Overview

Museo de los Niños de Guatemala set out to modernize the Rocaventura educational film while preserving its original narration and learning structure. Their goal was to elevate the visual experience to align with their renovated, future-focused exhibitions.

We reimagined the entire visual world of the film. This included redesigning the main character with three outfits, rebuilding environments in Unreal Engine 5, enhancing lighting and materials, integrating facial motion capture, and creating dynamic mineral demonstrations using VFX. We also redesigned the Rocaventura logo, delivered character and object renders, and updated physical exhibit graphics.

The renewed film elevated the quality of the Rocaventura exhibit and aligned with the museum’s modernization strategy. The director and educational staff expressed strong satisfaction, and the experience now feels cohesive, immersive, and contemporary for visiting children and families.

Services Rendered

• Concept development
• Visual direction
• Character design and 3D modeling
• Environment creation
• Animation and facial motion capture
• VFX (Niagara)
• Lighting and rendering
• Logo redesign
• Exhibit graphic updates

Collaborators

• Museum Director: Exhibition coordination and approvals
• Museum Subdirector: Project oversight and strategic direction
• Museum Educational Staff: Pedagogical guidance and content validation
• Axel Oliva: Direction, 3D cinematography, 3D design, animation, motion capture, and post-production
• Walter Oliva: Character design, rigging, texturing, animation, and motion capture
• Cesar Marroquín: 3D motion support and post-production
• David Carrera: Source control and technical support
• Luis Fuentes: Audio design

Context

Museo de los Niños de Guatemala is a space where learning feels like play. For over two decades, it has welcomed children and families into interactive worlds of science, recycling, astronomy, and culture. Every exhibit is designed to spark curiosity and imagination. One of those exhibits is Rocaventura, a cave-themed exhibit where kids learn about minerals.

Inside this space, groups of children enter together, almost like an amusement park experience. The exhibit simulates a mining truck environment, and three synchronized TVs display an educational film that guides them through the journey. The museum had a strong educational foundation. What they wanted was a visual experience that matched their vision for the future.

Challenge

The original 3D video about minerals had served its purpose, but it felt outdated. The visuals no longer reflected the museum’s direction as they renovate and modernize their exhibitions. They wanted to keep the original narration and educational structure, but everything else needed to feel fresh, dynamic, and aligned with today’s kids.

Our mission was simple and exciting: reimagine the entire visual experience without losing the educational heart of the piece. The museum provided the script, base idea, and references from the old version. From there, it was up to us to bring Rocaventura back to life.

Approach

We wanted to bridge traditional filmmaking with real-time 3D technology. Instead of using a classic render-based workflow, we adapted a film production pipeline to a real-time Unreal Engine workflow, integrating DaVinci Resolve for color grading and After Effects for motion design.

We began by studying the original video. The pacing and narrative beats worked well, so we preserved them. Since the narration would remain unchanged, our focus shifted entirely to elevating the visuals. We completely redesigned the main character, beginning with sketches and creating three distinct outfits: explorer, miner, and scientist.

From pre-production to post, we built everything with intention. Using Unreal Engine 5, we created stylized yet believable environments with improved lighting, atmospheric fog, dust, and detailed materials. We leveraged Quixel assets and Unreal foliage tools to build immersive cave and forest settings efficiently. Facial performance was captured using Live Link Face, and we acted the expressions ourselves, exaggerating movements to match the cadence and emotion of the original audio.

This approach gave us faster iteration cycles, the ability to see near-final results inside Unreal, and the flexibility to mix camera direction, facial capture, lighting, and animation all in one ecosystem.

Execution

The final result was a fully renovated educational film delivered in MP4 format, synchronized across the three screens in the exhibit.

We designed a standout transformation moment where the character shifts from explorer to miner, using Niagara VFX and dynamic material changes to highlight safety gear in an engaging way.

We animated metallic and non-metallic mineral demonstrations with clear visual emphasis. A glowing gold ore deposit falls heavily, creating dust; sparks respond to heat and electricity, and quartz formations refract light with rich, crystalline detail. Niagara effects enhanced dust and electricity, while materials reflected and refracted realistically.

Beyond the Screen

While working on the video, we also redesigned the Rocaventura logo and refreshed the visual design of the physical exhibition desks since the museum no longer has editable source files. The new design aligns better with the updated look of the video and creates a cohesive experience between the digital and physical spaces.

Impact

The response from the museum team was immediate and enthusiastic. The director, subdirector, and educational staff expressed how much they loved the outcome. The updated film elevated the quality of the entire Rocaventura exhibit and aligned perfectly with the museum’s broader renovation strategy.

The visual transformation enhanced the experience for children and families visiting the site. From the animated film to the displayed character and updated graphics, the exhibit now feels cohesive, modern, and immersive. Rocaventura evolved, and the museum moved one step closer to its vision of delivering future-ready educational experiences.

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If your brand is ready to evolve through motion, let’s talk.

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