The Magic Church, located just off of Old
Town Square in the heart of Prague, The Czech Republic is an attraction designed
by ITEC Productions and built inside a church dating from the 11th century.
Two distinct levels inside the church hold two very different, but thematically
linked, types of historical attractions.
The lower level of the church is a
walk-through style attraction depicting scenes from the work of Franz Kafka.
12 scenes taken either straight out of Kafka's literature or inspired by his
works are recreated with scenery, sound and light. Guests experience this
world by immersing themselves within the scene. Each room and scene is
very intimate, so the lights, scenery, and sound combine to form an environment
surrounding the guests and pulling them in. The intention of the
walk-through portion of the attraction is to give guests a taste of the world of
Franz Kafka, while making them think and ask questions about what they have
seen. This is not a Disney style, entertainment only, attraction.
All scenes were lit entirely by theatrical fixtures and in an extreme theatrical
style.
The upper level of the church, the former
sanctuary, consists of a large video-projection experience where lighting,
sound, projections, and special effects are used to pull the video experience
off the screen and directly involve the audience. The video is a 16 minute
documentary, following the history of Prague from it's earliest days through
it's current rebirth after the influence of the Soviet Union. In order to
bring the video off the screen and involve the audience more deeply in the film,
lighting and projection effects are used to place images and effects throughout
the room. When lightning is seen on screen, lightning appears in the room.
When the screen shows a conceptual image of Prague as visualized by the early
city planners, the walls of the interior of the church become a projection
surface covered with drawings and plans. When flames start at the bottom
of the screen to engulf a man tied to a stake, projected flames come off the
screen and engulfed the audience as well. The entire attraction made heavy
use of theatrical styles such as these, and relied heavily upon the lighting to
create the ultimate immersive experience for the audience.
