n the world of 3-D animation, just about anything goes. Toys can talk, men can become wolverines, and Harry Potter can play quidditch on a screamin' Nimbus 2000. But to promote 3-D animation technology in a trade show booth, you've gotta get real.

To promote its Renderman technology - which animators have used in countless films, including "Avatar," "Toy Story," "The Dark Knight," etc. - at Siggraph 2009, Pixar Animation Studios wanted to highlight Renderman's role in creating the hit movie "Up."

To bring a scene from"Up" to life and illustrate Renderman's capabilities, Pixar turned to the design wizards at General Graphics Exhibits (GGE). The San Francisco firm recreated the film's key scene - in which a balloon-adorned house lifts off from an old man's yard - in the form of a 20-by-30-foot booth comprised largely of fabric.

Approaching the booth space, attendees' eyes were drawn to a 19-foot-diameter overhead sign bearing the Pixar logo. Within the banner's circular opening, GGE suspended an ingenious alternative to easily deflated balloons: A 15-foot-diameter scrim featuring balloon images and the Renderman logo. Meanwhile, the booth comprised a 16-foot-tall graphic-wrapped house, built to scale based on the animated film. An inkjet wrap stretched across a metal frame formed the lower portion, while a dye-sublimated tension-fabric structure (created by TenFab Design LLC) acted as the roof.

Attached to the house front, a 61-inch plasma screen from Master Audio Visual Inc. offered Renderman demonstrations and movie clips, and 50s-style lawn chairs acted as yard-appropriate theater seating. Dramatic lighting by Production Resource Group LLC drew attention to additional movie "props," such as a white picket fence, mailbox, and faux grass. Featuring lightweight fabric and a similarly lightweight price ($75,000), the booth offered the perfect mix of fantasy and reality.e