ABOUT the Edutainer-Ray Heath- Images showcase- DIGITAL ART, graphic images, Ray Heath photography,

(Click the images to enlarge them)

the Edutainer®
An Interior Design professional with many years’ experience within a wide range of sectors, the greater part of my career has been spent applying my built-up skills in various roles for the conception. design and delivery of “edutainment” based experiences within visitor attractions.
What is “Edutainment”?
Much has been and is still being written about edutainment and particularly the pros and cons. A personal middle ground description is that it is a form of philosophy that often involves activity and/or entertainment that is structured in a multitude of ways and forms to educate as well as to amuse. Common mainstream mediums that apply edutainment based approaches includes:-

television programs,
computer and video games, films, music,
websites
multimedia software
visitor and entertainment attractions

Examples might be guided nature tours that entertain while educating participants on animal life and habitats, visitor attractions that deliver and reinforce determined messages by providing visitor experiences (images below from some of my projects), or a video game that teaches children conflict resolution, mathematics, reading skills etc.

The The The wide range of “mechanisms” I have utilised to deliver edutainment based experiences within visitor attractions includes:-

Interactives
Multimedia
Virtual & Augmented Reality
Animatronics
Sets – Props – themed areas & items
Sensory Interaction Elements
Cinema – film - video
Sound – Lighting - Special Effects
Dark Rides
3D-4D experiences
Cast Member/roleplay
video booth & role play entertainment
Graphics & images of all different sizes, shapes, materials and applications

A small number of examples of my designed and concept created edutainment works...below

The above listed EDUTAINMENT mechanisms have been utilised in most of the attractions projects undertaken and noted within my career RESUME:-
CONDENSED RESUME Ray Heath…M.A. , B.A
A professional design career within primarily 2 sectors/genre:-

Visitor Attractions – providing specialist consultancy, concepts, attraction planning, design & project management (for which the creation and use of images has been a major component in the delivery of “Edutainment” based experiences)
Mainstream Interior Design within various sectors - (offices, leisure & hospitality, exhibition design

RAY HEATH ASSOCIATES/The Edutainer
Formed my own consultancy to undertake commissions within the specialist visitor attractions, aquariums, theme park, exhibitions, commercial leisure & hospitality sectors in Europe & worldwide. mostly within large & complex multi-million pound developments including:-

AQUARIUMS...planning & complex high-end exhibition t-outs within:
• Istanbul Aquarium...new 85 million, 22,500 sq.m aquarium (3rd largest in Europe and 1st fully experiential “Edutainment” based aquarium) involving:-
• overall aquarium planning-areas provision & layouts, concept & storyline development (overall and individual areas) , visitor route design & areas exhibition t-out concepts, aquariological/tank theming design, concept design for large rainforest, design management of the t-out including design development works, tendering packages, appointment of contractors, site supervision.
• Lithuanian Sea Museum, Klaipeda, Lithuania…..aquarium layout & concept design, theming design in-tanks, storyline development & interpretation, design management to contractor appointment.
• Qatar National Museum UAE….aquarium element layout & concept design, theming origination, tank & visitor route theming concepts, interpretation/storyline.
• Inatura Natural History Centre, Dornburn in Austria….aquatic concept & exhibition design.
• Neptun Oceanarium, St. Petersburg, Russia……aquarium layout design & concepts, exhibition t-out designs, in-tank theming designs, interpretation.
• Wildscreen World @ Bristol (UK)…… aquarium & vivarium displays concepts.
• Bournemouth Oceanarium (UK)….. concepts & design, including shop & restaurant.

Other RHA VISITOR ATTRACTIONS PROJECTS

• Terra Mitica Theme Park in Spain…… new $350 million theme park….project design management requiring specialist knowledge of the creation, installation & operation of sophisticated & complex audio-visual & multimedia attractions/elements, of a vast range of interpretation types, of live performances & their technical operation, of interactives & animatronics; providing theming & t-out consultancy, full-time site presence & planning the works of the Operations Director’s site team & their supervision, plus of the works for the 7 main complex artistic attractions in the park.
• Spaceport visitor attraction in Liverpool, UK...full design management commission for this complex space travel themed attraction. To manage on the client’s behalf, the exhibition services provided by others for this new complex visitor attraction including approval & signing off concept development stages, design development material, design details & specifications, audio-visual & multimedia material; interpretation, graphics
• F.A. Football Hall of Fame (UK) visitor attraction…..concept & detail, interpretation & storyline, design & site management of a number of areas.
• Feasibility study & design concepts for a new live otter attraction at the Exploris Aquarium, Portaferry, Northern Ireland
• Borrowers Attraction…UK….concepts for a proposed new visitor attraction based on the “Borrowers” childrens’ fantasy novel by Mary Norton
• Earth Explorer, concept development for this new attraction for Merlin Entertainments.

PRE Ray Heath Associates/the EDUTAINER

Senior Development & Design Manager, Vardon Attractions (now Merlin Entertainments Ltd, 2nd largest attractions company in the world after Disney)
I was responsible for the development, display concept & content of their vast number of visitor attractions which included 27 Sea Life Centres in the UK & Europe; London & York Dungeons, Nature Quest mammals attraction (now The New Forest Wildlife Park), new seal pool attraction at Scarborough (UK); for new and refurbishment project budgets & programmes.
The largest & most complex development undertaken for SeaLife was the new National SeaLife Centre in Birmingham (building designed by Foster Partners) as well as new and refurbished aquariums around the UK and western Europe, and for 2 Dungeon attractions.
Leisure Division Manager, Tibbatts Associates, Birmingham (UK) responsible for the design and project management of multi-million pound multi-leisure complexes (themed bars, restaurants, nightclubs, 10-pin bowls, bingo, multiplex cinemas, retail operations) for major blue chip leisure companies & prestigious hotels. Project Undertaken include: The Point at Bracknell multi-leisure complex for Bass leisure & Stoke Festival Park multi-leisure complex for Rank Leisure.
Senior Designer . Austin Smith Lord architects, London Undertook the design & project management for numerous major office fit-outs, mostly in the City of London for major accountancy rms & consultancies, including the largest office fit-out project in the UK (880,000 sq.m) in 1984/5 (new headquarters for Coopers & Lybrand in the City of London), responsibility for interior design throughout the development, project programmes & fit-out supervision
Senior Designer, Robin Wade Design Associates, Richmond, Surrey (UK) Design & project management for a number of major museum projects including the Egyptian Sculpture Galleries at the British Museum, new permanent archaeological gallery displays in Dorchester and Scunthorpe, Irish Whiskey Museum and Visitor Centre in Dublin,
Exhibition Ofcer, Department of Trade and Industry. Melbourne, Australia Responsible for design management, setting-up, t-out construction management for Australian Trade displays around the world.
Senior Exhibition Designer, Peter Hutchison Display Group. Melbourne, Australia Senior Exhibition Designer for Australia's premier exhibition company, my major clients were General Motors/Holden, The Australian Wool Corporation, Shell. Responsible for the 3-D & 2-D exhibition design for major exhibitions around Australia for these large multi-national organisations.

MY LONG-TERM IMAGES PROJECT:-
Build and maintain the Edutainer IMAGES SHOWCASE...showcased on this website and constantly being refreshed with new images

Joe Rosenthal image

THE POWER OF THE STILL IMAGE

It is the strength of the single image that has always fascinated me, for it generally has to stand alone on its own merits and seek, even demand attention, interpretation and appreciation, without relying on engineered “bells' whistles or the supporting stimuli of video frames.

THE STILL IMAGE
Taking still images enables you generally to move around the subject looking for different angles that you want to capture for a multitude of purposes and uses. With video you more readily find a spot and let the action move and you capture it on moving film. A still image captures a brief second whereas a video captures an event sequence. In the same amount of time given to a still shooter and a video shooter the still shooter will generally end up with more variety of images captured and spend more time on the examination, interpretation and the final state production of each individual image; an image that is not relying on masses of supportive “frames” to support that special moment.
Appreciation of a still image demands pause and an indeterminant period of reflection, whereas with video the motion can wash over you, requiring freeze-frame, slow motion or replay for a more indepth evaluation of the most powerful moments. A still image is generally “a capture in isolation”, relying on the strength of that capture to provide sufficient information to tell any intended story.

Referring to the image on the left - it can be argued that still images are remembered better than any video. One striking example is the Joe Rosenthal still image of the American flag being raised on the Pacific Island of Iwo Jima during WW2. A video was also shot of the event but it is the dramatic still image that is the iconic record of that event in history.

MY IMAGES
For many years in my professional career I have marvelled at and used images produced by others. With this showcase I am embarking upon my own personally exciting journey in image creation.

I dedicate more time to and particularly enjoying taking what I think to be an appropriate image with the potential for “stretching” that image into often many versions of abstraction, to produce - DIGITAL ART.
If my images , and particularly the digital art abstractions, entice you to pause, study and even visualise unexpected objects and elements within the subjectmatter (which I find is often the case), and that doing so both delights and entertains you, then I will be happy.

PAGES CONTENT OF WHERE MY IMAGES ARE LOCATED...IN IMAGES SHOWCASE

NEW IMAGES & site updates
Visit the tab..."NEW IMAGES" in the top navigation ribbon(possibly in "MORE") for a list of what changes and new images have been added , when and where they are located.

ABSTRACT-Graphic Images - Abstract to varying degrees:-

REALISM - moderate abstraction
DIGITAL ART - stretching the image (usually a realism image) in a multitude of generally investigative ways and utilising various techniques, the results often grouped into a series of versions of the same image

REALISM Abstraction Example

DIGITAL ART - Abstraction Example

HDR (High Dynamic Range) - Appropriate images either selected for or taken using HDR techniques, showcased within a growing list of categories:-

REALISM
URBEX - decaying urban subjects

HDR Examples

NATURE - The list of categories will grow and be populated and include:-

LANDSCAPE -
SEASONS
GEOLOGY
SKY

LANDSCAPE Example

GEOLOGY Example

LIFE

The list of categories will grow and be populated and include:-

FLORA
CREATURES
TRAVEL
PEOPLE

EXAMPLE of LIFE - Plants

EXAMPE of LIFE - Insects

BUILT-MADE

The list of categories will grow and be populated and include:-

ARCHITECTURE - buildings
CITYSCAPES
INDUSTRIAL
INTERIORS
ENGINEERING
MANUFACTURE
OBJECTS

ARCHITECTURE - Example

CITYSCAPE - Example

LONGFORD - Derbyshire...an on-going chronical of features and events in the lovely village and area of Longford in Derbyshire UK, including a showcase for Liz's wonderful gardens, flowers and plants.