Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience recently opened at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC and the SoWa Power Station in Boston. As visitors walk through multiple distinct galleries, they are transported to the ancient world of Egypt and invited to experience the 3,300-year-old story of King Tut through an immersive cinematic presentation. Immersed in the sights, sounds, and sense of wonder, visitors are taken on a journey through time that brings the ancient world to life and celebrates the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, one of the world’s greatest archaeological finds.
Cortina Productions produced three films for this immersive experience in collaboration with The National Geographic Society, Normal Studios, Troublemakers, XL Scenic, Immersive Experiences and Paquin Entertainment Group, the company behind the acclaimed Beyond Van Gogh experience. Our producers, designers, editors, and animators brought King Tut’s story to life through innovative projection techniques and large-scale visuals that engage audiences in the Valley of Kings gallery, during the film “Into the Burial Chamber,” and in the immersive Afterlife room.
There is no part of the tomb that contains more wonder than the site of Tutankhamun’s eternal rest – his burial chamber. “Into the Burial Chamber” invites the audience to travel directly into that astonishing sight through an immersive theatrical experience produced by Cortina Productions that recreates the burial chamber in all its detail. Surrounded by projections on the walls, floors, and King Tut’s burial shrine itself, visitors can witness the discovery of the burial chamber and stare in awe at the glint of gold everywhere. With breath-taking visual effects, the story of the burial and Tutankhamun’s journey to the Afterlife comes alive on the walls and the audience is invited to share in reverence of the boy king.
As the audience completes their journey through King Tutankhamun’s life and death, they are greeted with a finale immersive experience, A’aru or The Afterlife. Cortina produced the beginning chapter of the story, which is projected from floor to ceiling. King Tut’s coffin opens, his death mask rises, and the gold of Tutankhamun’s treasure envelops the audience. Gold, statues, weapons, jewelry, and precious amulets surround the viewer, each with a particular purpose in King Tutankhamun’s Afterlife. As the immersive treasure sequence subsides, the story continues with a vivid imagined journey in the Afterlife.
Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience is at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, DC until February 2023 and will be touring in Atlanta, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and Vancouver beginning in October.
For more information and tickets, please click here: https://www.beyondkingtut.com
Images courtesy of Beyond King Tut, photos by Rodney Bailey.
