About
How does a leading glass manufacturing company share its vision with architects and cladders, showing them what is possible today and how glass can help overcome humanity’s challenges for the future? A story this big called for an equally broad canvas. That’s why the whole Guardian Glass exhibition stand was built around an immersive experience, projected on the inside of a dome.
Building the story
For Guardian Glass, a major concern was the credibility of a story set into the future. Input from reputable futurologists provided a plausible outline of society’s evolution. We took it from there, introducing a young woman from the future as the narrator who would take the audience through different eras.
The first part of the story projects the near future, in which glass is already evolving from a mere building material to a multi-functional hi-tech solution.
Next, we take a 50-year leap to get a glimpse of life in a future mega-city, and finally we join the narrator in her smart home well into the next century.
Setting the scene
As we haven’t figured out a way to send a camera crew into the future (and get them back!), the scenes needed to be computer-generated. Inspired by science-fiction imagery, our designers created the glass-based settings the story needed. Screentests enabled us to single out the right actress, who was filmed in our green-key studio and integrated into the 3D world.
The Setup
As opposed to VR experiences using individual goggles, the dome set-up enabled Guardian Glass to put on a show for a larger audience. The combined image from six projectors covered the full 360° surface of the dome, while the powerful sound system boosted the magnitude of our visual effects.
The Virtual Dome
To involve our customer in every step of the development process, draft versions could be previewed using VR goggles. Any point of view could be selected, allowing us to simulate the viewing experience from every seat in the dome. As a general rehearsal, the stand builder constructed a mini-dome where the movie was tested in semi-live conditions.
The event
The dome experience was set up at various exhibitions: Glasstec in Düsseldorf, Bau in München and others. At each venue it was a major attention-getter: a countdown pulled visitors in at the start of each show, shutters closed automatically, and spectators were immersed in a truly cinematic experience.
