CHanging landscapes at the museum of science

Interactive 3D Animations of UNESCO World Heritage Sites to demonstrate climate change’s impact

Hero4Hire was tapped by Boston’s Museum of Science to create multi-scenario immersive animations of two iconic world landmarks – Mesa Verde National Park and the Venetian lagoon – as part of hands-on exploration of global warming’s effects on our planet.

The MOSE Barrier is a series of floodgates to mitigate treacherous tides threatening venice, Italy

As visitors interact with the exhibit, the scene transitions from the picturesque Venice lagoon – a water simulation created with Houdini FX – to a blueprint animation explaining the MOSE Barrier’s intricate engineering.

Visitors are then faced with different hazardous weather scenarios and will have to choose when to raise the barriers, with interactive audio prompts explaining the ramifications of every choice. Our artists worked closely with the Museum of Science’s logistics and A/V teams to ensure each choice would flow seamlessly and return to the neutral looping state.

in 2000, wildfires destroyed 24,000 acres of the Mesa Verde National Park

Our VFX artists used 3D program Taiao to photorealistically model the Piñon Pine’s lifecycle from sapling (including all of the individual needles!) to a burnt trunk, as well as the cheatgrass and other scientifically accurate flora to transport Boston museum visitors to southwestern Colorado.

The wildfire video loop is projected across two screens, while a secondary interactive projection maps fire onto falling rocks to demonstrate the effects of heat on the mesa’s erosion.

CLIENT: Boston Museum of Science
H4H SERVICES: 3D modeling + animation, creative direction, compositing, projection mapping