Promotional Trailer for Exciting, Interactive Thrill Ride Created by Art Collective Meow Wolf.
THE CLIENT
Meow Wolf, a boundary-pushing arts and entertainment group based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
THE BRIEF
We were asked to create a 30-second preview trailer for a thrill-ride concept that MEOW WOLF was in the process of bringing to life called “Kaleidoscape”
The interactive art installation would call the Elitch Gardens Theme and Water Park home. The amusement park located in Denver, Colorado was already well-known for its exhilarating roller coasters, family rides, water rides and entertainment.
The concept needed an exciting trailer to create anticipation around the new ride for existing patrons of the park as well as draw in new customers.
THE CHALLENGE
This creative project was unique because MEOW WOLF asked us to promote their new ride that wasn’t even yet built. For this reason, it required a lot of understanding about what they were aiming to accomplish. In the trailer we wanted to communicate the basic story arc and give a sneak peek to this unique, mysterious, and artistic new ride.
THE INSPIRATION
The main question we toiled with was: “How do we make a trailer that is faithful to the MEOW WOLF project if we haven’t had a chance to experience it yet?
We relied heavily on sketches and ideas from the original concept deck, drawing upon elements that symbolized the basic foundations of the ride. To emphasize the journey from minimal to maximal, we moved from a simple dot of light to a smorgasbord of elements including toilets and bicycles and then back to a single point.
THE DELIVERY
The short clip we developed was a visual journey of creation. A symphony of light and color moving toward the viewer at speed.
A solitary point of light disperses into particles and evolves into intricate networks of geometric shapes. This angular web eventually advances into an orderly grid, creating a visual horizon.
From the grid arises a newly emerging mountainous landscape. Perfectly positioned in the center of the frame appears a pyramid shape from which a spiraling light hurtles forth and irreversibly alters the sharp angles of its surroundings to modulating waves. This ushers in a new phase of the creative evolution represented.
The video clip becomes an assault of shape and form in psychedelic colors using a kaleidoscope motif. Pattern and abstract imagery are intertwined, becoming increasingly complex while continuing with velocity until it is absorbed into itself like a black hole- returning to the opening single point of light.
After being turned inside out, from beginning to end and back again, the point of light serves a new purpose. From the light escapes a beautifully intricate circular pattern, only revealing its hidden message, the “Kaleidoscape” name once the clip has ended.
The Orlando Weekly summed up the final product:
'A 38-second teaser trailer for the new ride looks more like something from a Stanley Kubrick film than from a regional amusement park: There’s imagery ranging from 1980’s style computer graphics to colorful kaleidoscope-like symmetrical patterns, with various items including cassette tapes, giant lollipops, teakettles, and television sets spinning around the screen. Despite being less than a minute long, the video requires multiple viewings due to its intense detail'.
This piece turned out so well that MEOW WOLF decided to use it in the ride itself! It appears at the finale of the ride. Because 'Kaleidoscape' was such a highly anticipated ride, Meow Wolf was bombarded with press opportunities and this trailer was a perfect asset to share with various media sources.
