The Dark Sea, a new ride at Italian theme park Cinecittà World, is a roller coaster journey through Dante’s interpretation of hell which ends with a vertical free fall of 20 meters. The visual elements for this ride are stunning depicting visuals of hell; however, the sound was equally as important to create the fear factor and recreate the imagination of Dante’s inferno. 26 x KK52s and 12 x KMT12s are installed to substantially help the yield of the low frequencies and create a thundering boom for the fear factor.
More details from K-array (www.k–array.com)
Cinecittà is a large film studio in Rome that is considered the home of Italian cinema and continues to be used for major cinema productions and even Hollywood films today. On the 24 July 2014 the studios opened a theme park to immerse visitors in the glories of Italian cinema from post neo-realism to Dolce Vitta Western Sagas.
However, Cinecittà World is not only a celebration of the golden age of true Cinecittà, it is indeed a real amusement park with roller coasters, water rides and cinema style experiences inspired by the great films and designed by three-time Oscar winner Dante Ferretti, with the soundtrack of the unforgettable (and also award-winning) Ennio Morricone played throughout the park including the iconic soundstages.
Among many of the new and exciting rides at Cinecittà World, one ride called the Dark Sea brings the imagination of Dante’s inferno to life by an adrenaline filled roller coaster ride for the family. It is a journey through Dante’s interpretation of hell which ends with a vertical free fall of 20 meters. The visual elements for this ride are stunning depicting visuals of hell however, the sound was equally as important to create the fear factor and recreate the imagination of Dante’s inferno. “For the sound equipment in the Dark Sea ride we chose K-array,” explained Tommaso Geraci from Unità C1, the company that designed and built this particular installation: “Each section of the ride is designed ‘scene by scene’ and it was important to direct sound with precision and power. Spectators in the cars are guided through this dark and mysterious world full of details where sensors trigger new scenes throughout the ride. The sound is used to surprise, build suspense and create a lifelike atmosphere to accompany the visual aspects for the complete experience of Dante’s hell.”
During the journey of the ride 26 x KK52s and 12 x KMT12s are installed to substantially help the yield of the low frequencies and create a thundering boom for the fear factor. The scene that required greater attention was the free fall which concludes the journey. It was difficult to direct the sound towards the audience as they are hanging from the top of the ride at the highest point. To accompany the giant visual in front of the audience before they plummet 20 metres below the sound had to be powerful and run right throughout the audience, here they positioned the speakers from above and with no reflections below them the fear was created through the power of sound.
If you love the thrill, and maybe your even intrigued by an example of perfect sound performance in these environments, you can not miss the Dark Sea of Cinecittà World.
“We chose the Italian brand known for its quality of directivity and compact size that was dynamic enough for our ambitious ride design.“ said Tommaso Geraci, Unità C1
