Garou Blancan , XYZ ’ s resident lighting specialist , can ’ t help but chuckle as he recalls his introduction to the project . He was invited into the office of XYZ partner Jacques Larue and told , “ This time , Garou , we ’ re doing a show about rocks .”
Despite the initial surprise , it quickly became business as usual for the team at XYZ , an audiovisual design , sales , and integration firm with offices in Montreal and Quebec City , as well as Mexico and Dubai . The company has built its international reputation by taking on a diverse array of projects , specializing in sophisticated AV systems for museums and exhibitions , theatres
and event venues , corporate and education facilities , and of course , immersive multimedia experiences .
Larue was the lead designer behind Tektonik and explains how his firm was initially involved : “ Basically , they had $ 1 million to create an immersive experience based on Percé . A lot of people come and focus on Percé Rock in the St . Lawrence , but they have 23 other geologic sites around Percé , so they wanted to let people know – the local population and visitors – about all of the unique and interesting locations they can visit .”
The geopark put out a request for proposals with only that loose concept and invited the bidders to present their ideas . Drawing on their history of producing media-rich immersive experiences , XYZ built a concept with a 1920s aesthetic combining ample projection , distributed audio , and lighting effects that , in several cases , respond to stimuli from visitors and the overall environment .
“ I think we really hit the balance between an exciting show and a museum exhibit ,” Larue offers . “ The approach is quite theatrical , with visitors moving into the space and triggering different multimedia sequences .”
The idea behind the 1920s motif was to go back to a time when the public was generally curious and excited about geology , and when in fact the region played host to a major international geology conference , making for a unique contrast with the prehistoric subject matter on one side and brand new technologies delivering the experience on the other .
After being awarded the contract , the team at XYZ had to tap a local historian and geologists from the area for their team . For a company so well versed in the worlds of technology , integration , and architecture – fields where “ exactness ” is ubiquitous and vital – the geologic consultation in particular presented some unique challenges .
“ We actually had input from two different geologists ,” Larue shares , “ and each of them had their own ways of interpreting the reality and history and geology of the region . I ’ d thought geology was a fairly exact science , but found out that ’ s not the case . So we found ourselves in the
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