Page 38 - Flathead Beacon // 6.1.16

EVENTS 40 MOVIE REVIEWS 41 SIDE DISH 44 FACES & PLACES 45 PAWS & CLAWS 46 Arts&Entertainment
SHARING HIS REALITY
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cruised down the run, body poised forward, eyes search- ing in wonder.
The key fact here is that I haven’t actually strapped downhill skis on my feet in 20 years, but at Keith Brown’s revolutionary 4D virtual reality theater, I was right there, with a full 360 degrees of visibility around me thanks to the Oculus company’s virtual reality headset.
Just as we hit the bottom of the run, we were taken else- where – a whitewater rafting trip on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, landing a 16-pound rainbow trout on a boat, even riding massive, imaginary waterslides to learn about the wild legend of the Flathead Lake Monster. The breeze brushed my face, Brown’s dog running by touched my legs, and the smell of pine lled the air during an elk hunt.
But taking the headset o and stepping out of the seat programmed to move and respond in sync with the video, I’m back at Montana Adventure Stop in Columbia Heights, a new venture from Brown.
“There’s a lot of people who come here who would love to be on a mountain peak in Glacier, but can’t get there,” Brown said. “I can get you there.”
The eight-seat theater is located in a remodeled space in the back of the Cenex station in the Heights, where Brown has transformed what used to be an automotive garage into a scene straight from any Montanan’s back- yard, with picnic tables sitting under full animal mounts in river-rock settings.
The gas station’s convenience store opens into this large space, and the line for the 4D movie experience forms from there. If the idea of sitting in Brown’s back- yard rings some bells, it’s because he had a television series called Montana: My Backyard, which explored the beauty and adventure of life here.
SPRING INTO SAVINGS
KEITH BROWN PIONEERS VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY IN COLUMBIA FALLS THEATER,
CLAYING INTERACTIVE FILMS ABOUT LIFE IN THE FLATHEAD
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BY MOLLY PRIDDY
OLUMBIA FALLS – It was a perfect bluebird day for skiing Blacktail Mountain in Lakeside – the sun was out, the view was incredible, and the hill was fast. I felt the wind on my face as I
Keith Brown, owner of the Montana Adventure Stop in Columbia Falls. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
“This is, as far as I know, the world’s rst virtual real- ity theater,” Brown said. “This stu will be pretty com- mon in another year.”
He’s almost right. Samhoud Media in Amsterdam beat him to the punch in March, but otherwise, Brown’s endeavor is one of few. Earlier in May, movie-theater giant IMAX announced plans to open six virtual reality theaters this year, and Six Flags has a dedicated virtual
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reality roller coaster.
Montana Adventure Stop is slightly di erent, though,
because the entire experience is wireless; the whole the- ater is controlled through an iPad. Brown will unveil the theater experience to the public mid-June. He’s hoping to have it ready by Father’s Day.
A technology businessman by trade, Brown has been involved in some of the biggest websites on the Internet,
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