Category: News

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:

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 designed and produced the new Visitor Center, which highlights the values and stories of the UAE’s fallen heroes through detailed exhibits, artifact curation, interactive technologies, and digital media experiences.
LOS ANGELES — The Wahat Al Karama Visitor Center offers guests from around the world an opportunity to connect with the deep and powerful stories that are embedded in the Wahat Al Karama Memorial and the lives of the soldiers, civil servants, and Emiratis it honors. Thinkwell Group, a global experience design and production agency, provided a wide range of services to design the new Visitor Center exhibits, including the initial concept development, guest experience design, interior design, artifact curation, and multimedia development as well as production, installation, and technical implementation.
The Wahat Al Karama Memorial is comprised of thirty-one massive aluminum-clad, inscribed tablets that support each other and symbolize the unity, solidarity, and mutual values of the nation, its military and civil servicemen, and its fallen heroes. The new Visitor Center Experience offers an opportunity to further explore the monument’s message of service and support.
While visiting the Center, guests can discover the history of the UAE’s Commemoration Day for fallen heroes and its impact on the creation of Wahat Al Karama through engaging media and digital touch screens with the names, stories, and legacies of the men and women who died in service to the country. An interactive recreation of the Memorial Plaza reflecting pool allows visitors to engage with the values represented by the UAE and its national heroes, while additional exhibits, touch tables, and media elements highlight the UAE’s involvement in numerous peacekeeping and humanitarian outreach programs in the region and around the world. A partial replica of the Memorial comes to life with interactive media stations that allow guests to explore the translations and contextual interpretations of the leaning tablets’ many inscriptions. Visitors can also create their own bas relief rubbings of their favorite tablet inscriptions, sign the Memorial’s digital guest book, and share a photo of their experience with a message of pride that can be sent digitally and shared on social media. An immersive media room concludes the experience, leaving guests with a message of hope and an opportunity to explore the Wahat Al Karama pavilion interior through a final set of interactive touch screen tablets.
For full press release, click here.

Knight to lead all Human Resources efforts and initiatives, bringing more than 20 years of experience and expertise in the field to Thinkwell’s Los Angeles headquarters.

Los Angeles, CA  — 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, has announced the appointment of Laurie E. Knight to Vice President of People. Knight is responsible for the day-to-day management of all Human Resources operations, overseeing the strategy and administration of employee policies, procedures, and programs for the company.
“Laurie joins us with significant experience and a proven track record of success in Human Resources, which will be invaluable in meeting the individual, departmental, and company goals and objectives as we head into 2018,” said Francois Bergeron, COO of Thinkwell. “We’re excited to bring her on board during this time of growth for the company.”
Knight brings over 20 years of experience in Human Resources to Thinkwell, with extensive expertise in a variety of industries and organizational structures. With her comprehensive qualifications in the field, Knight will play a key role in enhancing the development of Thinkwell’s corporate structure and keeping employees and teams informed of all relevant corporate updates. She also brings certifications as a Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) through the HRCI and Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) through SHRM to the department at Thinkwell.
Knight previously worked as the Director of Human Resources for Starz Entertainment and Starz Media, where she was involved in all core areas of HR for Starz Media Companies including Film Roman (Animation), Anchor Bay Entertainment, Anchor Bay Films, and Overture Films.  In that role, Knight provided support to Starz Original Programming, Digital Distribution, and Worldwide Distribution operations in both California and New York. She was most recently the Director of Human Resources at Galpin Motors, where she was fully responsible for all core functions of the department including budgeting, payroll monitoring, compliance, performance management, training, development, and recruiting across 12 auto franchises, a full service restaurant, and an aftermarket center.
 
About Thinkwell Group
Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Beijing and Abu Dhabi, Thinkwell Group is a global experience design and production agency specializing in the creation and master planning of theme parks, destination resorts, major branded and intellectual property attractions, events & spectaculars, museums & exhibits, expos, and live shows around the world.  Founded in 2001, Thinkwell is a creative, collaborative team with extensive experience in strategy, planning, design and production of location-based entertainment projects worldwide. The award-winning company has become a leader in experiential design by bringing a unique holistic approach to every creative engagement, delivering extraordinary results to notable clients over the years, including Fortune 500 companies, movie studios, museums, theme parks and destination resorts.  For more information visit: www.thinkwellgroup.com.
 
Media Contact:
Katherine Mitchell
[email protected]
 

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With plans to begin site and facility construction work in spring 2018 after a $17 million cost savings was realized from plan augmentations and new ground samples, the museum’s board of directors is being exposed to next level of museum building — artists. The 2016 estimate of site and facility work was $33.5 million. It is now $16.5 million, thanks to resigns and no expected need to dig out 16 feet of “unsuitable soil.”
The entire budget for the 50,000-square-foot museum’s construction and interior is $58.6 million. Completion is expected in September 2019.
Thinkwell: The Experience Co., a Los Angeles-based design house with offices in Bejing and Abu Dhabi, made a presentation [in June] to the U.S. Marshals Museum Board of Directors that prompted a motion to approve the board’s executive committee ability to negotiate a deal.
“In the last year, we’ve talked about ‘experience,’ about how we don’t really need to use the word ‘exhibits,’ because ‘exhibits’ makes you think of things under glass without storytelling,” U.S. Marshals Museum President and CEO Patrick Weeks told the board. “We get to do this once, and we need to do it right.”
Thinkwell Senior Art Director Chuck Roberts and Cynthia Sharpe, Thinkwell’s principal of Cultural Attractions and Research, have worked with Weeks on other projects in his “sordid past,” he joked. Roberts was the head designer on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and Sharpe is “one of the smartest people I know in the museum business when it comes to content and what’s good and what really isn’t,” Weeks said.
“I’ve known Thinkwell for a long time. I’ve never worked for them, and I’ve never actually hired Thinkwell for my projects, but they got the right people right now, and the right experience right now,” Weeks told the board.
Thinkwell has designed “innovative and dynamic experiences” for museums, theme parks and studios that include the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic, Disney, LEGO, Harry Potter, Saturday Night Live, House of Blues, Sea World, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon, Super Bowl XXXVIII, and a host of other brands.
After giving the board an overview of their company history (founded in 2001), projects and philosophy, Sharpe and Roberts answered questions from board members that included one from Judge Jim Spears on how the designers envisioned the museum’s entrance.

“Those really story-rich, pivot moments in the history of the marshals that are the sort of ‘grab somebody by the front of the shirt’ moments,” Sharpe said. “As opposed to leading with something that is simply presentation of facts. … Once you get them in, and get them hooked, you can work in more of the historical fact and figure content.
Sharpe also said she wants to figure out the “key story leads” and have one right up front, and then deepen the story. She advised a “mix of artifact and immersion.”
Click here for full article.

Los Angeles based experiential design firm Thinkwell Group together with economic and research firm ECA are working on the leisure elements of Haseko Development, Inc.’s ambitious new $300 million integrated entertainment complex in Hawaii.

 
The Haseko group has been developing resort, residential and commercial properties in Hawaii for over forty years. Whilst the bulk of its experience is in Hawaii it also has extensive expertise developing properties across Asia and the US.
Haseko’s initial plans are for a waterside retail, dining and entertainment center at its Hoakalei development on Hawaii’s Oahu Island.
The $300 million complex will be sited within the Wai Kai portion of the resort and is set to “redefine the shopping center experience”.
Haseko is planning to have in the region of 215,000 sq ft of retail space with over 110 shops. There will also be two dozen dining options together with entertainment venues. All of these will overlook the resort’s 52-acre lagoon.
Haseko gives Hawaii its first experiential marketplace
A highlight of Wai Kai at Hoakalei will be the state’s first “experiential marketplace”. Furthermore, as an anchor to the retail development, the resort will feature a 15,000-square-foot health club and spa and a 10,000 sq ft specialty market. In addition there wil be seven major restaurants.
Entertainment, leisure and recreational options are in the early planning stages with Thinkwell and ECA.

A Truly Exciting Concept 

Unlike a standard mall, Wai Kai’s current plan is for 10 iconic buildings designed in a “carefully crafted heritage style”. There will be a “town center” and 26 individual “retail clusters”. The resort will provide all the amenities of a major mall. However, it will also feature water gardens, carefully cultivated lawns and a boardwalk conected to a trail around the lagoon.
Tom Sagawa is president of Haseko Development, Inc. He said, “The culmination of our retail plan will create an exciting new marketplace with brand showcases, live experiences, and culinary theaters in a majestic place at the water’s edge.”
Rick Hill is president of J. Richard Hill & Co. He said, “This is a truly exciting concept. It is one that is being developed at a level and scope never before found in traditional shopping centers.”
Architect and design firm Hart Howerton is in San Francisco and New York. They developed the overall master plan, landscape architecture, and architectural design vision for the development. Seattle-based design consultancy CallisonRTKL is the architect.
 
 
Click here for original article.