I am
not a big fan of digital projections and similar technology in theme
parks.
It's
not that it's not cool stuff in itself. I can definitely appreciate
the accomplishments of computing and optics required for it to work,
and some of its applications are downright stunning. It's thanks to
digital projection that we can actually
look into the eyes of Mara:
The
Buzz Lightyear animatronic in the queue of his ride is pretty sharp,
and his mobile face is achieved via LED screen technology:
So
this family of technologies definitely has its place. What I dislike
about it is the way it seems to be...taking over. Nearly every new
attraction being built these days uses screens and/or digital
projections in some way, and they have been added to several
attractions that didn't previously use them. This would be fine
enough if it were a reliable way of improving an attraction, but in
practice the results are quite mixed, ranging all the way from “Wow,
awesome!” to “Okay, um, why?” and hitting pretty much every
point inbetween.
The
thing is, there isn't just one reason why these types of effects can
be underwhelming. It's actually a tricky realm to navigate, and I
hope Imagineering treads carefully in the future so as to avoid the
pitfalls and show off their new toy at its best.
As
for what those pitfalls are? Read on...
