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Inspire Resort Media Show "Aurora Express"

2024

Overview

Setting off with a train whistle, the audience spends three minutes traveling through a train carriage that turns into a stage and a tunnel of light before arriving at the Aurora Festival. Aurora Express is the Season 3 media show on Aurora Street at Inspire Entertainment Resort, themed around "a journey aboard an express train to the Aurora Festival, set to musical numbers." Following Seasons 1 and 2, Apollon Immersive Works planned the show as a musical in four acts, aiming to direct it as an interactive "Joyful Music Show" that anyone can enjoy to its rhythmic music.

Typologies
Media Contents
Media Architecture
Location
Incheon, Korea
Client
HYUNDAI FUTURENET

Synopsis

A dim dawn, an old-fashioned train platform. When the great whistle sounds, the audience's journey begins. Golden particles scatter over red curtains as the train interior dances as if under a spell, and after passing through a sparkling tunnel of luminarie, Aurora Express finally arrives at the Magical Alley, where a festival is in full swing. Glowing buildings and carnival decorations, hot-air balloons filling the night sky, and playful characters flinging open their windows. The audience stands at the heart of the festival.

Pre-production

In pre-production, the focus was on bringing out the character of a musical. Like a real musical, the show was structured in four acts, with the mood building alongside the music each time the space changes. The music, planned differently for each act, weaves together as the core element that drives the flow of the entire show.

Act 1: Aurora Street styled as a train carriage, with a starry dawn sky on the arched ceiling screen and mountain views framed by teal curtains.
Act 1. An opening that begins with a train whistle, capturing the excitement of departure.
Act 2: The train interior as a stage, with green drapes under a red lattice ceiling of bulbs, a swinging pendulum clock and chess pieces spilling from a board.
Act 2. Inside a train turned stage, objects come to life and trade songs.
Act 3: The Luminarie tunnel, with blue, green and gold light patterns across the ceiling and window screens as a visitor raises a hand toward the glow.
Act 3. Luminarie filling the tunnel create a sense of moving beyond time and space.
Act 4: The Magical Alley festival, with green aurora, fireworks and hot air balloons on the ceiling screen as visitors cheer under falling confetti.
Act 4. Carnival rhythms and brass bring the Aurora Festival to its climax.

Production

In production, the focus was on giving each act a distinct sense of place. The train interior of Acts 1 and 2, the tunnel of light in Act 3, and the Magical Alley in Act 4 were designed so that visitors recognize each space the moment the scene changes. The backgrounds were meant not to stand still but to move with other elements as part of the show itself. The movements of the objects in Act 2 and the characters in Act 4 were directed in detail to look natural. The music was newly produced as musical numbers with vocals, in keeping with the show's musical concept.

A train dining car on Aurora Street transforms, filling with red curtains, spraying champagne and tiered cakes, then opening onto fireworks as soldiers, clowns and skeletons appear in windows.

Gallery

Arched glass roof with open sky fills the ceiling screen of Aurora Street, while tall pillar screens show dining car windows set with white linen, crystal and flowers.
The same ceiling glows warm gold as sparkling particles drift along the arches, and the dining car windows on the side screens turn golden as visitors look up.
Folds of red velvet curtain cover the entire ceiling screen and fringed drapes hang above the pillars, turning the dining car into a stage as gold particles fall.
The ceiling and pillar screens of Aurora Street are wrapped in layered red velvet curtains, with shadowy figures cast behind each pillar curtain as visitors look up into the red glow.
Chandeliers made of floating white plates and cutlery hang beneath a night-sky glass ceiling, while champagne glasses rise past red-curtained windows above gold tablecloths.
Streams of champagne spray across the arched glass ceiling as tiered strawberry cakes and bouquets of champagne glasses float on the side screens, and visitors raise their phones to film.
Pillar screens glow with gold, teal and blue Luminarie patterns above a crowd in silhouette.
A visitor films the Luminarie light tunnel on a phone beside a glowing patterned pillar.
Mandala rings and gold-teal light patterns fill the ceiling and pillars of the Luminarie tunnel.
Three planes trail yellow, purple and white smoke across an aurora sky above ribboned buildings.
Colored smoke streaks an aurora sky above European-style facades strung with bulbs and balloons.
Yellow, purple and white smoke fills the ceiling as three planes fly over bunting and balloons.
An inflatable toy soldier in a tall hat flies over the street, trailed by a pumpkin and a gift box.
A top-hatted pumpkin and a toy soldier fly across an aurora ceiling as a striped clown waves below.
Looking up as hearts, balloons and confetti burst from an open purple gift box into an aurora sky.
A visitor holds up a phone to film pink and blue fireworks bursting across the ceiling screen.
A striped clown waves from a balcony strung with bulbs and stars as a witch and soldier peek out.

Credit

Client
HYUNDAI FUTURENET
Location
INSPIRE Entertainment Resort 'Aurora' Street
Pre-production
APOLLON IMMERSIVE WORKS
Production
APOLLON IMMERSIVE WORKS • Studio LENNON

Frequently Asked Questions

Aurora Express is a three-minute Season 3 media show on Aurora Street at Inspire Entertainment Resort. It tells the story of a journey aboard an express train to the Aurora Festival as a musical in four acts.
Apollon Immersive Works led pre-production for Aurora Express and carried out production together with PEAK. The client was Hyundai Futurenet.
Where Season 1, Under the Blueland, told of a sea voyage and Season 2, Cosmic Odyssey, of a journey through space, Season 3, Aurora Express, follows a journey aboard an express train to the Aurora Festival. It is structured as a four-act musical, with different music leading the story in each act.
Aurora Express moves from Act 1, which opens with a train whistle, to Act 2 inside a train turned stage, Act 3 in a tunnel of luminarie, and Act 4 at the Aurora Festival. The mood builds alongside the music each time the space changes.
The music for Aurora Express was newly produced as musical numbers with vocals, in keeping with its musical concept. Different music for each act weaves together to drive the show, with objects trading songs in Act 2 and carnival rhythms and brass building to the festival's climax in Act 4.
Start by confirming the size of the space, the screen layout, and where visitors will stand or linger, then plan the story and scenes around those conditions. Share your space and content ideas through Let's Talk on our website to begin the review.

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