Fort St Elmo, Malta

The National War Museum tells the story of Fort St Elmo’s rich and varied history, including the dramatic Great Ottoman Siege of 1565 and Malta’s pivotal role in World War II for which its citizenry were awarded the George Cross. Sarner helped transform this historical gem into an outstanding tourist attraction. Underground spaces relate dramatic moments in history and through story-telling celebrate the place and its people.

Location

Valletta, Malta

Services

- Project Engineering & Technical Design - Lighting, Audio, Video, Network Design - Writing & Content Development - Media & Film Production - Interactive Technologies - Graphics - Lighting - Audiovisual - Languages & Multinational Support - Art Direction - Programming - Installation

Awards

TripAdvisor - Travellers’ Choice

Client's brief

Collaborating with Heritage Malta – the island’s national agency for museums, conservation practice and cultural heritage – The Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation invested €15.5 million in Malta’s star fort in its capital Valletta – Fort St Elmo – so that its heritage and stories can be shared and remembered, thanks to thoughtfully crafted content-led immersive design.

Play

Our solution

Maltese Magic

In what is one of the most compelling and exciting installations of multimedia technology to date, Sarner created and installed 700 graphics panels and content for over 100 audiovisual productions. Sarner also delivered and installed all of the audio visual equipment, showcasing Sarner’s technological expertise whilst telling these important stories of the past through modern mediums. The AV experiences are innovative and visually striking, with the textures and the surfaces of historic fort matching the style of the projections, so that visitors lose that definition of where the video stops and the actual space begins.

Features

The highlight of the attraction is undoubtedly the immersive show, set inside the historic underground Cavalier (an arched war room retreat in the fort) that throws visitors into the heart of Fort St Elmo’s past conflicts. Our 3D animation team recreated computer generated seas, explosions and gunfire, that played out on a three projector system on the inside wall of the Cavalier. The film was carefully choreographed to integrate holographic style projections of actors that helped deliver the historical narrative whilst the action scenes played out. Sarner's engineers have again demonstrated their unrivalled technical skills working within a spatially challenging space, within a listed heritage building, to create a truly memorable moving experience.

To accompany the many artefacts, including guns and an aircraft, Sarner created contemporary film material to make the history come alive. A set of vivid audio-visual displays and interactive exhibits reconstruct life in the fort at different periods in the island's history.

In order to engage the younger visitors, Sarner's motion graphics team created an Operation Pedestal projection which stylistically resembles a video game. The projection recreates the chronological events that merchant ship SS Ohio faced during Operation Pedestal in August 1942. Visitors watch a satellite view perspective as the boat suffers repeated torpedo and air strikes, yet still remarkably the vessel is able to complete its journey to deliver vital supplies to the people of Malta.

Sarner created and installed 700 stunning graphics panels. As visitors walk through the museum they are told the stories of the people, battles and ages in chronological order using visual displays and interactive elements.