Entertainment Design Workshop (1998-1999)

From June 1998 through March 1999, I worked with visual effects and immersive technology pioneer Douglas Trumbull´s Entertainment Design Workshop, a creative design firm which specialized in the development and production of feature films, special venue films, theme park attractions and new forms of interactive and location based entertainment.  Working with Erich Greenebaum, Tim Heffernan, Dr. Steve Bronson, and Akira Kobayashi, I developed a real time audio effects engine used in  Hitachi´s interactive ride simulator system.  The audio engine drove a spatial audio environment consisting of sixteen speakers and a steerable discrete bass system . The steerable bass audio system could be used to create audio-tactile effects for simulating the vibration of vehicles, thunder, explosions, shockwaves, and earthquakes.  The engine was first employed in Contraptions!, an interactive entertainment experience for the Hitachi ride system.  The system was marketed by IMAX Ridefilm at the 1998 IAAPA convention.


Interior: The Hitachi Interactive Ride Simulator running Contraptations!

Interior (Image Copyright 1999 Entertainment Design Workshop. All rights reserved.)

Interior: The Hitachi Interactive Ride Simulator running Contraptions!

Exterior: The Hitachi Interactive Ride Simulator

Exterior

Exterior: The Hitachi Interactive Ride Simulator

Side View: The system and motion base

Side View (Image Copyright 1999 Entertainment Design Workshop. All rights reserved.)

Side View: The system and motion base