Jora Vision themes “Le Kinétorium” at Jardin d’Acclimatation
New compelling interactive theatres by interactive ride specialist Alterface.
Situated near Paris in Bois de Boulogne, le Jardin d’Acclimatation (JDA) has been entertaining visitors for over 150 years. Last year the park started a major refurbishment to embrace the future, whilst remaining true to its original mission.
Alterface was commissioned to develop a high-tech attraction appealing to a wide public, fitting the overall park concept and theming. The advanced interactivity of Le Kinétorium infuses this dynamic attraction with fun and challenge. Jora Vision managed design and build of the queue line, pre-show and main theatre.
A plant invasion is afoot at the Jardin d’Acclimatation in an abandoned greenhouse. A mad scientist’s invention has gone out of control, creating mutant plants that are about to invade the streets of Paris. Visitors are mobilised to save the capital from these fiendish flowers! Seated on their steampunk scooters and armed with an energy weapon, players get drawn into an incredible adventure hunt for plants with supernatural powers.
Benoit Cornet, CEO and Founder of Alterface, explains: “The interactive theatre we developed for JDA combines a compelling story with creative scenery and media into an immersive attraction. The latest Alterface technology drives high quality digital media techniques, as well as advanced energy guns for an unforgettable family experience.”
Robin van der Want, Project Development Director at Jora Vision, comments: “When Alterface contacted us for this project we were excited by the long history of JDA, dating back to 1860. Having gone through several transformations, it was time for a complete overhaul, adding a new park theme and attractions such as Le Kinétorium.”
Most advanced interactive theatre from queue line to exit “The fun starts already at the pre-show areas, which have been transformed into a forgotten laboratory overgrown with plants, featuring flickering lights, stained pipes and old machinery. Our teams applied smart tricks like back-lit windows with artificial plants to create an exciting greenhouse effect of invading plants. As in our previous collaborations, we had a great chemistry with Alterface to translate the concept into a 3-dimensional world.” adds Robin van der Want.
Besides the overall project management, Alterface applied its newest media techniques, including video mapping and projection, as well as the Salto! ™ show control management solution and shooting technology.
Laurence Beckers, Creative Director at Alterface, adds: “The customer came up with the original plant idea to fit the park’s theme. We took it to the next level creating all the visuals and working the storylines into the attraction with interactive dimensions. It always remains a challenge to make the plants devious enough to make players want to kill them, yet not too frightening for smaller kids. Our creative team has succeeded in obtaining the right balance, giving personality to the characters and creating excitement and interaction throughout the entire attraction.”
Benoit Cornet concludes: “Le Kinétorium combines both technology and theming into a strong attraction for young and old. The capabilities of our shooting technology have allowed us to place here and there some little “gems” which to my mind are making a true difference: some digital targets have been created with projection mapping and we added in a few actuators with moving targets which are coming and going. This adds more challenge and dimension to the game for the more advanced players. More than creating some sort of emotional overload, we have worked on finetuning the attraction and this is what is generating most of the fun. The attraction is a great addition to the Jardin d’Acclimatation’s offering.”