You exclusively work with digital content. Why is that?
Attraction-goers search for extraordinary experiences that can’t be replicated in real life: they want to dive into the story and be the protagonists.
CGI gives the power to create new worlds by exceeding what’s possible in real life, creating out-of-this-world adventures.
It was the potential of the technology that inspired us to dive into it. That’s how Red Raion was born and found its identity – as a CGI studio specialising in media-based attractions.
What makes you different?
When we stepped into the industry eight years ago, we analysed companies producing digital content for media-based attractions – from generic outfits to Hollywood studios.
They had one thing in common – none were making content exclusively for media-based attractions.
When we started talking to potential clients, we realised this lack of specialisation had led to situations where they sometimes had to carry extra costs and accept content that wasn’t of the quality they expected.
We knew if we wanted to build a brand from scratch, we’d need a skilled team, an exclusive focus on media-based attractions and to always be there for clients to answer questions and anticipate and resolve their doubts.
What’s your delivery process?
We’ve developed a standardised process we call the CGI Magic Chain.
Clients don’t have to deal with distributors, we take care of all aspects of content creation in-house, from pre- and post-production to on-site installation.
We help clients find CGI content that fits their venue and have also created a series of reports that identify common mistakes operators make: it’s free to download at www.bit.ly/am-redraion.
It’s a useful tool for potential clients to understand what they need, even before we meet, so we start our relationship aligned and it goes smoothly from the beginning.
It’s our biggest achievement to have never missed a deadline or gone over budget – even during the worst moments of the pandemic.
Some of your competitors are Hollywood studios. How do you compete?
Hollywood studios are the best at creating top feature films, but the feature film industry is completely different from the attractions sector.
Hollywood studios work on dozens of productions every year, following multiple pipelines, working on films, commercials, TV shows and animated movies. As a consequence, their production times for CGI content for media-based attractions can be long, causing delays and price increases.
It isn’t a question of whether they’re able to do it, but more whether it makes sense to ask Hollywood to do this work, instead of a specialised company focused on this kind of project, that delivers the same results at a reasonable price.
What are your goals?
Besides continuing to improve our processes and technologies, our main goal is to expand more globally.
We already work worldwide, collaborating with hardware manufacturers, such as Triotech, Kraftwerk, Simworx, Brogent and SimEx-werks.
We’ve produced custom CGI content for theme parks all over the world and are currently working on projects including a flying theatre movie commissioned by SimEx-Iwerks, a dark ride in Vietnam, a VR attraction for Loveland Living Planet – the American aquarium that will combine CGI with real footage – and a CGI dining experience on a cruise ship in partnership with Leisure Expert Group.
Another step forward in our expansion has been the addition of content experts to our roster of professionals. Every regional market has distinctive features, so we train these professionals to support clients in choosing the perfect CGI content, with each focusing on the area they know best.
What trends do you see?
Firstly, acquiring Intellectual Property for use in themed venues. This doesn’t mean owners of theme parks or museums have to buy the rights to famous IPs, they can invest a smaller budget in creating their own.
It’s a great way to achieve an identity without relying on already-famous IPs and gives the opportunity for operators to create stories unique to them and create sequels using existing assets, which means they can save money.
We worked on such a project when we created Miko and the Spell of the Stone, a custom CGI movie for Unlimited Snow, based on its Alpine Marmots IP.
Speaking of attractions, one of the most popular emerging formats is flying theatres. This is why we’re building our own ‘fly format’ movie catalogue and have formed a partnership with SimEx-Iwerks – a company that’s been in the industry over 30 years.
The number of licensed fly titles available isn’t as high as with other formats, so SimEx-Iwerks has enriched its offering by pairing its flying theatre experience with Red Raion’s growing catalogue of fly movies.
More: www.redraion.com
