135 degrees high, whereas a fulldome frame converted from giant screen will be about 200 degrees wide by 145 degrees high, filling about 70% of the dome.
E&S begins with SK Films’ digital files in the highest possible resolution and then applies its proprietary stretching and warping technique. The fulldome remastering task is made more complicated by the variations in size, tilt and seating from one dome theater to another. An impressive number of major giant screen cinema producers and distributors in addition to SK Films have signed on for E&S fulldome conversions of their titles, in order to address the sizable fulldome market. They include K2 Communications/Graphic Films, National Geographic Cinema Ventures, nWave Pictures and most recently, MacGillivray Freeman Films. Titles include Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure, Bugs! A Rainforest Adventure, Africa: The Serengeti, Fly Me to the Moon and Wild Ocean. In addition to Telus Spark, facilities that have booked such titles include Adventure Science Center in Nashville, A&M University in Commerce, Texas; the Earth & Space Science Lab in Frederick, Maryland; Missouri Western State University, PHM Planetarium in Mishawaka, Iowa; and Colgate University in Hamilton, New York.
Copernicus – “Never stop dreaming”
At the Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw, Poland, Maciej
Ligowski has been deputy head of planetarium and show producer since June 2009. He chose the system, wrote a substantial portion of the tender and worked with architects to integrate the planetarium into the design of the building – a special challenge as construction was already underway at the time he came on board.
Ligowski studied multimedia technology at the Warsaw University of Technology and went on to work as a lighting designer. He spent time in Japan working toward a doctorate in semiconductors, but changed direction, attracted by the planetarium opportunity that suited his love of science and his technical and design skills.
The science center opened in November 2010, and in June 2011, The Heavens of Copernicus planetarium followed suit unveiling a 140-seat, 16-meter fulldome theater with a 17-degree tilt, outfitted with a hybrid system combining Sky-Skan definiti 3d stereoscopic video projection with lasers and a Megastar IIA projector. Visitors don Infitec glasses to view 3D shows. The science center currently draws about 1 million visitors per year and in 2012 about 25% of them visited the planetarium. Pre-rendered fulldome titles currently showing there are We Are Astronomers, Natural Selection 3D, Dawn of the Space Age 3D, and Secrets of the Sun.
The planetarium also produces its own content, with Weronika Śliwa overseeing creation of real-time shows and Ligowski in charge of fulldome shows. A custom, in-house, real-time 3D program, “Life 3D,” explores the possibility of life out in space and engages visitors in the storytelling. One storyteller talks to the group and another flies through the database, responding to audience suggestions. Under Ligowski’s direction, a new, animated fulldome show in stereoscopic 3D is now in production with the working title Dream to Fly. It was previewed in a short clip at the IMERSA Summit in Denver last February, and is scheduled for release this spring.
2013 was Ligowski’s second time attending the IMERSA Summit. As someone in the midst of producing his first fulldome show, he is on a learning curve and says that he benefits from IMERSA’s emphasis on information exchange in the areas of content creation and storytelling. “Storytelling is very difficult, and planetariums lean toward education. It was useful to have dialog about storytelling [at the IMERSA Summit] with media producers experienced in the world of animation. We can learn a great deal from them. We’ve made a serious investment in show production at our facilities [The Heavens of Copernicus Studio], with a render farm having more than 300 cores and 8 graphics stations. When the planetarium is closed, our theater computers switch over into render mode which gives us additional capacity.”
He summarizes Dream to Fly as being “about how the dream was born and how it came 
true. We are trying to show the whole story in a poetic way from the human perspective. The ultimate message is’ never stop dreaming.’ He regards it as an “animated film – not an astronomy show – making the best possible use of camera movement and the dome environment to create visual interest.”
![Judith Rubin (rubin.judith [AT] gmail.com) is co-editor of InPark Magazine.](http://69.195.124.67/~inparkma/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/480-lo-res-March-2013-150x150.jpg)
2013 Planetarium/Giant Screen market survey (downloadable)
Can You DIGSS It? (Joe Kleiman)
Supercharged Digital Theater (Judith Rubin)
IMERSA 2013: Exploring Challenges of Dome Convergence (Joe Kleiman)
Playing together under the dome
San Francisco, CA, USA (April 17, 2013) — Starting today, the Exploratorium will open at Pier 15 at the heart of the revitalized San Francisco waterfront radically improving access to visitors from all over the world and dramatically enhancing the size and scope of the museum. With three times more space overall than its previous home, the new Exploratorium will engage the curiosity and creativity of visitors of any age as they explore 150 brand-new exhibits amongst more than 600 that will be on view. For the first time, the Exploratorium expands its investigations into the bay, city, and outdoor landscape.
As the global leader in informal learning—an approach that encourages learning outside the classroom—and the world’s most experimental museum, the Exploratorium will make use of the remarkable new space to push the boundaries once again. For the first time in 44 years, the signature ah-hah! Exploratorium exhibits will be featured outdoors, taking advantage of the city and bay to encourage visitors to observe and engage in their environments like never before. Visitors will be able to experience their own storm by adjusting the frequency, size and velocity of raindrops (umbrella highly recommended), step into the mobile Camera Obscura and see an upside-down world before them, and interact in real-time with invisible life – teeny-tiny plankton that produce almost half the oxygen we breathe. The site will feature the Bay Observatory, an all-glass building. The Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery and Terrace, on the second level, is for viewing the waterfront and the city, designed to allow visitors to explore the science of the bay, the landscape, and the human impacts that have shaped the Bay Area. The new Exploratorium will also offer 1.5 acres of free public space – a part of the Outdoor Gallery, for visitors to enjoy the views and play with participatory exhibits tied to the surrounding environment.
The 330,000 square-foot indoor/outdoor project is being designed and constructed with the goal of becoming the largest net-zero energy museum in the United States, if not the world. True to the spirit of the Exploratorium and the nature of net-zero, achieving such an ambitious degree of energy-efficiency will require monitoring and tinkering over time. The entire undertaking will be a real-time educational exhibit, with live energy use and photovoltaic production data on public display.
Along with the move, the Exploratorium will expand its programming and remain open late two nights a week. Wednesday it is open to the public from 10am-10pm. And for those who want to experience this exuberant learning laboratory amongst other adults, the Exploratorium will be open exclusively to the 18 and older crowd on Thursday evenings for After Dark, from 6-10pm, with a cash bar. Special programs will be offered both evenings.
The opening of the new Exploratorium is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year. With the move to the new site, the world-renowned Exploratorium will attract even more visitors of all ages to play, observe and discover while soaking in the beauty of the bay and cityscape. But as always, exhibits will retain the familiar home-made authentic quality for which the Exploratorium is famous.
Opening partners are: PG&E, Premier Opening Partner and Lead Sustainability Partner; Chevron, Premier Opening Partner; Genentech, Premier Opening Partner; SunPower, Supporting Partner;Wells Fargo, Supporting Partner; KGO-TV, Premier Media Partner; San Francisco Chronicle,Premier Media Partner; San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority, Premier Media Partner.
Santa Clara, CA, USA (April 16, 2013) — California’s Great America will open the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in Northern California in the spring of 2013.
High-speed twists, turns, drops, station fly-by and the Old West are the top features of Gold Striker, currently under construction at the Northern California park. The ride will stand 108 feet at its highest point with a first drop of 103 feet at a 50-degree angle. Riders will careen along 3,197 feet of track at speeds up to 54 miles per hour. The ride experience on Gold Striker will last more than two minutes.
Seaside Heights, NJ, USA — Casino Pier, the cherished oceanfront amusement park whose boardwalk and pier were dismantled by October 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, has hired JRA (Jack Rouse Associates) to provide master planning and programming services for Phase I of a two-phase rebuilding effort.
Originally opened in 1960, Casino Pier housed 38 rides, as well as a rooftop miniature golf course, concessions stands and boardwalk games. JRA worked closely with the Casino Pier owners on the proposed master plan, which calls for the boardwalk and pier to retain those rides that were salvaged after the hurricane, including the Disk’O ride, Skyscraper ride, Pirate’s Hideaway coaster, Sky Ride chair lift and several treasured kiddie rides. Casino Pier is using this opportunity to update its ride mix with new family attractions and to refresh food, beverage and retail outlets. Phase I, consisting of the boardwalk and pier’s lower deck, is scheduled to open Memorial Day Weekend 2013, with the Phase II upper deck following a year later.
JRA has a long relationship with the Jersey Shore, having completed previous projects at Keansburg Amusement Park, Morey’s Piers in Wildwood and Jenkinson’s in Pt. Pleasant. “We’ve always enjoyed working on projects along the Jersey Shore,” says JRA Senior Project Designer, Jeff Lichtenberg. “The property owners are passionate people that care a great deal about the entertainment business they have devoted their lives to. Generations have lived, worked in and built these places. There is so much history, so many memories made.”
“Casino Pier is excited about working with JRA in the rebuilding of the pier,” said Vincent Storino, Owner of Casino Pier. “Eventually Casino Pier is going to be bigger and better! That’s what we do on the Jersey Shore. We fight and we come back. This is an opportunity for us to re-imagine our property. We look forward to being able to maintain the traditions our guests are used to while also incorporating a new, fresh design and bringing new innovative concepts from JRA to life on Casino Pier.”
Casino Pier is located at 800 Ocean Terrace, Seaside Heights, New Jersey, USA. For more information on Casino Pier, please visit www.casinopiernj.com.
Jacksonville, FL, USA (April 15, 2013) — John Stegall, eleven-year veteran technical services manager at Sally Corporation, has been promoted to the position of technical services director for the dark ride and animatronics design/build company. In his new position, he will play a greater role in the design and specification of Sally projects, assuming responsibility for laying out ride infrastructure requirements, and procurement of all control, audio, lighting, special effects and interactive devices, in addition to managing the in-house electronics production team.
Stegall has an extensive technical and supervisory background. Prior to joining Sally Corp., he served in the U.S. Navy as a technical manager and supervisor in support of aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt and air wing electronics operations, retiring as a chief petty officer.
“John has done a fine job leading the department over the years,” says Sally C.E.O. John Wood. “With the departure of our previous technical director, he and his team have absorbed new responsibilities, handling the tasks with outstanding professionalism.”
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