Saturday, October 12, 2024

Holovis provides effects for Merlin’s newest Dungeon attraction at Alton Towers Resort

The Alton Towers Dungeon has launched for the 2019 season with the promise ‘miss it and you’ll be gutted’. The second gate attraction takes guests on a journey through Staffordshire’s darkest moments and promises to be scorchingly scary and fun for families who dare to enter.

Experience designer Holovis, who worked with Merlin on the creation of last year’s new flagship attraction Wicker Man, has once again worked with the brand to design and install the AV, lighting, audio, SFX and some ghoulish projection mapping.

The experience is located on the former Charlie and the Chocolate Factory site and uses elements such as the (formally chocolate) river with freshly themed vessels as a transportation method for guests through the eight scenes that fully immerse them into the dark and gory history.

Holovis brings the scenes to life using multisensory immersion techniques that brings a sense of discomfort and unease to the guests about what is happening and who might be around them.

Peter Cliff, creative director at Holovis explains: “Some of the highlights for me are the zonal audio, where during a blackout scene voices and whispers surround the guests and give the impression that live actors are right behind them, breathing down their necks. Audio is something that often isn’t used to its full capabilities within projects so it’s great to experience it being used here as a key storytelling metric.

“Another striking feature is the talking heads where we’ve intricately projection mapped onto the three dimensional theming to make it look like the head is really talking. Details like this make the experience stand out in the minds of guests, whilst the technology remains invisible and frictionless.”

Joe Kleiman
Joe Kleimanhttps://themesrenewed.home.blog/
Raised in San Diego on theme parks, zoos, and IMAX films, InPark's Senior Correspondent Joe Kleiman would expand his childhood loves into two decades as a projectionist and theater director within the giant screen industry. In addition to his work in commercial and museum operations, Joe has volunteered his time to animal husbandry at leading facilities in California and Texas and has played a leading management role for a number of performing arts companies. Joe previously served as News Editor and has remained a contributing author to InPark Magazine since 2011. HIs writing has also appeared in Sound & Communications, LF Examiner, Jim Hill Media, The Planetarian, Behind the Thrills, and MiceChat His blog, "Themes, Schemes and Dreams", takes an unconventional look at the attractions industry. Follow on Instagram at @JalekAvant Joe lives in Sacramento, California with his wife, dog, and a ghost.

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