LA Propoint Recognized For Role in WWII Theater Experience

(Sun Valley, Calif.) May 25, 2010 - LA ProPoint, a leader in the design, engineering, fabrication, and installation of stage and show systems, is proud to announce that The Hettema Group’s major theater project, the Solomon Victory Theater at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana—for which LA ProPoint provided key services in 2009—has resulted in a MUSE Gold MultiMedia Installation Award from the American Association of Museums (AAM).

The award was presented Sunday, May 23, 2010, at the AAM Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo in Los Angeles. The Gold Award is the highest honor that the AAM bestows.

A celebration of scholarship, innovation, creativity and inclusivity, the MUSE Awards, organized and reviewed by the AAM Media & Technology Committee, recognize outstanding achievements in museum media which enhance the museum experience and engage new audiences.

The centerpiece attraction of a $300 million museum renovation, the Solomon Victory Theater is a new 250-seat venue with a 30-foot tall, curved, sharkstooth scrim screen that stretches to 120 feet wide. The wraparound screen serves as the exclusive staging ground for “Beyond All Boundaries,” a 20-minute documentary produced by legendary actor and producer Tom Hanks.
In choosing to honor the National WWII Museum, The Hettema Group, and its partners, the AAM judges noted the “Beyond All Boundaries” project for “physically and virtually integrating multimedia technologies” and creating “a brand-new museum-visiting experience.”

Since November 2009, the multimedia attraction has set a new standard for immersive theater entertainment, employing 4D technology to launch audiences on an odyssey that brings to life “The War That Changed the World.” Spanning four continents, the experience recreates everything from the rumbling of tanks over the African desert to the oppressive heat of Pacific jungles as well as the penetrating cold of the Battle of the Bulge and the staccato rhythm of anti-aircraft fire over Nazi Germany.

The Hettema Group, leader of the project, enlisted the LA ProPoint team in the design, engineering, fabrication, and installation of the Solomon Victory Theater’s overhead rigging equipment, show action equipment, sub-system show control, scenic elements, and many other facets of the detailed project.

“The Solomon Victory Theater project was unlike anything LA ProPoint had taken on before. It incorporated moving 3D props and scenic elements such as city flats, the recreation of a concentration camp guard tower, the installation of a naval anti-aircraft gun turret, and the suspension of a scaled-down replica of a B-17 bomber’s nose cone from the theater’s ceiling,” said Mark Riddlesperger, founder and president of LA ProPoint. “And that’s all before we take into account the 40-foot tall velour main show curtain and motorized track system, not to mention the oversized main scrim/projection screen. We are thrilled to see this complex project recognized by the museum industry.”

“We knew that in order to create, with ‘Beyond All Boundaries,’ something that audiences had never seen before, it was critical to assemble the perfect team of partners and subcontractors,” said Phil Hettema, president and CEO of The Hettema Group. “It is the ultimate fulfillment of our team’s hard work that this MUSE Award is shared by such a diverse array of highly skilled professionals.”

For more information about how “Beyond All Boundaries” came into being, visit http://www.nationalww2museum.org/victory/b-a-b_backgrounder.html.