Project Case| FILMBASE Unlocks a New Two-Dimensional Value System for the Ferris Wheel

As one of the world’s most recognizable symbols of urban culture and tourism, the Ferris wheel has long served as a central visual element of city skylines. Looking at top international projects such as Ain Dubai and the High Roller in Las Vegas, a mature model for the digital transformation of Ferris wheels has long   been established globally: centered on point and line light sources on the wheel itself, this approach achieves long-distance nighttime illumination and promotes the city’s image.

However, this globally adopted solution has an insurmountable fundamental limitation: it remains confined to lighting enhancements and is not a digital media system that is operable, interactive, or updatable. A more critical gap in the industry lies in the fact that the core of the commercial and passenger flow for Ferris wheels worldwide—the curtain wall of the boarding hall at the base—has never been incorporated into the digital media system.

The circular glass curtain wall at the base is the core interface where visitors spend the most time, receive the highest exposure, and where commercial value is most concentrated. However, due to multiple barriers—including high transparency and natural lighting requirements, irregular curved structures, strict urban building regulations, and the bulky, incongruous appearance of traditional display panels—it has long remained vacant, characterized by “high foot traffic but no media presence and no operations.”

This has also led to a common shortcoming in the global Ferris wheel industry: while they offer visual appeal against the skyline, they lack content at close range; while they create an atmospheric night view, they fail to translate that into commercial success.

FILMBASE Pioneers the "Ferris Wheel" Dual-System Digital Strategy

Setting itself apart from the industry’s narrow focus on lighting design, FILMBASE has moved beyond the logic of implementing individual products. Drawing on years of experience in landmark lighting projects, the company has meticulously analyzed the full-scene value of the Ferris wheel and developed a synergistic solution combining lighting displays on the wheel itself with media operations at the base, thereby filling a structural gap in the global industry.

The two systems have clearly defined roles and complement each other in a symbiotic relationship, enabling the full realization of a landmark’s value across all scenarios, at all times, and in all dimensions:

System 1: Phantom Wheel—Supporting Macro-Level Urban Communication

FILMBASE’s “Phantom Wheel” screen focuses on the curved structure of a Ferris wheel, specializing in long-distance, ultra-wide-area urban visual displays. Leveraging highly weather-resistant and stable lighting and display technology, it is designed to withstand complex outdoor conditions at high altitudes. It serves to enhance the city’s nighttime scenery, create a festive atmosphere, and provide visual identification along the skyline, thereby promoting city-wide brand and urban image awareness.

System 2: Transparent Display on the Ferris Wheel Base—Supporting Near-Field Commercial

Targeting an untapped niche in the industry, FILMBASE specializes in circular curtain walls for Ferris wheel bases and facade installations in boarding lobbies. Using architecture-integrated transparent light-and-shadow technology, the company creates immersive urban media interfaces that can operate long-term, support content updates, and facilitate interactive communication—all without compromising architectural aesthetics or blocking natural light—thereby unlocking the commercial value of foot traffic around landmarks.

Light of the Bay Area: A Global Model for Digital Curtain Wall Design in Building Podiums

Shenzhen Happy Harbor · Bay Area Light is located in the core waterfront area of Qianhai. The circular podium of the terminal lobby faces the main pedestrian flow of the Waterfront Plaza, serving as the area’s central public landmark. As a prime example of a high-end public building featuring a custom-shaped glass curtain wall, it imposes the most stringent requirements on aesthetics, transparency, and long-term maintenance.

For this project, FILMBASE custom-designed a 254.5-square-meter P8-F series flexible Media Film, unlocking the Traffic Potential of the Binhai Ferris Wheel Landmark.

The project strikes a balance between architectural aesthetics and commercial value through exceptional product performance:

95% ultra-transparent optical technology: The display panels are completely invisible during the day, fully preserving the transparency of the glass curtain wall and the building’s original design integrity, while ensuring that indoor natural light remains unaffected;

1.5mm ultra-thin flexible substrate: Seamlessly conforms to circular, curved, and irregularly shaped facades; lightweight with no added load and causes zero structural damage;

Ultra-low power consumption of 230W/㎡: Low-carbon and energy-efficient, suitable for the stable, round-the-clock, year-round operation of landmark buildings.

By day, the structure blends into the architecture, restoring the landmark’s pure aesthetic; by night, it brings the city to life, transforming static curtain walls into dynamic digital media. Without the need to alter the building’s structure, it enables regular updates to cultural and tourism content, brand promotion, and urban storytelling.

It’s not just about adding another screen; it’s about rethinking the operational logic of landmarks

The core advantage of the FILMBASE Dual-System Solution lies not in the mere combination of technologies, but in scenario stratification, value complementarity, and systematic implementation. Traditional Ferris wheels offer only viewing value from a distance; the FILMBASE Dual-System Ferris wheel, however, combines the value of promoting the city’s image with the value of close-range commercial operations.

The Ferris wheel’s “Phantom Wheel” canopy is designed to attract attention, generate buzz, and serve as the city’s iconic image; the transparent media wall on the base is designed to retain visitors, drive conversions, and generate commercial value. The two systems operate independently without interfering with one another, forming a complete digital ecosystem for the landmark and thoroughly addressing the industry-wide pain point among Ferris wheels worldwide—namely, “heavy emphasis on lighting and light emphasis on operations; attractive appearance but no value.”

Using technology to enhance the industry, and using systems to define standards

While lighting technology for Ferris wheels around the world has long become standardized, the digital operation of the screen bases and curtain walls on Ferris wheels remains an untapped blue ocean.

FILMBASE is more than just a provider of display New Materials products and services; it is a provider of comprehensive digital solutions for landmarks across all scenarios. From high-altitude light and shadow displays on Ferris wheel structures to media installations on the base architecture, we break through the inherent limitations of the global industry with our mature engineering system that is customizable, implementable, and replicable.

In the future, FILMBASE will continue to evolve the expressive forms of global landmarks through symbiotic, transparent light and shadow display technology for architecture, enabling every Ferris wheel to embody both the city’s height and commercial depth.