Return to Our Work

Pullman Porter Touchscreen

Education | Museum

The National Railroad Museum commissioned Balance Studios to concept, design, and develop the multimedia and branding/marketing components of their newest exhibit Pullman Porters: From Service to Civil Rights. The overall goal of the exhibit is to "edu-tain"--to create an entertaining and informational story/experience with an exhibit flow-thru that piques the interest and excitement of the visitor by providing an interactive versus spectator experience.

The Pullman Porter exhibit combines the traditional museum exhibit concept of models and artifacts with modern and, sometimes ultra-modern, technology. As part of the exhibit development, Balance concepted, designed, and programmed a historical interactive kiosk highlighting the music of the times, oral history video with actual Pullman Porters, as well as a short film: Memoirs of My Grandfather–a personal look at Emanuel Hurst through the eyes of his grandson. (Emanuel was a Pullman Porter that is the focal point of the exhibit as seen in the photo-real 3D animation avatar of Emanuel who is the exhibit spokesperson.)

Pullman Porter Brand

Balance developed and designed the comprehensive multi-media exhibit brand, which included logo design, brand standards, marketing and collateral design, and the “Did you know that...” concept.

Pullman Porter 3D Animation

Balance was also commissioned to recreate the Lake Mitchell railcar for fundraising and restoration purposes and constructed a photo-real model of the train. Both the interior and exterior of the train were developed and displayed in multiple media environments.

Watch Video

Emanuel Hurst: 3D AVATAR

Using a single black and white photograph, the artists and animators at Balance created a photo-realistic, virtual exhibit host, Emanuel Hurst, an actual Pullman Porter. The team used facial motion capture technology and their proprietary software to capture the overall head and body movement with the detail of emotions found in the mouth, face, and eyes finished with traditional hand animation.

The Emanuel Hurst AVATAR was used to create four videos deployed on four flat-screens placed throughout the Pullman Rail car. Each of the videos, actuated by pressing the “call porter’ button attached to the screens, addressed a social, cultural, or labor-based concept working to transform an old steel rail car to a socially relevant venue.

Watch Video

Pullman Porter Motion Media

Utilizing the exhibit concept, Balance combined the 3D Lake Mitchell and preliminary 3D AVATAR animation to create a fundraising video presentation. In addition, Pullman Porter oral history videos, introspective video of Emanuel’s grandson, and commercial

Watch Video

Pullman Porter Print

To establish a cohesive look and feel of the Pullman Porter exhibit, Balance designed the trade show brochures, four changing exhibit banners, and the Gallery Guide and insert.

Pullman Porter Interactive

Touch Screen Application

Featuring the fundraising video, Balance developed a website as a quick and accessible venue to send potential sponsors to learn more about the exhibit.

Balance also concepted, designed, and programmed a historical interactive kiosk highlighting music of the times, oral history video with actual Pullman Porters, as well as a short the film “Memoirs of My Grandfather”, a personal look at Emanuel Hurst through the eyes of his grandson.

Three web banner ads were designed to aid in the exhibit promotions.

Watch Video

The Idea

Cut through racial lines and tell the little known story of the group of men who paved the way for generations of successful African Americans.

Services

Balance embarked on a truly fused multi-media initiative including the concept, design, and development of the exhibit brand including the logo, banners and gallery guide. Introducing some of the newest technologies, Balance combined 3D animation technology to recreated the Lake Mitchell railcar in photo-real 3D for use as a fundraising and restoration reference. From there, the concept of a "virtual" Pullman Porter was accepted and commissioned. Working from a single black and white photograph from the 1940s, the Character Design and Animation Team designed, modeled and brought to digital life, Emanuel Hurst, an actual Pullman Porter, to act as the host of the exhibit.

Additional multi-media components include the concept, design and development of the interactive touch-screen history kiosk, fundraising and educational website (www.PullmanPorters.org), television commercials, web banner ads, and oral history films.

The Result

An enchanting look into the past through the tales of family members and service. Combining physically experiencing the trains and sharing the story through technology and animation.

“Our partnership with Balance Studios in the development the Pullman Porter exhibit created a relationship unlike anything I have ever experienced in more than 15 years in the museum field. Their involvement included developing a comprehensive multi-media marketing package that included an exhibit brand, logo, web banner ads, and collateral materials such as a gallery guide, a fund-raising video, television commercial, and dedicated website. They topped it off with a dynamic educational component that produced a first-rate video production, a touch screen kiosk that featured oral history components and audio clips of music performances.

Using 3D animation, Balance Studios brought our Pullman Porter exhibit to life. The three-dimensional avatar created by their capable animation team raised the level of our exhibit from good to world-class. Best of all, the process was painless. Using their proprietary software INSPIRE allowed for seamless communication between our staff and their key developers. The pairing of their avatar with our historic railcar and artifacts, and Balance Studios’ complete marketing and educational package provides visitors with a truly unique museum experience. Balance Studios provides a total exhibit and multimedia package that no one else offers, and they do it on time!”

Michael E. Telzrow
Executive Director
National Railroad Museum

Pullman Porter Touchscreen

Education | Museum

Pullman Porter Brand

Pullman Porter 3D Animation

Emanuel Hurst: 3D AVATAR

Pullman Porter Motion Media

Pullman Porter Print

Pullman Porter Interactive

The Idea

Services

The Result

Ready to Bring Your Ideas to Life?