"We were really impressed with the knowledge and creativity of David's team at I.E. Effects," said Cecil Magpuri, president of Falcon's Treehouse. "Their experience with previous stereo 3D and venue projects was a great asset, and their understanding of the overall process is invaluable. They are a great team to work with."
"For an experience like this, stereoscopy allows us to seamlessly extend the physical scenery into a CG world with proper depth cues and action within an environment that stretches as far as the eye can see," said Dennis Michel, VFX supervisor at I.E. Effects who oversaw the pipeline for this project. "This extension of a relatively small area opens the creative content up to almost infinite possibilities. The visuals can reach out past the screen, almost touching the audience, or be pushed far back towards the horizon, presenting a vast landscape or vista. We used both techniques extensively, assuring a truly immersive experience for the riders."
Corner-pinning the content was one of the technical achievements on this project for the team at I.E. Effects. "Corner-pinning gives us a great deal of control and allows us to provide a seamless viewing environment for the ride, but it certainly presented challenges on this project," said Michel. "We used Maya and Lightwave. It took some hard work, but we solved it and we're all delighted with the results."
"Falcon's Treehouse has a well-deserved reputation for developing breakthrough attractions," said David Kenneth, executive producer and founder of I.E. Effects. "When you create an attraction like this, it has to last for years to come, so you need to think that far ahead. It's not just about what looks good today. It's about building things for tomorrow."
(Jim Evans)
