New LNP fulldome show posters and promo downloads

In the olde days, planetarium shows consisted mostly of 35mm slides. We would create a "title slide" with artwork in the usual 3:2 ratio and landscape orientation, and that's what we used for graphics to promote and advertise those shows (and we still do, too).

These days, many fulldome movies have taken a cue from Hollywood, and adopted the vertical 'movie poster' format. And now we have, too. We asked our friends at Dome3D to help us create some new spiffy-looking posters for our shows, and you can find them on the pages of each of our fulldome shows.

They're all available in 3K by 4K pixel resolution; if you're running any of our shows, you are welcome to download and use these to make posters, brochures, and banners. We did just that ourselves, for the IPS2012 conference.

In addition, we've captured and posted a dozen frames from every show, in both dome master (fisheye) and flat-screen (mirror-warped) formats — again, to assist your promotional efforts.

You'll find all these by following the Promo downloads links on each show's page.

Three Minute Blast!

Several years ago, we made a One Minute Blast! video, for quickly previewing all of Loch Ness Productions' own fulldome shows. And last year, we created a Two Minute Blast! for the other titles we distribute. With all the new additions to the catalog, and the ever-increasing number of movie formats, we've updated these montages and their pages.

One Minute Blast! is now available in 17+ different formats. Want to check if our movies are compatible with your fulldome system? Download the appropriate one and try it! We even include play scripts for MEDIAGLOBE and Digistar systems.

Three Minute Blast! now includes the shows we've added this year from Mediendom Kiel and the California Academy of Sciences, and it too is available in 17+ different formats.

New company demo reel

For IPS this year, we created a new demo reel, highlighting where Loch Ness Productions came from, and where we are today.

It features:

  • a Geodesium retrospective (37 years and counting!)
  • the One- and Three-Minute Blast montages (versioned for the flat screen)
  • and highlights from some of the other projects we've worked on recently.

You can find it on our About Us page.

New Dinosaurs at Dusk preview frames

We've posted some 2K still images from Mirage3D's newest fulldome spectacular, Dinosaurs at Dusk: The Origins of Flight, now in production!

Just select the Previews link to enjoy!

Affordable Arctic Science and Adventure for the Little Ones!

If you're looking for fulldome content to widen children's horizons into realms of science, look no further. In partnership with Mediendom Kiel in Germany, we are proud to present a new show for the little ones: Lars the Little Polar Bear.

Lars is the beloved star of the children's book Little Polar Bear and the Whales authored by Hans de Beer. This storybook tale follows the adventures of a curious little bear who finds his arctic home warmer than usual in spring, which creates a problem for his friends, the Belugas.

Following the Lars story, the show then takes a documentary-style turn, and we explore the habitats of the real-life animals in the Arctic. As you might expect with a polar bear as the star, the show offers young viewers a gentle introduction to the topic of climate change. And since this is a show for planetarium theaters, we also included a short stargazing section about the polar bears who circle the North Star in the Arctic night skies.

Loch Ness Productions created this special English-language edition, and it features our own Mark C. Petersen telling Lars's lively story. Planetarians and audiences everywhere loved Larry Cat In Space; now open your hearts to Lars the Little Polar Bear.

As always, instant gratification is yours to be had on the Lars Web page, where you'll find links to previews, prices, and online ordering.

Affordable, Elegant Fulldome Entertainment for the Other Ones!

For years, rock and pop music have been standard offerings at late-night dome shows. Now, we're happy to present a serene and peaceful alternative from Mediendom Kiel called Magic of the Otherworld. It's a leisurely and poetic journey through imaginary landscapes set to evocative harp music.

Loch Ness Productions is pleased to be the exclusive distributors (outside Germany) for this amazing and soothing 50-minute fulldome treat for the eyes and ears. Visit snowy glaciers, underground caves, enchanted forests, mystical coastlines, and fantasy wooden sailing ships soaring into the starry night sky — virtual landscapes accompanied by the beautiful harp music of Christine Högl.

This is the first time a concert of harp music and animation has been made for fulldome theaters. At IPS, one viewer called it "the most beautiful thing I have ever seen on the dome." We hope theaters looking for just this type of alternative offering will add it to their repertory.

As always, instant gratification is yours to be had on the Magic of the Otherworld Web page, where you'll find links to previews, prices, and online ordering for this blissful and different type of fulldome entertainment.

An Update on Losing the Dark

Production is continuing on Losing the Dark, a fulldome PSA we're creating for the International Dark-Sky Association.

A "sneak preview" of the work in progress was selected for display at the 2012 International Astronomical Union General Assembly, held in Beijing, China. Dr. Jin Zhu and Mr. Horace Lu were instrumental in getting the presentation sliced and encoded for the Beijing Planetarium dome, so it could play on August 29th. We had reports the crowd applauded loudly!

The IDA is currently fundraising for the show's eventual completion and distribution. The International Planetarium Society has already contributed seed money to the project. Go here to make a donation to the IDA to help support the project.

If all goes well, Losing the Dark should be available for distribution later this year. Watch this space!

SpacePark360: Infinity — prepare for even MORE exhilaration!

We're proud to announce the start of production on SpacePark360: Infinity, another rocking collaboration with Dome3D of spaced-out amusement park rides and GEODESIUM music for fulldome theaters. We're both showing sneak previews of the rides and music at the upcoming International Planetarium Society meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The idea of setting amusement park rides on the worlds of the solar system has been a proven winner. According to Dome3D's president Matt Mascheri, audiences in more than 40 venues around the world have raved about the show. "We wanted to create a show that would elicit an audience reaction, and a show about thrill rides seemed to be a good concept." Jason Heaton, Producer and Lead Artist said. "Hearing recordings of full theaters screaming while riding the rides and listening to original music, those types of stories make our continuing relationship with Loch Ness Productions all the more worthwhile. Now we're taking what we learned from SpacePark360: Geodesium Edition and making SpacePark360: Infinity even better." Mike Narlock, Producer and Art Director said, "The notion behind the original SpacePark360 show was to create a modular show that would appeal to a cross-generational audience. Mark's music fit exactly the motif we were going for... far out music set to jaw-dropping visuals."

"One of the things that I bring to the project is the ability to create music specifically to fit the action of the visuals — frame-accurately," Mark says. "I'm working to preliminary movie renders of the rides, so I'm able to exactly synchronize sound effects and musical motifs to enhance the viewer's experience of the ride. Since we have our own dome at the studio here at Loch Ness Productions, I can preview the rides as they'll actually appear in fulldome theaters, and I can adjust the music accordingly. That's one of the benefits that comes from my having more than three and a half decades of experience doing soundtracks for the immersive domed environment."

SpacePark360: Infinity features nine all-new amusement park rides set in alien locales around the solar system — from Tranquility Base on the Moon to the rings of Saturn. "The Dome3D guys have been sending me these great visuals that are really setting my imagination into overdrive," said Mark. "I can safely say that none of what I'm doing for this new edition of SpacePark360 is anything like my fans have heard before. I'm pulling out all the stops, letting the gorgeous scenes and action-packed rides that Dome3D has created be my musical guide.

SpacePark360: Infinity is now in production, and slated for release in 2013. We'll be posting previews of the work in progress, so keep checking here to follow our progress!

New Shows Premiering At IPS

Loch Ness Productions is busily adding new shows to our catalog of fine fulldome offerings. We'll be premiering several of them at the upcoming conference of the International Planetarium Society, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We are a "Galactic Level" sponsor. If you're coming to IPS, stop by our booth and dome for a schedule of showings. Of course, every show in our current catalog will also be available, ready to play on request. We look forward to showing you some of the latest and greatest the fulldome world has to offer!

By the way, Loch Ness Productions offices will be closed during IPS. But we will be checking emails and voicemail while we're at the meeting.

First, we have a soothing, relaxing treat for the eyes and ears called Magic of the Otherworld. This new fulldome show is from the Mediendom Kiel, and we're the exclusive distributors (well, outside Germany, anyway). Think waterfalls, underground caves, enchanted forests, mystical coastlines, and fantasy wooden sailing ships soaring into the starry night sky — virtual landscapes accompanied by the beautiful harp music of Christine Högl. Planetarians may remember her inspiring performance at the 2004 IPS conference in Valencia, Spain. While rock and pop have appeared in the dome in entertainment shows for years, this is the first time a concert of harp music and animation has been done. We've already gotten some interest from fulldome theaters looking for some alternative offerings to add to their repertory.

We've also got a great new show for the young ones. Lars the Little Polar Bear was also created by folks at the Mediendom Kiel. Loch Ness Productions has created a unique English-language version, with narration by our own Mark C. Petersen. You loved Larry Cat In Space; now open your hearts to little Lars. It's a storybook tale about the adventures of a curious little bear and his friends, coupled with a documentary-style exploration of the habitats of their real-life counterparts in the Arctic. As you might expect with a polar bear as the star, the show does offer a gentle introduction to climate change too.

At this year's Jena Fulldome Festival, we found a wonderful new "underwater" show which we'll be adding to our distribution catalog later this summer. This one explores the depths of the oceans — Into The Deep, created by the Austrian company Ogrefish. Dive with the pioneers of deep-sea research on their journeys of discovery, on the most famous submersibles in history, to come face-to-face with the fascinating creatures that survive where no life was ever expected! Look for an announcement about this show in a few weeks.

Finally, we're working on a short show called Losing the Dark — a PSA-style presentation about light pollution, produced in cooperation with the International Dark-Sky Association. It should be available for distribution this autumn.

Lots of good stuff in store for you — and we have more in the pipeline. Stay tuned!

Antares FullDome Productions is now Albedo Fulldome

Our friends from Barcelona have reorganized their company a bit, and what was Antares FullDome Productions will now be known as Albedo Fulldome.

Same great shows — just a new name on the Web pages and future products!

They asked us to create a custom musical flourish for their new company ID!

News from Mirage3D

We've posted an advance preview of Mirage3D's newest fulldome spectacular, Dinosaurs at Dusk: The Origins of Flight. When you see the amazing CGI work in the teaser, you'll have a hard time waiting until the movie is done next year!

And we have a new trailer online for their ever-popular Dawn of the Space Age. After five years and more than 150 fulldome theater bookings, it's still going strong!

Just select the Previews links to enjoy!

LNP at SETIcon II

Loch Ness Productions is pleased to be one of the sponsors of SETIcon II, a unique, entertaining, and enlightening public event being held June 22-24 in Santa Clara, California. SETIcon is envisioned and organized by the SETI Institute, and brings together a wide range of people from the science community, science fiction writers and filmmakers, space artists, educators, and the legions of space lovers who want to learn more about the science behind humanity's leaps to the universe.

As a special treat, Loch Ness Productions is supplying music from Geodesium to enhance the fabulous SETIcon Gala banquet on June 23rd. That special event will highlight the work and career of Dr. Jill Tartar and the many scientific contributions she has made. It's a great honor to help celebrate her achievements.

If you're attending SETIcon, look for LNP CEO Carolyn Collins Petersen, who will be representing us during this wonderful event!

Welcome, California Academy of Sciences!

We're now distributing fulldome shows from the California Academy of Sciences' Morrison Planetarium. And they're mighty fine shows indeed.

Fragile Planet: Earth's Place in the Universe was their premiere show, created for their grand opening in 2008. Sigourney Weaver guides audiences on an immersive excursion that combines scientific visualization with movie-making magic, highlighting Earth's special place in the universe as the only known haven for life.

Life: A Cosmic Story, their follow-up show, takes audiences even farther — down to the microscopic scale inside a cell to learn about photosynthesis and the role of DNA, before leaping backward in time billions of years to the early formation of the universe. Academy award-winning actress Jodie Foster provides a sublime narration. The show won the "Best Fulldome Program" category at the 2011 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, and received one of three Honorable Awards at the 2012 Jena Fulldome Festival.

Shows to challenge and inspire the intellect — check out the previews!

(And in the production pipeline... a show you might expect from a San Francisco-based facility: Earthquake — coming soon!)

Production studio upgrade, part 1: The PixelDome

We're upgrading our facilities, and you can see our latest acquisition: a 10-foot fiberglass dome. Check out the installation pix and movie here. We'll be posting more pics as we add new projection equipment, so stay tuned!

Visit The PixelDome!

The PixelDome's predecessor, The LarryDome, worked fine for us for seven years, but since we only have space for one dome, it's now in a new home at a Michigan planetarium.

2011 State of the Dome

At the IMERSA conference last weekend, Mark gave what's become a quasi-annual presentation: his 2011 State of the Dome Address.

It's an overview of what fulldome projector systems are out there, and our research into what fulldome shows are advertised on theater Web sites. It can provide some answers to the quintessential questions: "Who are we, where are we, and what are we doing?"

Along with the "State of the Dome" presentations from previous years, the latest edition is now posted as an article in the Reference section. We hope you find it useful and enlightening!

Web site Redesign!

It's been more than a decade since our last major makeover, so we were long overdue. We hope you like it!

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Here's last year's news, if you haven't been here for a while and want to catch up.

Mark C. Petersen, webmaster