Spirits of Time

Themed Entertainment Creative Workshop Series—Pitch Deck Program

Top Left: Melissa Carin, Producer / Top Center: Dave Cobb, Mentor / Top Right: Kali Fuller, Concept Illustrator / Bottom Left: Kyle Branch, Graphic Designer / Bottom Center: Arielle Spencer, Concept Illustrator / Bottom Right: Alec Zbornak, Show Wri… — Top Left: Melissa Carin, Producer / Top Center: Dave Cobb, Mentor / Top Right: Kali Fuller, Concept Illustrator / Bottom Left: Kyle Branch, Graphic Designer / Bottom Center: Arielle Spencer, Concept Illustrator / Bottom Right: Alec Zbornak, Show Writer

The Themed Entertainment Creative Academy is an organization that was formed by established professionals in the themed entertainment industry in order to support students and young professionals who lost out on career-enhancing opportunities due to COVID-19. The TECA seeks “to unify our industry, facilitate peer support in a safe and inclusive space, and provide educational outreach to both students, underserved industry newcomers, and industry professionals.”

The organization’s first workshop program was the “Pitch Deck Program”, which I participated in. Out of over 150 applicants, 40 participants were selected, forming teams of five, plus an industry mentor. Teams had four weeks to develop a pitch for a themed entertainment related project using a randomly selected attraction type and attraction theme.

As my team’s graphic designer, I took on a variety of responsibilities, including logo design, presentation deck design, icon design, and poster design. I was also highly involved in the creative development of the attraction’s story. Throughout the project, my teammates and I held frequent check-in meetings to keep the project moving forward and address any questions or concerns we had.

My team was given the unique challenge of designing a special effects show involving the concept of time travel. Thus, Spirits of Time was born.

Logo by Kyle Branch

Spirits of Time is a special effects live show envisioned as a new and exciting attraction for a world-class theme park.

In developing this attraction, my team wanted to avoid the clichés that might be expected from a time travel themed show. We wanted to avoid using time machines, sci-fi technology, or steampunk environments. Instead, we found ourselves asking big “what if?” questions. We became attracted to the idea of conveying the very essence of time—an abstract concept—in a tangible, physical way.

We started to wonder… What if time consisted of three spirits? Three siblings, perhaps?

Meet Past, Present, and Future—the three spirits of time.

Background illustration by Kyle Branch; Character illustration by Kali Fuller

Past is the oldest sibling. He’s a nostalgic sentimentalist, a major history buff, and a total know-it-all. Past looks down on his other siblings for not being significant or memorable enough, and most would say he’s a bit snobby and pretentious.

Present is the middle sibling in every aspect, and she is the kind-hearted protagonist of our story. Present often feels overlooked by her siblings, who both regard themselves as being far superior to her. However, she’s hopeful that she can prove her place in the family.

Future is the youngest sibling. They are easily bored by Past and Present and are all about what’s new and cutting-edge. In their mind, the only exciting things are the things ahead of us.

When one day a group of humans enter these spirits’ magical Time Sanctum, Present may finally have a chance to prove her worth—to her siblings, to the world, and to herself. In a timeless sibling rivalry, Past, Present, and Future vie for the guests’ approval through impressive displays of power.

Guests approach an art nouveau-inspired marquee which invites them toward a massive, crystalline building in the distance—the Time Sanctum. The building is forged out of stone and rainbow glass and topped with a stained glass canopy of twinkling stars. Among other things, it contains an ancient library chronicling every moment that ever has happened and ever will happen.

The mix of strong classical stone architecture and fantastical sparkling crystal and stained glass leads guests to understand they are entering an important space in a world that is not entirely their own.

The attraction is comprised of a queue, a pre-show, a free-roaming exploration zone, and a final theater show.

Attraction plan rendering by Kali Fuller

“Present’s Study” queue space rendering by Kali Fuller

“Past’s Study” queue space rendering by Kali Fuller

“Future’s Study” queue space rendering by Kali Fuller

In the queue, guests work their way through three towering glass atriums, each themed as a different sibling’s personal study. Their respective spaces are perfected to their individual tastes through their favorite colors and the fragments of time they hold dear to them. Past’s and Future’s are more extravagant than Present’s—Past’s study is full of antique artifacts he has collected over time and Future’s is decorated with designs of the hereafter.

After guests work their way through each of their personal reading rooms, they file into a standing theater (pre-show) with an elevated balcony stage. A wall of curtains drape underneath the balcony, and three life-size portraits of Past, Present, and Future hang above it.

The siblings magically step out of their individual paintings Present clumsily gets stuck on her way out, her arms flailing about as her siblings laugh at her.

The spirits explain their long-running dispute. The guests have been invited to the Time Sanctum in order to help settle a family rivalry over which sibling is most worthy of assuming the title of Time Master, taking control of the Fabric of Space and Time. The decision will be made through a final battle of powers in the Time Observatory.

Before guests travel to the Observatory for the final battle, they are invited to freely explore the Library of Time. In this library, they can learn more about the feats and powers of each spirit to decide who they think should be deemed Time Master. The siblings clap their hands and the curtains in front of them open up to reveal the massive, sprawling Library of Time, and the guests are set loose to explore.

Interactives icons by Kyle Branch; Library isometric rendering by Kali Fuller

The library is a free-roaming space with interactive experiences, similar to Disney California Adventure’s Animation Building or Disneyland’s Innoventions. The interactive library labyrinth is divided into three sections and is complete with dozens of unique, interactive vignettes, akin to those found in the queues for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train attractions at Magic Kingdom. There is far too much to see in a single visit, which will incentivize guests to return again and again to find something they missed before.

The interactives showcase the wonders of Past, the might of Future, and the simplicity of Present. The library stretches to infinity above guests, filled with everything ever written and all that ever will be. The three siblings bicker, crack jokes, and interact with the guests from a network of MC-Escher-like balcony catwalks that stretch across the library above the guests.

In Past’s section…
- Guests wander through immersive Paleolithic caves with glowing, animated paintings that light up, as if they are being drawn in real time.
- Guests walk past shadow silhouettes of Mark Antony and Cleopatra dancing in the Egyptian night.
- Guests watch as digital projections of the first fireworks in China shoot out of books and explode above their heads.
In Future’s section…
- Guests interact with animatronic robots as they lead political town halls discussing unusual talking points of the future.
- Interactive virtual aging mirrors show guests what they’ll look like in 50 years.
- Guests engage with funny advertisements for products of the future that play on massive hanging screens.
In the center of the room is Present’s only display: a mirror, beautiful but simple and easily overlooked, reflecting the most powerful thing in Present’s power—you.

After 10 minutes of free exploration, all of the lights start to flicker and a swirly galaxy of stars is projected onto the walls. Past, Present, and Future inform the guests that it’s time to enter the final showroom, the Time Observatory, where the Time Master will be determined.

Time Observatory rendering by Arielle Spencer

As guests enter this final theater show space, they find themselves in a beautiful, circular theater room with a glass domed ceiling displaying a view of the stars. Hanging in the center, almost floating, is the magical, the mystical… Fabric of Space and Time! Sure, it may just look like a normal blanket, but it sure is powerful.

In a final cocky attempt to woo over the audience, Past and Future each get one chance to wield the Fabric of Space and Time to prove their own worthiness. They arrogantly deny Present from joining in on the competition.

Billowing the Fabric in the wind, Future launches the audience to the world of tomorrow, where futuristic cityscapes loom and drones fly overhead.

Not to be outdone, Past summons a giant dinosaur, a mix of animatronics and puppetry, which enters and roars fiercely at the audience as the outside environment shifts to the Jurassic period.

After these two acts fail to determine a clear victor, Past and Future’s cocky one-upmanship leads to a fully fledged tug-of-war over the Fabric of Space and Time. Suddenly, the Fabric rips, releasing a time storm across the entire Observatory. It’s a hurricane of history as every single moment from all of humanity floods into the theater. A deluge of wind, rain, lightning, and thunder strikes the theater, which begins to crumble in on itself.

In the midst of turmoil, present realizes her importance. She sees the power of taking a pause and remembering that all you can control is in the here and now. She uses her powers to freeze the moment—all of the chaos pauses instantaneously. She walks through these suspended effects stuck in time and begins to return everything to its rightful state, alleviating the mess her siblings have caused. At long last, she finally realizes her purpose and her value!

Her siblings, too, come to realize that she is just as important as they are, and that each of them are an integral part of time. They join together and use their combined powers to mend the Fabric, and suddenly the theater walls disappear, transporting guests into an infinite cosmos. Cascading lights and starry orbs drop down from the ceiling, and the audience is consumed by an infinity room.

The siblings realize that together, and with Present as their guide, their abilities are infinite—just like time itself.

As the experience winds down, guests will walk away remembering a few things. They will recall being dazzled by cutting-edge special effects. They will be intrigued by the multi-part theatrical medium, combining a standing pre-show, an interactive exploration room, and a show-stopping final theater show.

But above all that, guests will leave with a clear understanding of the show’s thesis: the idea that the past is beautiful and the future is exciting, but the only thing we can control is the present.

As guests leave the final theater, they may notice a similar mirror to Present’s mirror in the Library of Time. In the mirror, guests can see the faint reflection of Past, Present, and Future, no longer divided, but rather joined together as a united front.

Below the mirror, they may even notice a small plaque with a poem etched into it. The message of this poem is what we believe to be the true spirit of time.

Team cards designed by Arielle Spencer and Kali Fuller

It was a pleasure to work on this project alongside Kali Fuller, Melissa Carin, Alec Zbornak, and Arielle Spencer, all under the expert guidance of Dave Cobb.

Having the ability to work on a project related to themed entertainment design in a time where opportunities in that realm are limited was incredibly fulfilling. The fact that it was with this special group of people made it even more amazing.

In a time where it’s so tempting to just romanticize the future and daydream about pleasant memories from the past instead of accepting where I am currently at, this project was exactly what I needed. It reminded me of the importance of making the best of one’s current situation—truly being present and welcoming all that comes with what’s right in front of me.

I’m deeply appreciative to the Themed Entertainment Creative Academy for the incredible experience, and also to my team for making the “now” more bearable.