F1 Box opens its first venue in London, powered by Disguise
interview by Joe Kleiman
Seventy-five years ago, Formula 1 held its first championship race at the UK’s Silverstone Circuit. As the premier international racing league has grown, F1, as it’s known in shorthand, has sought out new activations to both captivate existing fans and entice those not familiar with the sport. These include a blockbuster feature film starring Brad Pitt, a visitor center in Las Vegas featuring a museum and themed go-cart races on an actual F1 track, a chain of racing simulator arcades, and a brand- new simulator attraction designed for smaller venues.
Continuing the quest for new activations and platforms, F1 partnered with the concept team behind world class competitive socializing concepts including Flight Club, Putt Shack, Bounce and HIJINGO in 2022 to develop F1 Arcade, with locations in London, Birmingham and several U.S. cities (with the latest being Las Vegas). The concept – which combines multiplayer simulator racing with hospitality – builds upon existing game-driven concepts, which combine activities such as table tennis, darts, bingo, and miniature golf, with the latest technology in a festive atmosphere replete with food and drink.
F1 Box explores the F1 Arcade concept in a new format, with sole emphasis on a racing experience involving up to twelve drivers. With its first venue in London, the facility offers a comprehensive race day experience, with individual simulators interacting with a giant LED leaderboard wall, and environmental lighting and sound fully integrated with races in real time throughout the space. Key to this process was global audiovisual technology firm Disguise, which supplied 3D previsualization of the space through its Disguise Designer software and show, lighting, and media control through a Disguise EX 3+ media server.
We spoke with Gavin Williams, Chief Technology Officer of F1 Arcade to learn more about the experience and the role of Disguise on the project.
What was behind the creation of F1 Arcade?
Many years ago, F1 approached us to build a racing experience that they could bring to the masses that included an extensive food and beverage component. They wanted to build something accessible and interesting for large groups of people. It needed to be based around racing for all, rather than sim racing for die hard sim racers or elite F1 fans. One way we did this was by giving guests the opportunity to select a skill level and gamify the experience by introducing a bespoke and intuitive points scoring system and custom UI to make this feel like a truly unique experience.
How does F1 Box differ from F1 Arcade?
With F1 Box, we’re trying to build something like F1 Arcade, but something more immersive that attracts a broader audience. You come into F1 Box and race for a shorter period. The F1 Arcade experience takes forty-five minutes to two hours depending on the group size. F1 Box is a roughly thirty-minute experience comprised of three races. It’s designed to accommodate up to twelve racers, and there’s no food and beverage component – it’s all about the competition!
The biggest difference is that F1 Box feels like you really are fully immersed in the racing experience. There’s reactive AV all around. There are three LED panels at the front of the space that show media and also act as a leaderboard during races. There’s also a giant LED embedded on the wall behind the reception desk that shows post-race results. We also email results after each session to our guests.
Is there a minimum number of racers required for F1 Box?
Every spot is available to the public. We either have 10 or 20 cars on the circuit, with a mix of AI and human drivers depending on the number of people who enter a race.
How did Disguise become involved with F1 Box?
We previously worked with Disguise in a different capacity on another project and immediately saw their value in our production workflow. For F1 Box, we wanted to work with Disguise again and through the previsualization capabilities of its Designer software, we were able to make any tweaks and changes before the actual buildout. For example, the original design for the screen at the top of the attraction was floor to ceiling, wall to wall. It was amazing, but the previz process facilitated by Disguise allowed us to explore multiple screen layouts to find the best balance between cost and guest experience. The previz also allowed us to make sure the content was right and allowed us to go through multiple rounds of edits in advance. Our CEO, Adam Breeden, was able to go full throttle on creative design before even getting into the space, so anything we actually did during buildout was simply refinement.
Take us through the F1 Box experience.
Upon approach, guests see a big logo with signage and hear the roar of the attraction. After entering, the giant LED display comes into view along with all the simulators. Guests are welcome to stand in the back and watch people race. Each simulator features two ultrawide screens, one above the other.
After purchasing a ticket or checking in, guests are welcomed by David Croft, Sky Sports’ F1 commentator, inviting them to take their seats. The experience is personalized. Each guest’s name appears on the screen above their simulator. The lights go down, then they come up again with sound. David comes back via vocals to introduce the experience. This is followed by the process of selecting a skill level, and then the first race starts.
There is a customized introduction about each circuit with facts about it. Racers hear loud beeps around them and are immersed in lighting while hearing the roar of the engines of the cars around them. I don’t want to reveal too much – people will just have to come and experience this epic showpiece in person!
All the AV components run through Disguise, so the entire experience is perfectly synced – from the giant LED backwall to the LEDs around the portal and on the simulators themselves. Real- time data from the simulators is sent through the Disguise EX 3+ media servers to generate the final placements for the leaderboard.
You mentioned the ability to modify the gaming experience based on changes in F1 rules. Can the AV experience also be modified as needed?
F1 Arcade and F1 Box are two big concepts that are designed to be expanded. Disguise as a platform allows us to change the show files at F1 Box, and they’ve designed that process to be as flawless as possible. For example, in the case of a sponsor needing visibility, we can inject custom visual elements into the show to tie in with their brand.
We enjoyed working with Disguise on F1 Box; their technical team spent lots of time programming show files for us and their creative team created the leaderboard content, really going above and beyond what we expected.
You’ll see the addition of more significant, dynamic, and reactive elements added over time. We’re barely scratching the surface of what we can do with this space, so keep your eyes out over the next year! •
