How new camera technology could put the thrill into theme park marketing in 2016

Traditional still photos may be losing appeal but a new generation of on-ride video cameras could drive new marketing revenues. Andrew Hennigan reports

For those that could afford it, a ride on a roller coaster or any other white-knuckle experience usually ended waiting in line to buy a souvenir photo snapped by a fixed camera at the top of the most terrifying drop.

Today, however, it’s a different story. Consumers are used to GoPro video from helmet cameras, and the instant gratification that comes with social sharing of these means that the theme park ‘still’ is losing relevance.

Visitors might be tempted to take their own pictures and videos using their smartphone. However, for safety reasons handheld cameras are invariably banned. This is partly because of liability concerns; a smartphone falling from a speeding car could injure another visitor. Worse still, earlier this year a visitor was killed by a coaster car at the Cedar Point park in Ohio while trying to recover a dropped phone from the tracks.

Because of the obvious dangers most ride operators enforce the ban and most riders are happy to comply. A few still attempt to shoot their own point-of-view videos and post them to YouTube, but theme park bloggers like The Coaster Critic refuse to post any video made without authorisation.

Early adopters

Some roller coaster operators still use the traditional still photo equipment, but a few years ago some early adopters rolled out systems based on video cameras mounted on the cars.  

At Thorpe Park in the UK, a system like this from Picsolve has been in used on rides like The Saw, The Ride and The Swarm, capturing video recorded during the ride from a camera mounted on the car in front. Visitors buy a copy burned to DVD or on a USB key in the souvenir shop at the end of the ride.

But these systems that rely on DVD or USB delivery of the finished video are becoming less practical as disk players are replaced by streaming video. The inability to immediately share video is also frustrating to users. However, now a new generation of on-ride camera systems made by Picsolve, Socrates Imaging, Fotosmile and TapeMyDay are coming to theme parks.

Typical of the new generation is Fotosmile’s new Videomobile system, which captures video during the ride and automatically edits this into a short film, available to visitors at the end of the ride. They can connect to an online store, buy the video and download it to their smartphone or tablet.

From there it can be shared to YouTube or Facebook. Visitors benefit by being able to share the experience with their friends while the memory is still fresh; ride operators gain extra publicity from the social sharing and extra revenue from video sales.

Ready for take off

Shareable on-ride videos aren’t common but they are likely to take off in 2016 as operators install equipment for the new season. But there are even more innovations coming soon to theme parks that promise to boost the enjoyment of riders and also generate new revenue streams from video sales, advertising and sponsorship. Developers are working on new versions with higher-definition video, more camera angles and more sophisticated editing. But some companies are looking even further ahead.

One of the most intriguing is TapeMyDay, a Dutch company which promises to do more than simply record a single ride. TapeMyDay captures video of visitors who have opted in for the service throughout the entire duration of their stay in a theme park, using face recognition technology to identify when they are on camera. At the end of the visit the system automatically edits a souvenir video, combining clips from all of the rides with panoramic shots and other highlights of the day, logos and possible sponsor messages. The video can later be downloaded from a website for sharing through social media.

This video then becomes a souvenir of the entire visit, not just a single ride. This same technology is likely to find applications in other tourist markets, where a ready-to-use souvenir video is going to be appealing to many consumers. It will allow consumers to enjoy their stay without having to hold a camera all day, while creating new revenues that didn’t exist before.

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