In the movie The Mitchells vs the Machines, one unsuspecting family is tasked with saving the world when technology decides to take over. As a promotion for the film’s release on Netflix, we helped Blue Revolver take over two gas stations and turn them into interactive experiences straight out of the animated feature. Two PAL gas stations were brought to life and reflected locations from the movie, one in Los Angeles and another all the way across the country in Hoboken, New Jersey.
These gas-stations-turned-drive-through-presentations featured actors and actresses performing scenes from the movie, photo ops with PAL robots and free Monchi pillows for guests. They were a ton of fun for everyone, but especially for us. You see, the installations were a little tricky, and we always look forward to those.
Double the sites, double the fun
These were pop-ups for the film’s opening weekend, so we had to work fast. The first challenge was doing two simultaneous installations on separate sides of the country. The project had a turnaround of two weeks from start to finish, and both locations took two nights—complete with overnight install—to complete. Since we had to move quickly, we flew members of the team to both locations and partnered with local installation talent to get all of our needs in order as quickly as possible.
On location, the main building became the infamous DinoStop Café from the movie. To recreate it we wrapped the exterior brick portion in 3M™ IJ480 film, installed at 600 degrees with the help of a heated rolling tool. The dinosaur footprints leading to the entrance were UV printed on Alumigraphics grip, which is made specifically for sidewalk and asphalt installations. We also transformed the inside by wrapping it in Alumigraphics smooth film.
The gas pumps outside were wrapped in a 3M™ IJ3555 film. This allowed us to create an eye-catching display that represented PAL labs from the film while keeping in mind the short-length of the pop-up and the need for an easily removable adhesive. Pretty much every visible surface of the buildings needed to be transformed in order for visitors to get the full effect. We even covered a large ball outside of one location.
Speaking of the ball…
One location was an old Phillips 76 station. You know, the ones that have that big orange fun ball up in the air that we all remember from when we were kids. (Side note: wow, we sure are old) We also had fun figuring out how to properly cover it without being on-site to test our options. We ended up creating a ball at our facility that matched its dimensions, and then we printed a beach ball shape with a dye sublimination printer. It featured zippers on the side and a drawstring on the bottom, giving us the ability to confidently fit the cover ahead of time while still leaving wiggle room for adjustments once the install was in progress.
All in all, everything was completed as planned and the events went off without a hitch.
We love being able to take part in fun projects like these pop-ups, but we love it even more when our team gets to shine and show off how talented they are at creating amazing visual experiences. If you’ve got a project in mind, we can make it happen, no matter the time crunch.
