At the IMERSA 2013 Fulldome Summit in Denver (Feb 14-17), George Wiktor of The GW Group joins the panel discussion, “Playing Together under the Dome,” addressing the creative potential of digital dome cinema. Wiktor, a past president of the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), is an accomplished producer of media-based attractions that employ storytelling to educate and entertain at museums, world expos and amusement parks.
Los Angeles, Calif. USA – “Digital dome cinema [aka ‘fulldome’] is just about the most exciting, sophisticated and malleable medium yet for telling stories that meet the goals of institutions in a fun, compelling and contemporary way,” says George Wiktor of The GW Group, who will speak at the 2013 IMERSA Fulldome Summit in Denver, Feb 14-17. “On behalf of TEA, I’m honored to represent the themed entertainment community and participate in this dialog with IMERSA, which grew out of the planetarium community.”Wiktor will take part in the panel discussion “Playing Together under the Dome,” which will examine how fulldome can leverage common ground between intersecting industries in digital multimedia. The discussion will be moderated by IMERSA Board member Michael Daut of Evans & Sutherland. Registration and more information on the 2013 IMERSA Summit are at www.imersa.org.Wiktor says, “My core interest, and the message I look forward to reinforcing at the IMERSA Summit – is how theater owners can provide awesome guest experiences in the realm of places that tell stories. Dome theaters literally surround you with imagery. And now, being digital, fulldome supports elements such as audience participation, customization and multiple storylines along with great imagery. This gives us so many more ways to tell stories and create compelling guest experiences that keep audiences coming back and generate revenue, especially when combined with other elements of good attraction design.”
Joining George Wiktor and Michael Daut on the “Playing Together under the Dome” panel discussion at IMERSA Summit 2013 are Dr Jeffrey Kirsch, executive director at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center; Thomas Kraupe, director of Planetarium Hamburg and producer Jay Williams of Super 78 – participating respectively on behalf of the Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA), the International Planetarium Society (IPS) and the Producers Guild of America (PGA). IMERSA has, since its founding in 2008, made a point of cultivating synergy with affiliate business communities and organizations.
More about George Wiktor and The GW Group
Throughout a career that began in the 1980s, working with such design companies as BRC Imagination Arts, The Hettema Group and now his own firm, The GW Group, George Wiktor has operated somewhere on the bleeding edge of experiential storytelling – mostly for world expos, museums and corporate visitor centers – learning to combine media, technology and architecture in ever-more seamless ways that are today taken for granted as a benchmark of quality attractions. He served as president of the Themed Entertainment Association, and continues to play an advisory role within TEA.His award-honored projects include: Barnas Brannstasjon [Children’s Fire Station] at Kongeparken, Norway (Thea Award, 2012); “Beyond All Boundaries,” National World War II Museum, New Orleans (Thea Award, 2010); Volkswagen Glaserne Manufaktur, Dresden (Thea Award, 2002); and “World Song” for the USA Pavilion at Seville Expo 92.
About IMERSA and the 2013 Fulldome Summit in Denver, Feb 14-17
IMERSA – Immersive Media, Entertainment, Research, Science & Arts – is an international non-profit professional organization that celebrates and promotes immersive and fulldome media for education and entertainment in planetariums, schools, museums, cinemas, events and attractions. Mandated to raise the profile and professionalism of its members, IMERSA bridges many disciplines including researchers, artists and technicians. IMERSA is a driver and nexus for communication, collaboration, experimentation, education and promotion of digital immersive media in a variety of formats and functions. Visit www.imersa.org
“Innovations in Immersive Storytelling” is the theme of the IMERSA Fulldome Summit, 14-17 February at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. The event is attended by operators, content creators and distributors, producers and vendors serving planetariums, giant screen cinema and themed attractions – all converging markets because of digital cinema. The Denver Museum of Nature & Science will be the setting for the annual IMERSA Summit, preceded by two and a half days of fulldome (digital dome video) professional development sessions.
Areas of focus will include sound design and audio, cross-platforming from fulldome to giant screen and vice versa, designing a fulldome curriculum in schools, scripting and story for fulldome shows, and setting up fulldome theaters as multipurpose spaces. There will be a series of curated screenings, a Fulldome Innovation Salon for networking, product demonstrations and content sharing and a Creative Video Lab. More information: www.imersa.org/summit.
