them of what The Explorer’s Club stands for: discovery! Will we be controlled by superstition, or step out boldly in the name of science? The stepped pyramid was part of the theme graphic and set the tone and mood for the entire Explorer’s Club Annual Dinner as soon as the audience entered the ballroom!

    By projecting a very high resolution image using the Dataton Watchout System on a 40ft X 16ft screen on the main stage behind a real pyramid, we knew the sheer size of the monolith would transport the viewing audience to wherever there images brought us. Large panoramic vistas of the nighttime jungle with stars created the illusion that one was lying on a hill looking up from between the trees and the warm jungle floor.

    Solution #2: Next, was to extend the jungle from the main stage to the surrounding square ballroom and create the illusion that we were somewhere else. This required the VCI team to think out-of-the-box, not confine the event to just the main stage but utilize the entire Waldorf + Astoria ballroom as a living, breathing planetarium…filled with the moon, stars and planetary vistas as an extension of the vistas on the main stage. The audience had to be transported from the heart of New York City to the reality of an ancient civilization—the surrounding jungle and mysticism that was The Maya! But imagery would not be enough. The final task was to elevate the theme of 2012 from jungles and vistas of Mexico to the festivities of a proud and mystical people. It had to be seamless and organic…and appear and disappear as needed. We accomplished this by building a series of collapsible muslin sheets assembled into a pyramid that we could project images on when in use, and collapse out-of-sight when not. This required timing to live Mayan drummers and dancers in authentic costume, (flown in from Mexico for the event by the Explores Club), and then a disappearing act every time we wanted the audience to bring their focus back to the main stage. The result was a seamless tapestry of images that created the subliminal background for the entertainment, and brought the Mayan Prophecy to the rest of the room. This was an Event that we know they will be talking about for years to come.