Catalina Island selects digital signage integrator Red Dot Digital Media for tourist attraction

Red Dot Digital Media, a specialist digital signage integrator, partners with underwater filmmaker Mark Davidson to create Immersed: Ocean Wonders, a digital experience for tourists on Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California According to the cases shared with this publication.

Accessible by high-speed ferry from Los Angeles, the attraction features a 30-minute “virtual dive” through a domed digital theater that lets you get up close and personal with kelp forests, whale sharks, manta rays and more from below the surface. The experience will be filmed in 360 degrees in his 8K resolution and displayed on a dome-shaped screen with music and narration for an immersive experience.

Proceeds from the attraction help support local conservation efforts, with operator Immersive Education pledging to donate 10% of annual profits to local nonprofit Marine Mammal Care Center.

Technical specs for the digital experience include a custom interactive touch panel designed by Red Dot Digital Media to trigger playback, and a BrightSign built-in Bluefin touch panel that leverages UDP commands. The system uses BrightSign’s BSN.Cloud as its CMS software platform. The domed theater was designed by Las Vegas firm Lumen & Forge and features air conditioning, acoustic finishes, and both theater and beanbag seating.

“Given the theater’s remote location, it was imperative that we create a control system that is easy to use and highly reliable,” Darryl Kuder, president of Red Dot Digital Media, said in a release. Ta. “Using Bluefin touch screens with built-in BrightSign, we created a cost-effective and very simple operational workflow that allows staff to turn on projectors and speakers every day with a single tap on the touch screen. The first show of the day begins. At closing time, the projector and speakers are turned off and locked up.”

Photo: Red Dot Digital Media.