New 360° 3D experience TurtleTrek Opens 27th April 2012

[SMAX]

This Spring, guests to SeaWorld Orlando will get closer than ever before to incredible sea turtles through nose-to-nose encounters combined with state of the art 3D entertainment at TurtleTrek.

The 3D film, which is immersed in a 360 degree dome, has approximately 26 million individual pixels, more than 13 times what is considered high definition, resulting in one of the sharpest, most spectacular 3D films ever created. At nearly 950GB, it would take three months to download the six minute movie.

The 3D animated film, created by the same special effects team as blockbuster Titanic, allows guests to not only have a turtle’s eye view of the ocean, but will be totally immersed in 3D entertainment from above and all around.

[SMAX]

The 3D animated film, created by the same special effects team as blockbuster Titanic, allows guests to not only have a turtle’s eye view of the ocean, but will be totally immersed in 3D entertainment from above and all around.

This visual conservation experience allows guests to learn more about the plight of the sea turtle and the incredible life journey they take from hatching on a beach and making the mad dash to open waters, to the dangers and hazards they face as they mature and return to the very same beach to lay their own eggs, their tales of life underwater have in the past been impossible to show – until now.

With an inspiring soundtrack, composed by the same team who brought us The Chronicles of Narnia – Prince Caspian and Attonement, the TurtleTrek score brings the animation to life with an orchestra of 80 musicians and a choir of 25.

After the film, guests can enjoy interactive family fun on the Race to the Beach game. The interactive conservation experience allows families to work in groups to help understand turtle migration from the open water to the beach, highlighting the risks to sea turtles such as rubbish and natural threats.

Back in the real world, visitors can get up-close to the sea turtle at two extensive habitats next to the dome, one saltwater area which will also house more than 1,500 fish and over a dozen sea turtles, and the other a freshwater habitat where guests can discover hundreds of freshwater fish and gentle manatees.

Many of the manatees and sea turtles were rescued by the park’s animal care team. Since SeaWorld Orlando’s rescue programs began, the team has cared for and returned to the wild nearly 240 manatees and more than 1,200 sea turtles.

[SMAX]

Quick Facts
TurtleTrek at SeaWorld Orlando

Opening at SeaWorld Orlando in spring 2012, TurtleTrek is a first-of-its-kind attraction. What makes it so unique? Let’s take a deep dive into the world of TurtleTrek.

The inspiration behind TurtleTrek

• No animal’s life journey is more incredible than that of the sea turtle. From hatching on a beach and making the mad dash to open waters to the dangers and hazards they face as they mature and return to the very same beach to lay their own eggs, their tales of life underwater have in the past been impossible to show. And no theme park in the world is better equipped than SeaWorld to share that journey with millions of people.

• In the same way SeaWorld brought attention to the plight of the manatee – the park’s attraction, Manatee Rescue, created interest that helped to save the species – at TurtleTrek, the park showcases the vulnerable sea turtle and asks everyday heroes across the globe to help make a difference in saving animals in the wild.

• In the nearly 50 years since SeaWorld’s rescue programs began, more than 20,000 injured, orphaned or ill animals have been rescued, cared for and in most instances, returned to the wild. That’s more than one animal per day since 1964.

The dome that brings the film to life

• For the first time, designers have married a start-of-the-art animated film and powerful projection system with a fully domed theatre, allowing for a seamless, 3-D virtual environment, all around the guests.

• A fine silver coating on the dome allows each screen to focus the projection light back toward the guests, so every fleck of silver is like a tiny mirror.

The 3-D/360-degree film that showcases the epic journey of one sea turtle

• The animated film goes well beyond the concept of high-definition or even virtual reality. In fact, it could be considered “high-reality.”

o Each frame of the film has approximately 26 million individual pixels (more than 13 times what is considered “high-def”)

o The film is shown at 60 frames-per-second (twice as fast as the human mind can register movement).

o Combined with the dome and the powerful projection system, the result is the one of the sharpest, most spectacular 3-D films ever created.

• Each animal featured in the movie – from our hero sea turtle, to thousands of fish and down to the smallest anemone – began its life on an artist’s drawing board. Every movement of every creature was then animated independently.

• More than 12 species of sea animals are brought to life for the animated film, with each one approved by SeaWorld educators and animal experts.

• Chances are, you’re looking at this fact sheet on a standard computer monitor that’s 1,024 pixels wide by 768 pixels high – a total of slightly more than 780,000 pixels. The dome screens at TurtleTrek have more than 26,000,000 pixels.

• At nearly 950GB, it would take you nearly 3 months to download the six-minute movie at home. If anyone was ever to create a full-length film at this resolution and complexity, it would take nearly five years to download.

• The dome itself creates a huge projection area.

• TurtleTrek’s movie is actually two movies. To create the astonishing 3-D, two films run simultaneously. One is for the left eye, the other for the right.

The audio system that surrounds guests in an underwater world

• The sound system at TurtleTrek includes 22 discrete audio channels that have all been mixed on-site. This allows for 3-D sound and pinpoint placement of audio effects.

• A typical surround sound system has a 5.1 arrangement – 5 sound channels and 1 channel for low frequency effects. The sound system at TurtleTrek is 18.4 and is rated at an amazing 32,000 watts.

The real-life animals that live at TurtleTrek

A one-of-a-kind 3-D/360-degree movie is only part of TurtleTrek’s allure. It’s also two massive, naturalistic saltwater and freshwater habitats, home to sea turtles and manatees, some of them rescued and cared for by SeaWorld’s animal team.

The attraction’s animal residents that have been deemed non-releasable by the Florida government mammal experts, due to genetics, illness, or being orphaned have found a permanent home at TurtleTrek. Since 1973, SeaWorld Orlando has rescued, cared for and returned hundreds of endangered manatees and since 1980 returned more than 1,200 sea turtles back to their natural waters.

Sea Turtles

• Sea turtles are truly a global species found in temperate and tropical seas worldwide. They have survived in the seas for more than 200 million years and are among a small group of reptiles that depend on the sea for survival.

• TurtleTrek will be home to a variety of adult and juvenile sea turtles, including hawksbill, Kemp’s, loggerhead, and green sea turtles. Guests can view these exquisite creatures gliding past them from above, or through a below-water window.


Manatees

• Florida's tropical waters are home to a great diversity of life and perhaps none are more rare and endearing than the manatee. All manatee species can be found in warm tropical and subtropical waters in North America, South America, and West Africa.

• At TurtleTrek, four West Indian manatees can be seen from above, or below water as they swim by or graze on a leafy snack. Each gentle giant in the exhibit was previously rescued by SeaWorld – the global leader in rescue and rehabilitation of manatees.

Fish

• More than 1,500 Caribbean-native fish live in the saltwater habitat. The tropical varieties guests can view within the sea turtle habitat include angelfish, surgeonfish, file fish, butterfly fish, and many more.

• Approximately 200 freshwater fish will accompany the manatees in their habitat. There will be fish native to Florida such as large-mouth bass and bluegills; and exotic fish that can be found in Florida waters such as pacu and red-tail catfish.

The story behind the story and what SeaWorld does on a daily basis to create awareness of animals – and nature – in need

• SeaWorld parks have helped animals in need; ill, injured, orphaned and abandoned for more than four decades. The majority of rescued animals are successfully treated by SeaWorld veterinarians, rehabilitated and returned to the wild.

• To date, 20,000 animals have been rescued by the park’s animal experts including whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, manatees, sea turtles and birds. This is the equivalent of helping one animal a day, every day, for 45 years.

The SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Conservation Fund

• In addition to direct support of hundreds of environmental, research and conservation projects, the company provides millions of dollars in cash, support and human resources to the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. A registered non-profit conservation foundation, the Fund has granted $7 million (£4 million) in support of more projects around the world in more than 60 countries.

• The Fund also provides an outlet for visitors to the parks, as well as the general public, to do their part to help protect wildlife. The Fund commits 100 per cent of donations to on-the-ground wildlife conservation.

[FloridaDave]

Sounds good, although the number of pixels and comparison to HD is a moot point - watching what is considered HD but on a 1000foot screen and standing within 10 foot wouldn't seem that high def - just massive. No doubt it'll be high res though, so look forward to it if we visit Seaworld this year.

[DIBBadmin]

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