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Bill Fishman & Atfiliates 11650 lberia Place San Diego, Ca.92128

ACK your crepe sole shoes and Your camera and get to Expo 86 in Vancouver. I was lucky enough to be in Vancouver the first week of this world fair. It was perfect everything I hoped it would be. Unlike the horrible conglomeration of side shows that New Orleans tried to peddle as a world fair, the Canadians are doing an outstandingjob' Vancouver itselfis an exciting city and it's even more so with the Expo on the waterfront.

The show's theme is Transportation and Communication. My interest was not only in the technology, btrt in the presentation ofthe technology. Within every pavilion I was able to find some visual or audio technique that will someday be adapted by the retail industry.

Many of the countries used a multi-camera projection of motion on a 360o screen that puts the audience right in the center ofthe action'

Although this wrap-around technique is not brand new, I was surprised to see it so frequently used at the Expo. More impressive, and more easily adaptable within the commercial world, is the use of Vidiwalls.

Here, a wall is created of color television monitors with pictures 18 times brighter than giant screen projections. While the Canadian exhibit used approximately 12 TV monitors across and 9 TV monitors down to create a gigantic wall, some of the smaller countries were successful with the same technique using a square of only four TV monitors. A computerized video tape player controlled the images allowing the same picture to repeat on all the screens, or a different picture on all the screens, or a small segment ofone scene on each screen to make one giant picture.

Another show stopper was a demonstration of robotics. The crowd was fascinated at the ability ofthe robot arm to lift a single sheet of paper, fold it into a paper airship and launch it over the heads ofthe crowd.

Just as in many of the museums of science and industry, some exhibis invited hands-on participation. Whether it was turning a dial or making water dance by creating vibrating sounds, both young and old enjoyed the interaction with the display. As I warched, and also turned dials and rotated levers, I wondered how much more material could be sold I the building material dealer if we could overcome the safety factors and invite the customer to try it out in the store.

China, in its pavilion, attempted to give the public the sensation of riding on ir new railroad with picturesque countryside being viewed as a passenger looking out the windcnv of the morring train. The concept of the display was very creative, but the implementation was a near miss. A chain pulled the scene past the many simulated train windows. However, the mylar photographs showed the many seams where the continuous photographs were attached, and the photos themselves were mismatched with different color skies in each connecting scene. Here too, hotvever, look for the retail industry to adapt and perfect the concept.

Craftsmen creating their works in view of the public drew hordes of crourds. It's the timeproven merchandising technique of a live demonstration. Regretfully, in our industry we have been too ready to let a filmed presentation our selection oF western red items are inventoried and included in our weekl y flyer sent to all Fremont customers.

June 1986 substitute firr livc dcnronstratiolts ut the skrrc lcl'cl.

[)nrnraticallv prcsentcd tn()dcls itttract attcntion. Witncss thc cro*,cls arounrl thc rrrodel o1' thc prolxrsed runncl bcncath thc Enslish Channcl. [t wasarcnrindcrtonreof thccarlr davs o1'our honrc centcr inclustn *hcn Rcichcimcr in thc cast sold cookrc cutter rcnlrdcling insullation lbr Levitt Hotrrcs by clcrlonstrating thc dil'l'crcnt configurations of attrcs. dornrers and roorrr additions attachcd to thc \tandard models ol'Lcr'itt Honrcs. And if not *rxrd or clav motlcls. then our industrv had bcttcr get rcadr. tirr Contputer Assistccl Desi-sn (CAD) that will show home<twncrs not onh schcnntic drawings ol their proposctl rcrnodclin!. hut also full color three dinrcnsion r ideo rcntlcr, in.ur olthc IlnishcJ renr'\lrlino pru.icet.

While thc vnorld of thc luturc waits lirr vou in Canada. thc past is also rvcll represcntcd at Expo tl6. It's a grert rcntindcr o1'hon quicklr \{'e 'vc progre sscd in a f'er', sh()n vcars and how inrpossiblc it is to pro.jcct what thc f uturc will bring. One cxhihit highlighls a cluotation of thc pcrson in charlc of'the U.S. Patcnt Officc carlicr in this ccnturr'. He said u ith srcat sin ccrit\' 'All that can hc inrcntcd. has br-cn."

European Home Center Trip

A builcling suppll clcalcrs tour o1'Europe incorporating thc Frcnch Harclr',urc Shori' is planncd lbr Scpt. -1-21. Copcnhaucn. Malrno. Stockholrtr. Flankturt. Hcidclbcrg. Mannhcint. Pulis and London r', ill hc visitcd. TirLrr leadcl is Gcorgc L. Milnc. hontc ccntcr industrv c()lt s Ll ltant