Written by Ok, that sounds a little too good to be true… But today’s audiences are thirsty for entertainment that is dynamic and engaging. To that end, Calabash has teamed up with Susanna Kelham of Pepper Jack Productions and Kelham Vineyards to create a wine tasting experience that is truly unique.
Written by Susanna Kelham and produced by Calabash, “Wine Through Time” takes guests on a journey to discover the history of wine and how it came to Napa Valley. (See the full preview video here.) The project was conceived as a dramatic twist on the traditional wine tasting. As guests sample fine wines and hors d’oeuvres in an elegant setting, the tables and surrounding walls magically transform into exotic scenes from antiquity as a lively cast of animated historical characters extol the virtues of wine and its importance to their civilizations. As the characters speak, their stories come to life on the surrounding walls with dazzling animations in an array of artistic styles – from a living Chinese ink painting to animated hieroglyphics and illuminated manuscripts. At one point the tables themselves are transformed into a tranquil koi pond as sky lanterns rise gently into the evening sky. In another scene, guests are aboard a Spanish galleon, sailing across the ocean by moonlight.
Technical Challenges
Since much of the animation for Wine Through Time is projected down from the ceiling onto the flat table surfaces, the guests would always be viewing the animation at a steep angle. To compensate for the distortion, Calabash created the 3D scenes from the guest’s seated perspective. The rendered animations were then distorted in post so that the projected video would appear correct to the seated viewers. Physical items on the table had to be designed into the layouts so that even the wine glasses and dishes would appear integrated with the animated scenery.
With five tables each seating four guests per table and content being projected full-height on the surrounding walls, the program required a total of eleven carefully-aligned 4K-capable video projectors and a sophisticated media playback system programmed to coordinate multiple streams of content.
The Production
The technical complexity of the project, the variety of characters and environments, and multiple streams of content in a multitude of 2D and 3D animation styles made this complicated project especially ambitious considering the limited budget and time frame. The 3D character animation was created in Maya, whereas the realistic scenery for the walls was created in Unreal Engine. ToonBoom Harmony and AfterEffects were used for the 2D animations, and compositing was done in Nuke.
The music and audio were also a vital part of the immersive experience, with all character voices cast and directed by Calabash, and sound design provided by Sarah Webb Audio Post utilizing stock music and sound effects. The entire production, including approximately 45 minutes of content, took approximately eight months to complete.
Coming Soon…
With the content production now finished, the media system is currently being designed and tested, with plans to release the program soon to select venues in the Napa Valley area. We look forward to updating this article as new information becomes available!
About the author: Sean Henry is Executive Producer at Calabash Animation.
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