Cortina Productions created eleven unique media experiences for Georgia Aquarium’s incredible new gallery featuring one of nature’s most formidable apex predators: the shark.
On October 23, 2020, Georgia Aquarium opened its long anticipated gallery, SHARKS! Predators of the Deep. One of the largest shark exhibits in the world, the new gallery features state-of-the-art exhibits that allow visitors to get up close and personal with a variety of sharks and rays. Sharks are featured in a 20-foot-deep, 185-foot-long exhibit and can be spotted in the floor-to-ceiling acrylic windows. Thousands of pilchard fish also shimmer and school throughout the 1.2 million gallons of saltwater amongst the sharks.
Cortina Productions, in close collaboration with the Georgia Aquarium team, created eleven unique media programs consisting of seven interactive and four video-based experiences. Throughout the exhibit, interactive displays allow visitors to explore a range of shark-related content such as species information and current research and conservation efforts. Visitors are even able to peel back the different anatomical structures of the shark to examine its musculature, organs, and skeletal system as it swims. The digital 3D shark models used throughout the exhibits were animated by Cortina Productions and incorporate hotspots on anatomical layers for more in-depth educational content.
A signature large-format LED media wall becomes a multi-user interactive experience that makes visitors feel like they’re walking through a tunnel of shark-filled waters. Underwater shark footage creates an ocean environment, while a dynamically generated bait ball of fish tracks and moves with visitors as they walk through the space.
At the “Delicate Balance” interactive visitors learn about the critical role that sharks play in maintaining healthy ecosystems through animated short films with interactive moments that challenge visitors to arrange aquatic animals in a food chain and then consider what would happen to the ecosystems if sharks were eliminated.
The “Great Predators” video shows the incredible hunting behaviors of a wide variety of shark species. The “Splash Down” video examines the history of cage dives and how they are an important tool for studying sharks today. While, the “Making Waves” videos show visitors how their visit to the Georgia Aquarium supports Aquarium staff in their work to study and protect sharks.
Georgia Aquarium is committed to displaying the most current shark research and conservation information. To accomplish this goal each exhibit utilizes Cortina Productions custom content management system to update content on the fly, so that visitors always see the latest shark information as they explore the gallery.
As a leader in aquatic research and exceptional animal care, Georgia Aquarium is dedicated to fostering a deeper appreciation for our ocean and the animals that call it home, including sharks. Georgia Aquarium has been performing important research on shark species like hammerheads, sand tigers, and tiger sharks in conjunction with this new endeavor. From tracking hammerheads in Floridian waters to nutritional research on tiger sharks in the Bahamas, the non-profit organization hopes to contribute important scientific knowledge to shark conservation, in addition to learning from and caring for the sharks at Georgia Aquarium.
Tickets for the SHARKS! Predators of the Deep are now available at Georgia Aquarium.