Wonders of Iceland, Perlan Museum


  • Client: Perlan Museum
  • Location: Reykjavík, Iceland

Services

  • Concept Development + Refinement
  • Content Management

The Perlan Museum showcases the natural wonders of Iceland through multimedia installations and new technology-forward exhibit experiences. Working with Lord Cultural Resources, Thinkwell Studio Montréal produced the creative content and led the development and design of the technological installations for three new permanent exhibitions at the museum.

For Perlan’s “Land, Coast, Ocean” exhibit, Thinkwell Studio Montréal produced a short film using original footage shot in Iceland and also developed projection, calibration, and hardware solutions that brought to life a stunning virtual aquarium. The initial mandate was to replicate the effect of a traditional aquarium, using high-resolution video of extraordinary Icelandic marine life. With an original short film, shot mainly underwater, museum-goers are put within arms reach of some of Iceland’s most remarkable plants and animals. The resulting cut was equally part contemplative and breathtaking, while staying true to the rhythm of the Icelandic marine landscape. The original film score complimented the looping cadence of the film with a slow-developed, dream-like composition of instrumental music and nature sounds.

For Perlan’s “Forces of Nature” exhibit, Thinkwell Studio Montréal created an enclave of installations to present four Icelandic natural phenomena: volcanoes, earthquakes, geysers, and tectonic plates. This included the design and programming of a permanent show that features projection on a custom-designed bench and curved walls as well as LED lighting integration throughout. The exhibit’s soundtrack enhanced the space with the natural sounds of these phenomena using ambisonics and specialized equipment to render low-frequency audio signals into amplified physical vibrations. This exhibit also incorporates ambient lighting control and thermal detection in the entry area to create an atmosphere and immerse guests into the space.

From a technical perspective, the building’s unique architecture demanded a high degree of expertise to develop a method of rear-projection on the wide, curved screen that would not deteriorate the quality of the 6K video. Thinkwell Studio Montréal’s patented auto-calibration technology creates one unified image from the six separate projectors in a matter of seconds for optimized viewing, without compromising quality.

This project was made possible with the following collaborators: Aquamedias , Jackworld, Erlendur Bogason and Strýtan Dive Center.

This project was completed prior to Thinkwell’s acquisition of Réalisations-Montréal in 2019. Réalisations-Montréal is now Thinkwell Studio Montréal.