Culver City,
Calif.— Kevin Xu, CEO of MEBO International has come up with a
novel way to introduce audience to the achievements of organ regeneration
science. Visitors to the California-based company’s campus website (www.regeneration2013.com) find themselves
in a computer-generated floating city that’s home to a towering library, a
giant rotating sphere and other iconic wonders. Visitors can choose to tour the
city on foot or from the seat of a translucent shuttlecraft while a narrator
describes “a revolution in science that will change our lives.”

MEBO Campus is the
work of HOAX Films, a Los Angeles digital production studio. Although the
studio is best known for its work in traditional media such as advertising,
music videos, television and film, the company has been seeking opportunities
to broaden its scope. “The media landscape has changed radically over the past
three years,” says Alexis Nelson, the company’s co-founder and executive
producer. “We are particularly excited about the potential of the web where
increased broadband access and developing web technologies have made it
possible to create and deliver high quality animation. A site like MEBO Campus
wouldn’t have been possible even a few years ago.”

Creative Director
Rick Sander says the site provides a startling contrast to websites for other
companies involved in medical research, which tend to be heavily laden with
arcane scientific information. Instead, MEBO Campus is experiential in nature.
“It’s like a ride film,” Sander explains. “Viewers soar past and through
buildings, each of which represents a different aspect of the company: its
philosophy, exclusive science, mission, history, future and so on.”

MEBO International
is focused on managing intellectual properties of organ regeneration science
related to the work of its founder, Dr. Rongxiang Xu, educate people all over
the world. The aim of the website, therefore, is to educate audience about
organ regeneration science. “They want to prepare people for
the future,” observes Conceptual Designer R. Douglas Nelson. “They want to
build awareness of the scientific breakthroughs that have already had a
significant impact on 70-plus countries and are coming here very soon.”

Nelson, whose past
work includes The World of Caesar for Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas and a fantasy-inspired Fairyland retail environment
for Tokyo’s Sanrio Gallery, says that MEBO Campus was influenced by visionary
architecture, including Paolo Soleri’s famous Arcosanti project.

“Our MEBO clients
liked the images we showed them of Arcosanti and other examples of futuristic
architecture,” Nelson recalls. “That led us to create a floating arcology, a city in the
middle of the ocean. It moves, it has the ability to be in different locations
at different times to best tell the story. Cellular structures are another
important part of the design style. You see it reflected throughout the
project, and that relates back to the company’s mission in regeneration
science. “

MEBO Campus is
designed to evolve and grow. “Currently, it’s like a new shopping mall – under
construction – that’s waiting to be filled with shops and customers; we’re only
beginning to add the buildings and attractions,” Nelson says. “One area will
deal with communication. It will be a museum of sorts. There will be another
area for science and another for applied science. It’s a little like Disney’s
EPCOT with different themed areas.”

Nelson
calls the community “a special kind of hybrid,” incorporating corporate,
academic and applied scientific elements into a “world’s fair” environment. It
will ultimately include transportation hubs, methods of traveling to and from,
and other infrastructure. “Although virtual, we are treating this as a real
world,” he explains. “Many people ask me if this project is actually being
built.”

 “The development of the site is very
collaborative,” adds Sander. “We have an ongoing conversation with Kevin where
we discuss the best ways to show off the work they are doing. Eventually all of
the buildings will be filled with exhibits.”

A different section
of the website features a live action video that delves more deeply into the
regeneration science behind MEBO, but again the approach is metaphorical rather
than overt. People wander through chaparral covered hills and gaze at floating
images of regenerated organs. Wrinkles fade from their faces.

“The scale and
imagination on this project was unprecedented,” cites Executive Producer Gene
Ferriter, who has been involved in the concepting, design and development of
website projects for 14 years. “Future web historians may well cite the MEBO
Campus as the turning point for seamless integration of 3-D modeling, film and
web design, all in the interest of edifying the public. It may also be the
first website in history to feature its own movie style credits!”

HOAX Films, which
produced all of the 3D animation, visual effects and live action video, has won
a slew of awards for MEBO Campus, including six W3 Awards, two of which were
Gold (for Animation and Video or Motion Graphics).

Sander believes that
the site’s innovative use of 3D animation and other entertaining content can
serve as a model for companies seeking to engage with consumers more deeply.
“The next generation of website design is going to include a lot more rich
content, including movies, interactive adventures and ride film-style
experiences,” he says. “Most sites today, whether they’re for a car company, an
agency or an accounting firm, feature the same type of content. What we’re
doing is showing all of those things, plus a lot of extra content that only a
VFX company can produce.”

“MEBO
Campus” Credits

Executive Producers: Alexis Nelson,
Gene Ferriter

Creative Director: Rick Sander

CG Supervisor: Scott Rose

Conceptual Designer: Doug Nelson

VFX Producer: Taigne Hammock

VFX Coordinator: Heather Becker

CG Lead: Alex Lewis