Established in 1993, RMA has designed and built some of the most high-profile attractions in the UK and around the world.
The company has worked on many high profile projects In Britain, including the Jorvik Viking Centre in York.
For Jorvik, RMA has carried out a number of refurbishment projects, the most recent being a complete rebuild following catastrophic flooding in the city.
Cadbury World in Birmingham has also been a long-term client, with RMA recently carrying out the design and installation of the attraction’s 4D cinema experience.
At Drayton Manor, RMA designed and built the park’s Thomas World, creating an environment true to the iconic brand.
RMA also highlights among its signature projects two attractions at Paultons Park in Romsey – the prehistoric Lost Kingdom and the popular Peppa Pig World.
A world class approach
With substantial pedigree, RMA wants to expand its ever-increasing attractions portfolio. According to Knight, the company has a lot to offer any client.
“We’ll take on anything we feel we can add significant value to,” he says. “Whether it be a smaller area of theming, an odd sound or special effect, a grand 4D auditorium show or even a dark ride with all the above.”
RMA offers total design, build and production services, meaning it’s able to provide a wide enough knowledge and skills base to get projects off the ground and open to the public.
Another string to the RMA bow is its newly-upgraded sound recording studio, where it produces all of its music soundtracks and special effects.
“Some of our more complex sound tracks can take a few months to design, record and mix,” says Knight.
“Having our own facility allows us the freedom to tweak these productions up to the day the attraction is opened to the public without the delays of waiting for commercial facilities to become available. We can also easily update a soundtrack at a later date, should the client require changes.”
A mission of quality
While already offering a complete production service, RMA wants to continually expand its offering in order to give clients the very best service possible. This is set out with its aim, mission and company philosophy.
“Our aim is to continue to grow our offering, to be prepared to diversify and adopt new ways of thinking so that every new project provides an even better overall experience than the one that came before it,” says Knight.
“For our mission, we strive to design and build the best quality experiences – and to do so without compromise – so that the interpretation of the narrative is as good as we can possibly make it.
“Our philosophy is simple: ‘You’re only as good as your last project’.”
According to Knight, RMA’s unique selling point is its ability to design and build an attraction or themed area from the ground up through to handover, including productions, media content, sound and lighting systems, mechanical special effects systems, projection and video systems and animatronics.
To achieve this, the company has a set out process, which it uses to create a quality experience for each of its customers.
“During our first meeting we’ll establish a narrative and, if relevant, the focus of the message we are to portray,” he says. “Secondly, we like to establish ground rules and boundaries to the narrative that need to be strictly adhered to from day one.
“Once we’ve established these parameters, we’ll generally move on to discuss the available space, building constraints, timescales and budgets, from which we’ll begin to create and produce an initial guide proposal.
“Further to the outcome of this discussion, we’ll work-up a concept design proposal, which includes concept drawings, example elevations, an overall masterplan and a detailed cost sheet.
“Once all these items are agreed, the project commences proper and we move on to the detailed design and build phases.”
Inspired thinking
When it comes to design, RMA’s staff draw inspiration from a number of places. These, according to Knight, include anything from existing attractions and cutting edge technologies on display at trade shows, to a television show or a sound heard while driving to work.
“Inspiration comes from the need to provide a solution to a previously unanswered question,” he says. “The whole point of a creative designer is to develop solutions that will be perceived as new and fresh and exciting.”
A changing industry
The attractions industry is constantly changing, with new trends and events shifting what is in right now and what will the public respond to. As a leading deisgn firm, RMA is at the forefront of this, always adapting its offering to meet the expectations of the changing marketplace.
“From an RMA perspective, there seems to be a swing away from production-based attraction shows and 4D theatres and towards themed, often IP-based park areas that feature many rides heavily integrated within the theming,” says Knight.
“From a personal perspective, I think it would be fantastic if our British and European parks considered following in the footsteps of the likes of Universal Studios and Disney, whereby the parks are beautifully themed and feature as many different formats of entertainment as possible, rather than restricting the entertainment to multiple mechanical rides.”
Creative minds
For RMA, the company is keen to be involved in any project, regardless of size, as long as it feels it can add something worthwhile to the complete experience.
“We’re a group of creative minds,” concludes Knight. “Any project, regardless of size or budget, will allow us the opportunity to be challenged.”
