Giants of Land and Sea
Exhibit Media Installation
Producer | Editor | Animator
California Academy of Sciences
Visualization Studio
Giants of Land and Sea Exhibit 2018
Redwood Ascent
Format: 5-Screen Vertical Multi-Display Installation | Synchronized 9-Speaker Cubed Spatial Audio
Shake House
Format: Interactive Multi-Language Media Installations | Historical Digital Reconstruction | 4-Screen Pre-Show Display
Project Overview: Giants of Land and Sea is an immersive, sensory-driven exhibition exploring Northern California's dynamic natural wonders. Cheryl served as the Lead Editor and Producer for the exhibit’s primary digital attractions: Redwood Ascent and the Shake House earthquake simulator. Balancing high-fidelity technical execution with complex vendor operations and historical archiving, she orchestrated the post-production, custom engineering, digital matte painting, and asset localization frameworks required to bring these sensory experiences to life.
Fire Experience | Demo
Shake House Pre-Show | Demo
Redwood Ascent Attraction Entrance
Redwood Ascent: 5 vertical screen, semi-circle, for partial immersive experience
Control panel: Choose Video, then choose language
Construction of video screens and control panel
9-channel audio set-up for immersive spatial sound
Testing inset image design
Production & Technical Execution
Redwood Ascent: High-Resolution Post-Production: Personally executed the technical edit and color correction for the Redwood Ascent cinematic experience, optimizing a high-bandwidth pipeline utilizing 6K Raw CinemaDNG footage. Contracted specialized drone vendors and coordinated with the Save the Redwoods League, park rangers, and climbing scientists to secure regulatory clearance inside highly restricted old-growth habitats.
Redwood Ascent: Interactive Localization & Spatial Audio: Orchestrated a multi-language integration system (English, Spanish, Filipino, and Chinese) mapped to an on-floor visitor UI control panel that dynamically shifts video and SRT subtitle layouts based on user selection. Sourced and contracted specialized audio designers to score compositions for a 9-channel spatial audio array, guiding physical hardware installation with studio engineers.
Shake House: Historical Digital Reconstruction: Partnered with the studio’s lead compositor to execute complex visual effects archaeology. Researched 1989 municipal building records to isolate and digitally paint out contemporary structures from a modern Alamo Square photographic plate to achieve perfect historical accuracy. For the 1906 simulation, personally restored archival photography by removing film scratches, minimizing grain, and recreating missing visual details.
Shake House: Multi-Screen Refresh & Sound Design: Spearheaded the subsequent exhibit lifecycle refresh by editing and delivering a new 4-screen pre-show display illustrating seismic California landscapes. Directed the audio overhaul by re-recording the narrative script, re-editing sound effects, and remixing the musical score to modernize the simulator's sensory environmental pipeline.