THE [OMITTED] MISADVENTURES OF CHERRY BOMB
A full-fledged dark ride.
The [OMITTED] Misadventures of Cherry Bomb is a dark ride that takes you on a tour through the fictional world of Mountain View, before getting caught up in an explosive face-off between nemeses Chelsea (A.K.A. Cherry Bomb) and Carson. Chelsea can't take down Carson alone, are you willing to help?
The Modeling
A majority of the scenic elements were designed using SketchUp. By creating several objects around the same origin, I was able to split the ride into several models before placing them in NoLimits. This is beneficial for processing the simulation. The simplicity of SketchUp also allowed me to create many iterations of simpler models before settling on the final result seen above.
The Design
The track was designed using almost entirely geometric shaping, as opposed to force-based. One of the biggest challenges I faced was creating two sister tracks that sometimes shared the same profile, but at other times were completely separate. I solved this problem by creating one individual track, then offsetting the two unique profiles from that to create two parallel tracks.
The Video
An immense portion of this project was constructed in Adobe Premiere. The preshow, final video, and on-board audio soundtrack were all products of the editing software. One of the biggest new skills I learned in this process was how to re-frame 360° footage into a normal 2D video. This allowed me to direct the riders perspective to all the show scenes in the on-board POV.
A Sizzling Variety of Disciplines.
This video shows off the massive number of talents and skills that had to come together to complete this project. Throughout the process, I collaborated with over 20 individuals across the globe, consisting of artists, actors, videographers, costumers, music producers, programmers, and even a professional green screen studio, combining everything into one cohesive experience.
The Script
The first step in creating a linear story is an outline; a guiding force. Keeping track of the story, location of the ride vehicles and dialogue ensured that despite having two separate ride tracks, the same story was being delivered in a cohesive and engaging way.
The Studio
To film the ride action scenes and preshow, I rented a studio in Burbank, CA. The studio housed a gigantic green screen, perfect for inserting characters from real life into my virtual environment. Lots of lessons about full-scale video production were learned here.
The Ride
Finally, the characters were keyed out of our studio footage and placed into the ride. Care was taken to ensure that the real-life footage blended properly with the digital environment. In the image above, everything but the actress is a virtual model.
The Whole Perspective
In order to get the full experience, I highly recommend checking out the following immersive videos. They provide a complete, 360° on-board views of both tracks. For the best effect, watch them on your smartphone or virtual reality headset!
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
