Adrienne Kellam, Author at Thinkwell

Thinkwell Group Congratulates Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter on the Successful Opening of its Largest Expansion to Date

Thinkwell Group

Thinkwell designed and produced the new Gringotts Wizarding Bank experience and new attraction hub working in close collaboration with the filmmakers of the Harry Potter film series.

LOS ANGELES, CA (April 30, 2019) – In ongoing collaboration with Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, Thinkwell designed and produced the largest expansion at The Making of Harry Potter attraction since its opening in 2012. Thinkwell conceived and created the original experience and has been involved with the UK’s most successful attraction for every expansion since, including the addition of Platform 9 ¾, featuring the Hogwarts Express, in 2015 and the Forbidden Forest in 2017. This latest expansion includes the pristine Gringotts Wizarding Bank set as seen in the Harry Potter film series, a dynamic exhibition area, an exploratory vaults area, and an immersive surprise finale. In addition, Thinkwell developed and created the guest experience and media elements in the new, expansive central hub and entrance for the attraction, notably the massive “living mural.”

“Once again, Thinkwell is honored to have played an important role in the development, design, and production of new experiences at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London,” said Craig Hanna, Chief Creative Officer, Thinkwell Group. “Working with the Studio Tour team and the original filmmakers from the Harry Potter films is always an exciting experience. They challenge us to do our best work, and we are proud of how much visitors from all over the world love the experience.”

A new entry to the Tour is part of a 37,480 sq. ft. (3,482 sq./m) expansion that creates a more inviting arrival for guests with a new ticketing area, arrival hall, and entrance hub. In the new hub, guests are greeted by a massive 64 foot (19 m) long dragon, custom built by the filmmakers, suspended in the space. On either side of the dragon are two 135 foot (41 m) long photo murals that surround the lobby. With moving video backlighting and front mapped projected imagery, the living mural is slowly transformed with a 35-minute ambient and atmospheric series of magical media moments that reflect motifs and events from the Harry Potter film series.

“This expansion is our most ambitious addition since opening and the reaction from visitors has been fantastic. Gringotts certainly showcases the very best of filmmaking talent from the incredible set design to the beautifully crafted props. This extension, coupled with our new entrance and lobby, has taken to the Studio Tour to a new level of excellence,” commented Geoff Spooner, VP and General Manager, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.

The Gringotts Bank expansion is divided into six zones and is a seamless extension to the existing attraction. Guests exit out of the Creature Effects Area and into the new Gallery of Goblins, an area that highlights how the various Gringotts goblins were designed and created for the films. From there, guests move on to discover original models, designs, and inspiration for the making of Gringotts Bank and the vaults, and a variety of interactives and integrated media elements can be experienced throughout. Around the corner, visitors are amazed to find themselves in the pristine Gringotts Wizarding Bank set, one of the largest sets made for the films and now on display in the attraction.

After exploring the massive set, visitors move into the vaults area, where they see the Gringotts vault cart, the vault door, and further displays. Then visitors get a one of a kind photo opportunity in the Lestrange vault before moving onto the surprise finale, one of the most dynamic and immersive experiences in the attraction. Utilizing seamless custom computer animation, environmental effects, multichannel surround sound, and other elements, this surprise will be the capstone moment of a guests’ visit to the Gringotts expansion before returning to Diagon Alley.

In conjunction with the new guest arrival and entry areas, Thinkwell also created a 1,280 sq. ft. (390 sq./m) introductory experience for the attraction, including new exhibits, new media, and an entirely new 180-degree seamless projection preshow. Thinkwell conceived, designed, and produced all media for the expansion and Tour updates through Thinkwell Media.

Gringotts Wizarding Bank

Lestrange Vault

New Tour Entry

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Photos and media courtesy of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London

President Sebastian Piñera Announces the Launch of “Chile Experience” Development Plans for China

Thinkwell Group

BEIJING, CHINA (Thursday April 25, 2019) – Today the partnership of Wines of Chile and Lam International announced at the Beijing Media Conference the launching of ”Chile Experience” an immersive Culture Park is being developed for China with the purpose of strengthening the friendship between the peoples of Chile and China for years to come by creating a place that would bring together Chilean culture, products and investment opportunities in a way that is fun, experiential, educational and memorable.

“The Chile Experience will bring a taste of Chile to our Chinese friends by not only showcasing Chilean wines, food, and other authentic products from Chile, but it will also feature immersive high-tech attractions that will connect our guests with the culture of Chile” said Wines of Chile representative Julio Alonso.

Lam Yau Sun of Lam International noted “The Chile Experience truly demonstrates the spirit of One Belt One Road, as she promotes understanding, trade and investments between the peoples of China and Chile through engagements (food, shopping, entertainment, cultural events) that are fun, learning, experiential, and memorable.

This is Chile’s home away from home and we hope our project will incentivize more Chinese to visit Chile and vice versa for generations to come.”

To ensure a high-quality immersive experience, Alonso and Lam turned to guest experience and theme park development experts Thinkwell Group to bring their big idea to life. “We are elated to be a part of this team” said Kelly Ryner, President of Thinkwell Asia “the Chilean culture and country has so much to choose from that this is going to be a wonderful place to visit for the whole family.”

The Chilean adventure will capture the vast extremes of the regions of Chile and express them through 4 zones. While each zone is uniquely themed/programmed, includes a wine/dining experience, and contains a Key Attraction, collectively they bring a singular experience & adventure from the furthest point half-way around the world — one that guests could only get from Chile.

Zone 1 – Green Gateway: Santiago & Valparaiso

Marked by 19th century European architecture, vibrant colors, music and dance performances, and a marketplace liveliness that serves as the gateway to the greens of the wine lands of Central Chile. Featured is an attraction that uses state-of-the-art VR motion platform technology allowing guests to expertly navigate the famous, albeit insane downhill street course of colorful Valparaiso on mountain bikes.

Zone 2 – Atacama Sands & Skies

One end of the extremes within the spectrum of a Chilean adventure, the arid but beautiful vitas of the Atacama Desert provide the perfect backdrop to open up the clearest skies that exist on the planet. Among the key attractions is “Fly Through Chile” a flying theater experience, simulating flying over the vast landscape of Chile.

Zone 3 – Rapa Nui: Easter Island & Robinson Crusoe Island

Representative of Chilean Polynesia in Easter Island and Robinson Crusoe Island, this zone is to capture the imagination for adventurers of all ages with a walk through aquarium and dry-for-wet kids play zone.

Zone 4 – Patagonia & Antarctica

Cold zone base, showcasing the adventuring spirit within the wilds and vistas of the region including a thrill coaster, boating experience and potentially some snow play.

Final location and opening date will be announced soon.

About Wines of Chile

Wines of Chile is a non-profit organization that represents Chile’s wine producers. Established in April 20, 2007, the association represents the trade unions of the industry, strengthens the image and recognition of Chilean wines in international markets, and positions the best quality and diversity of Chilean wine.

About Lam International

Lam International Limited Company is a foreign funded enterprise headquartered in Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China. The company has three main business areas: investment banking, global online platforms, international trade & investment. To support our investment in Hainan and Hefei, we have registered our company in Shanghai Free Trade Pilot Area, with a registered capital of RMB 100 million.

Photos from Wine of Chile Roadshow and Chile Experience Media Conference

Thinkwell Asia Vice President of Design, Randy Ewing and President, Kelly Ryner with Lan Yau Sun of Lam International at the Wines of Chile Roadshow and Chile Experience Media Conference held on April 25, 2019.

Wines of Chile and Lam International at the Wines of Chile Roadshow and Chile Experience Media Conference held on April 25, 2019.

Thinkwell Group Retains Physician-Executive to Advise on Healthcare Market Expansion

Thinkwell Group

Thinkwell Group, a leading global experience design and production agency for theme parks, museums, cultural attractions, and retail, has engaged Steven Merahn, M.D., to advise on the expansion of Thinkwell’s expertise and capabilities in experience design into the healthcare market.

Since 2001, Thinkwell has designed and produced compelling, immersive experiences in complex service environments for some of the world’s most recognized brands and companies, including Universal Entertainment, Warner Bros., Sesame Street, Lionsgate, and the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Committee, in addition to various hospitality and corporate clients.

“We see significant parallels between our work and the challenges facing healthcare today,” says Thinkwell’s chief executive officer, Joe Zenas. “Dr. Merahn’s portfolio of leadership experience in strategic healthcare communications and information services, general healthcare services, and managed care leaves him uniquely qualified to inform our strategic planning process in this new endeavor.”

Dr. Merahn is a veteran healthcare leader with experience managing complex multi-stakeholder organizations. He brings to Thinkwell a deep portfolio of skills and experience aligning strategy with clinical operations, including initiatives to improve quality of care and health by revitalizing the experience of care for both patients and professionals. He has been hands-on with clinical and organizational transformation for population health, and care delivery redesign, for hospital systems, ambulatory care networks, behavioral health, managed care, and large employers.

“Experience design is not just about the hospitality that takes place in the spaces before, between, or after direct care,” adds Merahn. “Thinkwell’s deep proficiency with the principles and practices of experience design make them ideally suited to help create environments and systems of care that energize and support activation, engagement, and connection between patients, professionals, and the community, in order to orchestrate and optimize transformative health-related experiences.”

Thinkwell announces new resort destination, AIR

Thinkwell Group

Hope you enjoyed our April Fool’s announcement for 2019! From your friends at Thinkwell!

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Los Angeles, CA – Thinkwell excels in creating ultimate vacation destinations for rest and relaxation. After extensive research, we’ve found that there is one underserved market that needs some attention: your smart home devices.

As machines are becoming smarter and more self-aware in today’s technology- obsessed world, they, too, will be in need of a vacation. With this in mind, Thinkwell is proud to introduce its newest resort concept: the AI Resort (AIR).

To learn more about AIR, please take a look at our latest concept video. Enjoy!

Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour to open Gringotts Wizarding Bank

Lizzie Edmonds, Go London

Wizarding fans will soon be able to follow in the footsteps of Harry Potter and experience Gringotts Wizarding Bank themselves.

The goblin-run bank, which features in J.K. Rowling’s books and the film series, has been recreated as part of an expansion of the Warner Bros Studio Tour attraction near Watford.

Key moments at the bank include Harry’s first trip to Diagon Alley, where Gringotts is located, in Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone.

In the final book, Harry and his friends break into the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange to steal a horcrux.

Visitors to the Warner Bros Studio in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, will be able to walk through the grand marbled foyer of the wizarding bank. Lined with towering pillars, the hall is decorated with chandeliers and will feature goblins working away at their desks filled with inkwells, quills, ledgers and piles of galleons, sickles and knuts — the currency of Rowling’s world.

In the main hall, visitors can learn about the costumes, prosthetics, dentures and masks used to bring goblin characters to life. Guests will then go to the depths of the Lestrange vault and see the witch’s many treasures.

The new section will open on April 6, along with a new lobby and cafe serving Potter-inspired dishes.

The exhibit, opened in 2012, already has replicas of locations such as Hogwarts’s Great Hall.

Tickets are available from wbstudiotour.co.uk

For original article, click here.

Strategic Alliance Announced Between Réalisations-Montréal and Thinkwell Group

Thinkwell Group

LOS ANGELES / MONTRÉAL – Thinkwell Group and Réalisations-Montréal are pleased to announce a strategic alliance between the two companies. This partnership will allow Réalisations-Montréal to further develop its creative laboratory for both multimedia content and interactive and video mapping technologies for projects initiated by both companies, while it will provide Thinkwell with a direct point of access to the cutting-edge research and technology initiatives driven by Réalisations-Montréal.

Roger Parent, President of Réalisations-Montréal, comments, “Réalisations-Montréal is an ideas-driven company that creates and masters technology to reach the full potential of each project and each client’s vision. Our research into the creation of meaningful experiences generated through interactive technologies is now strengthened through our alliance with Thinkwell. Réalisations-Montréal will continue to nurture its relationships with our existing clients and will have the opportunity to partner with Thinkwell on projects where our creative collaboration can benefit an exciting new portfolio of clients.”

As a result of this alliance, Réalisations-Montréal will be adding new members to both its creative and research teams in Montréal. A unique advantage of this partnership is the location of Réalisations-Montréal in a city that offers a rich basin of multicultural creative and artificial intelligence (AI) technology talent that brings a focused and strategic approach to projects.
François Bergeron, COO of Thinkwell Group, adds, “This partnership allows both organizations to expand our capabilities and reach in the global market, and we are thrilled to make a commitment to forward-thinking, technology-centric design solutions through this alliance. The integration of Réalisations-Montréal’s research lab initiatives as well as the direct access to the creative energy in Montréal are two of the many reasons why this strategic partnership makes sense for Thinkwell.”

ABOUT RÉALISATIONS-MONTRÉAL
Réalisations Inc. Montréal was founded in 2000 by Roger Parent, former Vice President Production and Executive Producer at Cirque du Soleil. During his time in the live entertainment industry, Roger came to appreciate and recognize the potential for interactivity technology to serve meaningful experience design. The approach at Réalisations-Montréal is that guest experiences are made by real people doing real things. Whether it pertains to hospitality, smart cities, corporate brand and edutainment exhibits, or interactive installations – everyone experiences things differently. That’s why Réalisations-Montréal strives to present dynamic solutions that make creative use of cutting-edge technologies on every project. The company’s investment in R&D and partnerships with several North American and European universities helps support its creative and technological expertise, encouraging co-creation with clients and collaborators to ensure delivery of tailored solutions that celebrate the infinite perspectives of experience design. For more information visit: www.realisations.com

PORTFOLIO SAMPLES:
Réalisations-Montréal:

Jacques Cartier Bridge Illumination with Moment Factory and local partners – Montreal, CAN

The Wahat Al Karama Memorial Park Visitor’s Centre with Thinkwell Group – Abu Dhabi, UAE

See Forever Theatre with The Hettema Group- One World Observatory, World Trade Centre – New York City, USA

Sun Life Financial Corporate Headquarters – Toronto, CAN Photo credit: Kailee Mandell Photography

Thinkwell Group Announces the Launch of Thinkwell Media

Thinkwell Group

The addition of an award-winning group of producers, directors, and designers brings a full service media team to Thinkwell’s in-house capabilities.
LOS ANGELES — Thinkwell Group, a global experience design and production agency specializing in the creation of theme parks, major attractions, live events, and museum exhibits around the world, is pleased to announce the addition of Thinkwell Media, a full service media and creative production team, to the company. Thinkwell Media brings expertise in visual storytelling and cutting-edge media experiences to further enhance and expand Thinkwell’s capabilities in media editing and production.
Thinkwell Media works closely with many major Hollywood studios to produce original and behind the scenes marketing content for a wide variety of movies and television shows, including Ferdinand, Despicable Me 3, The Dark Tower, Shameless, Vikings, and more. The team has also developed and produced commercials and celebrity-driven campaign content for international service clients and video gaming brands such as Blizzard. Since joining Thinkwell, the new media team has been involved in custom media production for location-based entertainment and brand experience projects, including the NFL Experience in Times Square and the Wahat al Karama Visitors Center in Abu Dhabi.
Thinkwell Media is led by Vice President and Executive Producer, Cory Watson; Executive Producer, Mike Brosnan; and Vice President of Operations, Renee De Soto. The team joined Thinkwell one year ago and prides themselves on their ability to tackle almost any kind of creative media project.
“To be really good at anything, you have to love what you do,” says Renee De Soto. “This is a hard-working, quality-obsessed group — and we definitely love what we do.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome this talented team into our company and we’ve already seen amazing results integrating them into our workflow and projects,” says Joe Zenas, CEO of Thinkwell. “We’re excited to see where our businesses can expand with their talents and look forward to leveraging their media expertise in the years to come.”
Adding Thinkwell Media to the parent company brings more robust editorial and post-production capabilities to Thinkwell globally, further expanding the extensive suite of media-focused services that are provided to clients around the world. While media production has always been a turnkey capability at Thinkwell, the addition of the Thinkwell Media team cements the importance of media services within the company and further formalizes Thinkwell’s media offerings under a new group.
“At our core, we’re a multi-disciplinary team who have spent years in the trenches together,” adds Cory Watson, Vice President and Executive Producer for Thinkwell Media. “We think the combination of our dynamic media experience and Thinkwell’s ideation and brainpower is going to have a force-multiplying benefit for our clients.”

About Thinkwell Media
Thinkwell Media is part of Thinkwell Group, based in Los Angeles, California. Thinkwell Media works with a variety of studio and video game clients as well as high-profile brands to produce original and behind the scenes marketing content for movies, TV shows, digital campaigns, commercials, and more. In addition, the team is also responsible for media production for Thinkwell Group’s experiential projects. For more information visit: www.thinkwellmedia.com.

Thinkwell announces opening of Portland office

Thinkwell Group

Los Angeles, CA – As Thinkwell continues to grow and evolve, so does its target audience. After intensive market research, we found that some audiences are subsequently underrepresented in today’s marketplace. To tap into the rapidly growing hipster market, Thinkwell is proud to announce the opening of its newest office – Thinkwell Portland!

Check out the video for a sneak peek into Thinkwell Portland. Enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/262849802

Coaster Designers Wish List

Jeremy Thompson

Roller coasters are the star of many theme parks, and as experience designers we love looking at the newest trends and technologies in coaster design and wondering how we could apply them to projects in innovative ways. Each IAAPA trade show offers a plethora of twists on the classic coaster experience, and many of these new products often find their way into our creative discussions for new ride technology we could incorporate into the guest experience… often times in ways that the original designers never even expected!
While the unveiling of a new attraction design on the IAAPA show floor is always a bit like opening a surprise package on Christmas morning for us, having a wishlist to hand out before might make everyone happier. Usually engineers don’t have the opportunity to sit in a creative charrette and listen to the types of products that get the storytellers excited and imagining the possibilities.
With that being said, here are five ideas for roller coaster designs that we’d love to see debuted at an IAAPA trade show in the near future:

Non-linear brakes, lifts, and launches

Designers used to have this ability. Classic wooden coasters that used under-skid brake pads could build their final brakes and stations along curved track that would wrap around or underneath other parts of the structure. Even as recently as the 1970s spiral lift hills and curved or arched midcourse brakes were frequently used. While I’m not advocating going back to any of these specific technologies, I would like to look back at what they provided that we’ve lost in current designs.
It might not be easy, but researching ways to build brakes, lifts, or launches in a way that can be more organically incorporated into the layout’s twisted choreography, or folded over to make better use of a limited footprint, would open up a whole new world of storytelling possibilities on roller coasters, especially those that must be designed to a small or unconventional space.

Efficiency and sustainability

Coasters are big, expensive pieces of equipment. Already we’ve seen coaster designers debuting new models that are smaller and lighter in response to demand from smaller parks, but it would be nice to see an even bigger push toward adopting the language and practices of sustainable design in the realm of major attractions like roller coasters.
New hybrid wooden coaster technology, for example, strategically uses steel only where it’s necessary for a smooth, quality riding experience. The rest of the massive structure is all renewable farm-harvested timber, which makes them not only more environmentally friendly, but more friendly to the bottom line. Given the advances in green, sustainable building techniques over the past decade, it’s not hard to wonder if more of those lessons could be applied to the world of white-knuckle thrills as well.

Dynamic capacity

Demand for an attraction is rarely flat throughout an entire operating day. It peaks at certain times, resulting in long lines, and valleys at others, resulting in empty seats being dispatched. Most coasters can add or remove trains from the circuit, but the process to do so often requires shutting the entire ride down for several minutes while maintenance personnel are called in to oversee operation of the transfer track.
With modern advances in sensors and computer monitoring, as well as more mobile and time-sensitive audiences who increasingly expect their entertainment on demand, being able make rapid, on-the-fly capacity adjustments should become the rule for all attractions, not the exception. Being able to easily transfer trains on and off the main circuit could also allow for separate loading platforms, such as for disabled guests or for a separate loading VR experience, which some designers have already experimented with.

Structural aesthetics

A well-designed roller coaster is like a work of art. They have such a large and distinctive visual presence, they often become a central icon for the park at which they’re located. This, of course, can have dual consequences: they also tend to dominate their surroundings, and if our goal is to create a carefully balanced themed environment, we often think twice before including a massive steel or wood structure at the center of it.
It would be helpful to have greater control over the visual appearance of these massive structures—without always having to clad it with an expensive themed edifice. Looking at the great diversity of design and engineering approaches for skyscrapers or bridges that blend aesthetics with functionality, it’s easy to wonder if a similar diversity isn’t possible for coaster structures. A few isolated examples are already found on a few coasters, including incredible archways on lift hills or cantilevered structures on elevated curves.

On-board audio (that doesn’t suck)

Seemingly overnight, VR on roller coasters went from an offbeat research project to a major new disruptor. Time will tell if this technology is a passing novelty or a lasting evolution in roller coaster design, but now that we’ve accepted the idea of making multimedia and “wearables” part of the thrill ride experience, can we try to figure out a better way to listen to music on a roller coaster and have it still be audible when moving faster than a residential street speed limit?
This would require finding a way to cut out the auditory interference between the rider and source, possibly by wearable headphones, parametric speakers that can focus sound like a laser, or maybe even some sort of bone conduction solution. When on-board audio works in favor of the guest experience, it really works! The movement of the coaster becomes choreographed to the music, and the emotional intensity of moments along the ride experience becomes amplified by an order of magnitude. The creative possibilities for thinking of roller coasters as both an auditory and a kinetic journey would be nearly endless!

If you have any questions or inquiries, feel free to contact Jeremy Thompson at [email protected].