Entertainment of the Future
Fulldome Movie Industry and Animation Production Environment in China.

What would you think about a movie screen that surrounds you; wouldn’t that be a great experience? Wouldn’t you, the viewer, for the first time in movie history really feel to be part of a movie?

“Some day in the not too distant future you’ll be able to go to a movie and the movie will be all around you. The movie will be over your head, it will be 360 degrees around you”
- Steven Spielberg, TIME Magazine, 2006

This new movie experience is called fulldome movie format. With this format, the image is projected on a 360° hemispherical screen (Dome, Planetarium) which effectively envelopes the audience making them the center of the action and, in so doing, creates an emotional experience for the audience that far exceeds that of conventional flat screen projections.

Robinson Steinke (石洛宾), a participant of METP3 (EU-China Managers Exchange and Training Programme) is working on this revolutionary technique.
Over the last three years he and his partners developed a portable 360° movie screen (event dome), the projection system, the content, and are currently setting up their business in China.

Business Environment:
The growth of the fulldome Movie Industry in china is currently very robust. In the last years several Chinese Planetariums incorporated the fulldome movie format and new Sciences and technology museums that were for instance build in cities like Beijing, Guangzhou and Macao were also equipped with this technology.
The most venues are located in Planetariums, Science centers and Museums so the content that is produced is traditionally for educational purpose.
This is where Robinson Steinke wants to go in to a different direction.
China nowadays also is playing a prominent role in hosting major Events, Trade Fairs and Exhibitions. Last year the Beijing Olympics, next year the Expo 2010 in Shanghai and the Asian Games in Guangzhou. For these events this format would be a great medium, using the fulldome technology in special-venues on trade shows for instance for the tourism industry, corporate events, art installations or Edutainment (educational entertainment) shows.
The modular 360° system (event dome) that was developed over the last years can be build up on site (indoor, outdoor) and the product range reaches from smaller dome segments up to full dome projection systems for more than 100 people. For smaller events or road shows there is also an inflatable dome available, this system can be build up in just a few minutes.

Animation Production Environment
There are still a lot of entry barriers for foreign companies in the media industry, but China’s incredibly rich history, culture and its diversity is a great treasure for new and different stories.
The Chinese animation market is for instance enormous. The primary consumer segment, China’s citizens under the age of 16, number more than 370 million. For comparison, that’s about 80 percent of the population of the European Union.
Fulldome movies are mostly animated; and the Chinese government is currently re-shaping the domestic animation and creative industry in a significant way.
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) encourage the development of this industry with strongly supporting policies. By mid 2009 there were 18 national animation industry bases and 8 national animation instruction and research bases throughout mainland China. The number of degree programs in animation has grown to a total of nearly 450 universities, and over 1200 universities offer some sort of animation education.
Animation in China is flourishing. China produced 131,042 minutes of animation in 2008, a 28-percent increase over the previous year.

Conclusion
The growth of the fulldome movie industry, the prominent role in being the host of major events and the fast and rapid development of the animation industry were major factors in choosing china as a place to develop this business model here.
The mixture between western and eastern culture can be a great benefit that can push creativity and innovation a few steps further.

StepFish now offers Time Lapse Content Production.
• Fulldome Movie Format (resolution up to 3400 x 3400)
• High Resolution Time Lapse (18 megapixel, 5184 x 3456 pixel)

Relaunch of the new StepFish film production website. In the future we hope to bring you further Industry and Company News.