The innovative possibilities of media challenges in museums are fascinating. Familiar stories can be illuminated in many different ways and new perspectives can be revealed. Last year, together with the agency Team Thöner, the Munich Museum Consultancy and media expert Andreij Vatter from spheromedia, we created a new, completely redesigned museum in Wolfratshausen near Munich.
Like many German cities, Wolfratshausen is incredibly multifaceted. Just outside Munich, the town has a thousand-year-old tradition of rafting, transporting timber, agricultural produce and merchandise across the Isar, Loisach and Danube rivers. The railway era put an end to this business model, but today tourists can experience enjoyable river trips down to Munich.
We tell the history of Wolfratshausen, characterised by Bavarian noble feuds, in an impressive animated film in the museum foyer – entertaining, impressive and historically accurate.
Particularly touching was the realisation of a media station for historical personalities from Wolfratshausen. Originally planned as a simple animated portrait presentation, we used innovative AI technology to bring illustrations to life. This allows different levels of quality, from ready-made movement patterns to lifelike mimic speech movements driven by voice files.
In one particular case, which tells the story of a young Jewish girl named Hertha Spatz during the Nazi regime, we went one step further. Instead of relying on prefabricated AI elements, we had the text spoken by an actress in front of the camera and used the resulting video to drive the animation. The result is convincing with its lifelike authenticity, based on verified life details.
Despite the client’s initial scepticism, the approach of choosing a particularly authentic and factually correct, emotive and appealing form was convincing. The station featuring Hertha Spatz is now the most visited in the new Wolfratshausen Museum.
We and our partners D-ID are proud to have realised the cinematic, media and interactive design of the museum.