Carlin is working on a top secret project now for client General Motors that will also include a simulation ride. This time, however, the team at BRC will be using Silicon Graphics Hardware and several off-the-shelf animation products that are linked by proprietary software systems. Carlin admits that what they are currently doing is so cutting edge that it's a little hard to deal with. "We always say technology is not the solution--its the experience, but in this case, we're asking our software, and our hardware, to do things that they weren't originally intended to do in order to create the story we want. But that sort of thing happens to us a lot. We end up developing a new system or a new technique at the same time we are creating a solution and a story for a client."

Knott's Berry Farms Mystery Lodge, with special effects makes the tales of an Old Storyteller come alive. © BRC Imagination Arts.

BRC artists definitely have a few unusual techniques, even patents, up their collective sleeves. One very interesting--and very proprietary--example has to do with the animation of smoke. For a stage show at Knott's Berry Farm called Mystery Lodge, animated smoke that curls into images of salmon swimming upstream, or whales leaping from the water was used to visually aid an elderly Indian narrator as he tells the story of his life to the audience. Carlin, who describes the look of the effect as "images floating in a virtual plane," won't give away just how it is accomplished. However, she will say that the technical application of this patented process called "Holovision" is actually based on a 100-year-old magician's illusion called "Pepper's Ghost."

Future projects for BRC include a "totally new kind of theme park" for Warner Bros. Once again, artists and executives are committed to keeping this one a secret until it premieres, but rumor has it that it may include animation.

As for the future of special venues? George Wiktor believes that the world has only seen the tip of the iceberg. "Granted, home entertainment is going to become fascinating over the next several years, but I don't see it taking away from the popularity of special venues. Just look at the corollary between film and television. Film is more popular than it ever was. Also, special venues are now breaking out of amusement park ghettos--moving into malls and other venues that are more accessible--and thus becoming more a part of our daily lives."

Rita Street, a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, is the founder of Women in Animation and former editor and publisher of Animation Magazine.