Situated in the network of 60-meter long secret tunnels, 26 meters underground behind the White Cliffs of Dover, the attraction makes extensive use of AV technology to present the events of May 26 to June 4, 1940. In the highlight of the attraction, 23 projectors create large images that run the entire length of the space augmented by lighting effects.
Since opening the attraction in June, English Heritage has seen an increase in net income, paying and non-paying visitors and membership subscriptions.
Electrosonic worked with Denmark-based Kvorning Design & Communication, which designed and produced the new attraction, to overcome challenges that included working in a historic site, dealing with the climate underground and projecting images in spaces where no surface is straight.
“Operation Dynamo: Rescue from Dunkirk” takes groups of up to 30 people at a time through eight zones featuring original newsreels, recordings, veterans’ testimonies and special effects, which portray the rescue of the British army from Dunkirk, France – a rescue that was planned in the Dover Castle tunnels.
The show begins in The War Begins cinema, an underground briefing room with a mock 16mm projector and blackboard — which is actually an LCD panel covered in black gauze. Visitors then walk through tunnels to get to The Battle of France presentation. Two walls of the large underground space show archival footage and animated graphics are projected onto a low table in the center of the room by a Panasonic 6300 projector. As the presentation ends, and the crisis builds, images spill over the table to fill the pyramid-shaped sides of the table.
The highlight of the attraction is “Rescue from Dunkirk Casemate Z,” set in one of the 60-meter long tunnel spaces or casemates. Large images are displayed on the entire length of the tunnel via 23 Optoma EX785 DLP projectors, computer-controlled to ensure synchronization and to warp and blend the images into one long panorama.
Lighting effects augment the projections, which include fighter planes that appear to zoom down the entire length of the tunnel against a backdrop of ships and small boats. In another sequence, silhouetted photos give the eerie feeling that those planning the evacuation are still present in the tunnels.
After the show, visitors can linger in the Aftermath zone areas that depict how the tunnels were used following the evacuation, especially during the Battle of Britain. Here, LED lighting simulates filament lamps, and the exhibits are ambient audio, display panels and video “labels” that display films showing how the spaces were used during the war. All have English, French and German soundtracks.
Additional interactive displays overlook Dover Harbor in the exhibition space above the gift shop. There, a series of listening points allow visitors to hear the oral testimonies of veterans.
For more information, please visit www.electrosonic.com.
