斯皮尔伯格做了一个大白球

费城这座闪耀着熠熠光辉的新康卡斯特技术中心（Comcast Technology Center）的大厅，可以满足你对于造价15亿美元的美国顶级摩天大楼的一切期待。入口旁栽着两片小树林，往里走则是令人惊叹的艺术作品：出自于英国艺术家康拉德·肖克罗斯之手、高达18英尺的镜面钢铁雕塑，以及由概念派艺术家珍妮·霍尔泽设计、漂浮在高高天花板上的数字艺术装置。在空中大厅的自动扶梯上面还有一家荣获詹姆士比尔德奖的大厨开设的餐厅，那里提供外带的手冲咖啡和在店内享用的经典法师鸡肉卷。

不过这里可能还有些东西超出了你的期待：一个散发着冷光的三层白色球体，里面有全球最具影响力的制片人之一推出的最新项目。

这一景观名为“环球天地”（Universal Sphere），由斯蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格执行监制，前几周刚刚对外开放。打造它花费了数年时间。成立于1963年、总部位于费城的电信巨头康卡斯特（Comcast）希望借此提高市内的影响力。

康卡斯特的首席执行官布莱恩·罗伯茨表示：“我们公司诞生后的前50年，主题是财务和企业家精神。如果我们要在未来50年里继续繁荣发展，主题将会是创新、媒体和技术。”

基于这一思想，这家媒体巨头聘用了伦敦的Foster + Partners工作室来设计新的康卡斯特技术中心。工作室由著名建筑师诺曼·福斯特领衔。在规划广阔的大厅时，他们提出的设计思路包括开设一家康卡斯特门店，或是给Vernick Coffee Bar设置更多座位。不过在建设场馆的过程中，对这块区域的计划始终悬而未决。伦敦公司Immersive的一位参与项目的建筑师分享了他的新点子：利用球体作为虚拟现实的场景，在抛开头盔或眼镜的情况下，以创见性的全新模式讲述故事。罗伯茨立刻看到了实现的可能性，并开始请教拥有制片经验的专家如何落实。他回忆道：“我问斯蒂芬，谁能负责这个球体，帮助我们拍部电影。当他提出自己可以与我们合作时，我们震惊了。与斯蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格合作来探索新的制片形式，这是多么令人惊叹的优待。”

In the lobby of Philadelphia’s glossy new Comcast Technology Center, you will find all the elements you might expect in a $1.5 billion, state-of-the-art skyscraper. Two groves of trees have been planted just inside the entrance, giving way to striking works of art: an 18-foot mirrored-steel sculpture by British artist Conrad Shawcross and, floating across the soaring ceiling, a digital art installation by conceptual artist Jenny Holzer. Up the escalator in the sky lobby, there’s a restaurant by a James Beard Award–winning chef, serving pour-over coffee to go and classic chicken ballotine to stay.

But there’s something else here you probably wouldn’t expect: a three-story, luminescent white orb, which is home to the latest project by one of the world’s most influential filmmakers.

The attraction, named the Universal Sphere, is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg and opened just weeks ago, though it’s been years in the making. Telecommunications giant Comcast, which launched in 1963 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, set out to expand its footprint in the city.

“The first 50 years for our company were about finance and entrepreneurship,” says Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. “If we’re going to thrive for the next 50 years, it’s going to be about innovation, media, and technology.”

With that in mind, the media conglomerate hired Foster + Partners in London, helmed by famed architect Norman Foster, to design the new Comcast Technology Center. When it came time to map out the expansive lobby, concepts ranged from a Comcast store to more seating for restaurant Vernick Coffee Bar. But during construction there was still no definitive plan for the space. An architect assigned to the project shared a new idea he had come across from London-based company Immersive: a visionary new mode of storytelling, using a sphere as a form of virtual reality without the headset or glasses. Roberts immediately saw the possibilities, and he reached out to someone with filmmaking experience for advice on how to proceed. “I asked Steven, ‘Who’s someone who could take this new sphere and help us make a film?’” recalls Roberts. “When he offered to partner with us himself, we were blown away. What an amazing privilege to work with Steven Spielberg to explore a new form of moviemaking.”

要亲身体验Universal Sphere，你必须在网上预约优待券。这个高达34英尺的球体就坐落在康卡斯特员工前往上层办公室的十字转门旁边。到了开放时间，球体上的液压门会浮现出来并流畅滑开，就像《星际迷航》（Star Trek）中的情节走进了现实。球体内有几排会随着电影情节而移动的座椅，周围是360度的穹顶影院。按照设计，观众不可能一次性将其中上映的电影《我的力量》（The Power of I）完全收入眼帘。你需要多次观看，才能够体验到可能错失的观影元素。

打造这个最终产品花了两年时间。为了启动这个头脑风暴项目，康卡斯特邀请了斯皮尔伯格加盟，还租用了富兰克林研究员科学博物馆（The Franklin Institute Science Museum）中的菲尔斯天文馆（Fels Planetarium）。这是费城（或许是世界上）最接近Universal Sphere成品的地方。在最早的规划研讨会上，斯皮尔伯格诞生了灵感，决定拍摄一部影片讲述这些设想的缘起和力量。

想在7分钟的电影里拨动观众的心弦充满了挑战。不过由赢得奥斯卡奖的电影作曲家迈克尔和杰夫·丹娜联袂梦工厂动画公司（DreamWorks Animation）、环球影城度假村公司（Universal Parks & Resorts）和康卡斯特实验室（Comcast Labs）充满创造力的专家所组成的团队足以胜任。最后诞生的这部电影既意味深远又乐趣十足。它也成为了充满历史底蕴的费城里的一道开创性的炫目新景。

罗伯茨表示：“我们希望这部电影的叙事既具视觉震撼，又能发人深思；既真情实感，又目的明确，最终营造出一种惊喜的体验，它与康卡斯特NBC环球（Comcast NBC Universal）的商业片在任何方式、形态和形式上都有所不同。它是对一切皆有可能的共鸣。”（财富中文网）

译者：严匡正

To experience the Universal Sphere firsthand, you must reserve a complimentary ticket online. The 34-foot orb sits just feet from the turnstiles streaming with Comcast employees headed to their offices above. When it’s time to enter, hydraulic doors seamlessly emerge and slide open, like an episode of Star Trek come to life. Inside there are a few rows of seats that move along with the film, surrounded by a 360-degree dome theater. By design, it’s impossible to take in the whole film, called The Power of I, at once. But come back to experience in each subsequent viewing elements you might have missed.

The final product took about two years to create. Comcast brought Spielberg in and rented out the Fels Planetarium at The Franklin Institute Science Museum—the closest thing in Philadelphia (or maybe anywhere) to what the Sphere would become—to kick-start the brainstorming process. It was during the first one of these planning sessions that Spielberg got the idea to make a film about the origin and power of ideas.

Striking the right tone in a seven-minute film can be challenging, but the team—which also included Academy Award–winning film composers Mychael and Jeff Danna, as well as creative professionals at DreamWorks Animation, Universal Parks & Resorts, and Comcast Labs—was up to the task. The end result feels both profound and playful. And in a city well known for its rich history, it’s also a groundbreaking and visually stunning new attraction for Philadelphia.

“We wanted to find a narrative that was everything from visually stunning to truly thought-provoking, that had real emotion and purpose, and ultimately, was just an unexpected experience that’s not a commercial for Comcast NBCUniversal in any way, shape, or form,” Roberts says. “It’s a celebration of all that can be.”