When technology meets magic ...
THE MOST REALISTIC FANTASY WORLD YET Advanced enough technology is indistinguishable from magic, a legendary author once said. At Disney World, the two have been combined in a dazzling way.
The location is Disney World in Orlando. The scene is the World of Avatar, the newest major attraction at the theme park, based on the most successful movie yet. Avatar lends itself to superlatives.
We are entering the most realistic fantasy world yet created as a theme park ride, the Na’vi River. Here, luminescent vegetation brushes our boat, glittering creatures bound past us, and the elusive Na’vi people lurk in the background.
“I helped create that sentry,” says my travelling companion, pointing to a magnificent,
eerily real Na’vi guard that watches over the boats that brave this river. Even with this reminder of the manufactured nature of the scenery, the illusion persists.
“Arthur C Clarke once said that any advanced enough technology is indistinguishable from magic,” says my guide, Ron Martin, referring to the great science fiction author who wrote, among others, 2001 A Space Odyssey.
Ron himself is something of a specialist in mixing technology and magic. He is vice-president and director of the Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory, which has consulted on some of the great science fiction movies of our times.
This division of Panasonic has collaborated closely with moviemakers in the research and development of visual image processing technologies.
It also works with cinemas in cutting-edge projection technology. This legacy was brought strongly to bear on the World of Avatar and the planet Pandora.
“Our projection technology enables this lifelike imaging on the Na’vi River,” says Martin. “We sat down with Disney Imagineering, we listened to their creative vision, and we applied technology that satisfied that vision.
“We don’t move them to what we want, we make technology that enables the creative vision. It’s what I call technology under creative control.
“Anywhere you see something nonphysical, a projected image, that is our projection technology. All the physical elements, the lighting, the plant life that is illuminated, are built by Disney. But the characters and animals you see moving, and the multilayer environment that creates the illusion of depth and looking deep into the jungle, is all Panasonic projection technology.”
The end-result is, as intended, both other-worldly and visually compelling. It is designed to elicit both oohs and aahs at the dazzling visual feast, and a sense of wonder at the exquisite detail, complexity and richness of the alien environment.
The biggest surprise of all is the extent to which the technology behind it is entirely invisible. It stands in stark contrast to “traditional” Disney rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, where decades-old animatronics – in effect robots programmed with limited movements – are used to bring pirates and their environment to life.
Or, at least, a semblance of life. The creaking technology is all but visible as the characters make their stilted and jerky movements.
The World of Avatar, an expansion of Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, sees a recreation of the The Valley of Mo’ara on the planet of Pandora. The backstory is that the valley is undergoing a rebirth long after a destructive mining operation known as the Resources Development Administration (RDA) ceased operation. In other words, the theme park attraction is a sequel to the Avatar movie, which ends with the shutting down of the RDA operations.