My latest project, King Kong 360 3D Premieres!

Completed astonishingly, in under two years, King Kong 360 3-D officially opens today. A unique collaboration between Peter Jackson and Universal Creative, the attraction transports you to Skull Island for a showdown between Kong and a V-Rex who’d like to make you dinner.

Stories and Reviews about the attraction:

• LA Times
• USA Today
• Hero Complex
• Yahoo! News
• FearNet
• Theme Park Insider

I spent most of the last two years developing, tweaking, and perfecting the immersive 3-D projection system for the attraction, that includes 16 2K resolution projectors, unique lensing, and 2 custom compound curve screens that stand 40′ tall and 187′ long.

The first challenge was deploying a 3-D film to guests riding in a linear tram.  This meant that most guests will be watching the film from an off axis position, a big no-no for most stereoscopic systems.  Not only that, in order to have image 360 degrees around the guests meant having screens opposing each other, which opens up issues of light contamination from one screen to the other, or cross-talk as it’s commonly referred to.

To solve these issues, I first mocked the system up, in Howard Hughes Spruce Goose hangar in Playa Vista.  Working with 3-D consultant Peter Anderson, and Electrosonic Systems , we fine tuned screen shape, texture, and gain to come up with a system that played to the guests off-axis viewing position, while mitigating the cross-talk.   The system was also used by Peter Jackson, Weta, and the Universal Creative team to view dailies and 3-D tests which due to the size and complexity of the system,  couldn’t be viewed any other way.

King Kong Mock-up System

Once complete we rebuilt the screens from scratch and moved the system to the show for integration.  In the last few weeks as we approached the finish line, Peter Jackson, Matt Aitken and the team at Weta outdid themselves creating an amazingly beautiful stereoscopic  short film that makes the experience. The original sound designer, Brent Burge and mixers Mike Hedges, and Peter Lehman mixed the 22 channel final audio in the space, which really made it come alive.

Now with all the technical challenges behind us, the attraction is open to the public, and the response has been tremendous.  Standing in the back of the space as guests cheer, scream, and applaud really is the projects best reward.  Eliciting that visceral, emotional response from the audience is what it’s all about, whether I’m making a film or an attraction.

To learn more about the project, I have embedded some behind the scenes videos provided by Universal, or you can watch them at the official website.

Mercy Now Available on DVD

After a successful run on the festival circuit, MERCY is now available for purchase on DVD!

To celebrate the release (and let’s face it, to entice some of you to buy) we’ve cut together a new trailer!  Watch it below or click through to Vimeo to see it High Definition.

The special edition DVD is available exclusively through Amazon.com, for only $10 USD.  We’ve put a lot of work into putting as much entertaining information as possible into the DVD while simultaneously showcasing the work of some extraordinarily talented collaborators who helped make MERCY a reality.

First, watch the 14-minute mini-action-mystery-movie, featuring special effects, swordplay, and the “Breakout Action Star of the Year” as a sexy siren in a plaid skirt… and then experience a multitude of special features. THREE commentaries featuring director Tony Teofilo and actors Emilee Harris and James Pomichter, photo galleries, concept art, a music-only track, test footage, alternate scenes, and DVD-ROM features that allow you to download production art for your own use.

So please click through and pick up a copy, then head back to Amazon.com and write us a review to let us know what you think.  If you’ve already seen the film at a film festival, private screening, or from a review copy, we’d love for you to leave a review on Amazon.com as well.  The more positive reviews, the more likely someone who doesn’t know about Mercy might take a chance on her, and we want her story to be viewed by as many people as possible.

Thank you all for your support!

Synopsis
Fear Factor “Live” is a highly interactive Themed Entertainment Association Award winning show that, like it’s television counterpart, puts ordinary people in extreme situations. Park guests are given the unique opportunity to participate in a thrilling competition against their own worst fears.

How we were involved:
When Universal Studios Hollywood wanted to deliver the “televised feel” of Fear Factor, Not Afraid! founder Paul Cuoco was brought in to supervise the design and installation of the live digital video production, switching, and playback system. Now I know what you’re thinking, “What happened to all that story, character, and theme stuff?” Well let us tell you a story. In our years of experience utilizing the latest in audio and video technologies to bring our stories to life, we learned a lot about how to design and build audiovisual systems that deliver an impact. Much like George Lucas built an entire empire out of innovating special effects, Not Afraid! has developed a marketplace for working with technology partners to deliver cutting edge audiovisual systems, theaters, and destination based entertainments. While it may not be high art, it pays the bills and allows us the opportunity to continue developing our own properties. At least that’s how we rationalize it.

If you’re interested you can learn more about the attraction at the official website.

P.E.A.R.L. is a character driven paranormal drama series that thrusts the viewer into the realm of psychic phenomenon and the government’s attempts to hide, control, and exploit it. P.E.A.R.L.’s engaging plot scenarios merge sophisticated characters with dramatic action, humor, intelligence, and visual flair. The series focuses on P.E.A.R.L.’s most elite acquisition team. Exploring their unique world, P.E.A.R.L. deals with the teams’ interpersonal relationships, their interaction and pursuit of other psychics, as well as the governmental bureaucracy that controls them all. P.E.A.R.L.’s characters and subject matter allow story lines of infinite possibilities. By utilizing the vast pallets of the paranormal, P.E.A.R.L. allows itself to delve into social issues, cultural taboos, the government, religion, and psychoses, while still maintaining a groundbreaking and entertaining television experience.

For production inquiries or to request a copy of the pilot script please contact our development department.

Fingers & The 3 Hand band is an original animated series following a garage band of “hands” trying to leave their prints on Index City.

With a a combination of artist Richard Ayala’s eye-popping artwork, and Not Afraid!’s outrageous humor, Fingers & the 3 Hand band is a truly original, creative idea in cartoon animation.

For production inquiries please contact our development department.