The new Pacific Visions wing at the Aquarium of the Pacific opens to the public on May 24th, 2019. A 29,000-square-foot, two-story addition to the Aquarium, Pacific Visions focuses on the future of the world ocean and aims to engage visitors in the discussion around conservation. Pacific Visions features state-of-the-art media experiences, art installations, and live animal exhibits. Cortina Productions designed and produced Pacific Visions’ new media, including the immersive signature presentation for the Honda Pacific Visions Theater.
“One of the big challenges for the project was that the theater resolution is 9K,” shared producer Katie Engel. “When designing the experience we had to master the scale and visual impact the film would have at this high resolution.” Fortunately, this was a problem the project team was able to plan for early on, allowing them to be prepared when capturing original footage for the film.
The media experiences in the new wing designed and produced by Cortina Productions also includes a 48-foot-long interactive wall covering ocean and sustainability facts, three multi-user interactive tables that allow visitors to explore the specific needs of California’s future, and a pre-show presentation outside of the theater’s main doors.
Honda Pacific Visions Theater at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Starting with the original concept design, Cortina Productions has been a part of the Pacific Visions project for the last 10 years. Excited to see the project finally reaching its opening date, the project’s creative director, Joseph Cortina, hopes the new exhibits will show visitors how they can positively impact our planet and teach them about the importance of responsible stewardship of our oceans.
“We are going to create the future whether we like it or not. Pacific Visions is about the future designed around the world ocean. We really wanted to use the media to tell that story, to take people out into the world, to feel the scale of it, and see the future,” said Joseph Cortina, Cortina Productions’ founder.
When designing the media experiences for Pacific Visions, Cortina was attracted to a positive storytelling approach that provides visitors with not just the negative impacts of climate change but the uplifting understanding that humanity has the capacity to alter our future. Each media experience throughout the Aquarium’s new wing aims to engage and inspire visitors to take their own steps towards our collective future.
The Culmination Gallery in the Pacific Visions wing features three interactive tables and a large-scale interactive wall.