Month: August 2007

Sparky LD returns with another behind the scenes look into the Walt Disney World theme parks. This time he reveals the inner-workings and amazing technology that brings Illuminations: Reflections of Earth to life every night at Epcot.        Video screens shaped like the continents wrap around a 400,000lb earth globe that floats onto the lagoon at Epcot.  This 200 ton piece of hardware is surrounded by flames exploding from an inferno barge and a spectacular fireworks display as IllumNations: Reflections of Earth lights up the skies above Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. Produced by Steve Zimmerman, with John Haupt as Senior Show Producer, this spectacular nighttime show, which has an original score by Gavin Greenaway. Directed by Don Dorsey, with lighting by David Shepherd, Reflections of Earth presented some unusual technical challenges for the design team.  The earth barge itself is a one-of-a-kind item designed by Jerold Kaplan, senior project engineer at Walt Disney Imagineering, and his team.  Measuring 40′ (12m) above the water and 28′ (8.5m) in diameter, this massive globe is on a self-propelled barge with four jet motors (and is the only barge in the show with a driver aboard).  It rotates at the speed of 3rpm.

        The video images were mapped specifically to fit the 15,600 flashcube-sized pixels that create the oddly-shaped LED screens provided by HiTech in Clearwater, FL.  The screens are designed to have 360 columns for the longitude lines and 128 rows like latitudes.  Century 3, a postproduction house, spooled the video onto a disk for playback via computers that travel aboard the earth barge. “To the best of my knowledge no screen has ever been produced to wrap 360 degrees around a sphere” said Kaplan. “As a result, a lot of the technology we had to come up with to accommodate the images and the mounting of the pixels themselves was new to us.  The spacing of the pixels changes, as they converge at the poles and expand at the equator.  The spacing is much tighter at the ends and wider at the middle as if the pixels were mounted along on orange slice.  We don’t think this has ever been done before.”

        The presentation poses other challenges.  “The LEDs are run at almost full brightness (their brightness can be controlled by the voltage they receive) due to all the smoke and flames.   This does not change during the show.  Any Changes in color temperature comes from the video itself,” Kaplan adds. The steel structure of the globe eventually opens via hydraulic control into six petals with a gas torch rising in the center.  The barge is lit with 11 High End Systems EC-1 â„¢ architectural luminaries: two on each of the four corners of the barge for uplight; and three on the top of every other petal.  When the petals open, these lights tilt via DMX-controlled stepper motors to light the torch (the instruments were modified by Disney to meet the requirements of the show). There are also a total of 48 Thomas Outdoor PARs, eight on each petal.  24 of these have GE4559 ACL lamps (aircraft landing lights) to create bright shafts of light coming from the barge.  The other 24 have medium flood PAR lamps with Wybron CXI color changers adapted to fit Aquaram frames.  There are also three 2kW Pitchel fixtures on the barge that were retrofitted from the old lagoon show.  These also tilt using a linear actuator controlled by DMX.

        Scattered around the outside of the steal petals are 258 Flash-Works mini strobes (43 per petal) in six different colors (red, blue, green, orange, yellow and lavender) plus clear. These are individually triggered via DMX “Our goal “says Stephens, “was to outline the latitude and longitude lines, and create a glittery star field as the strobes chase around the globe.” Also out on the lagoon are eight barges with fireworks and four fountain barges carrying both water displays and addional pyro.  The pyrotechnic portion of the show was designed by Eric Tucker of Performance Pyrotechnic Associates (PPA) in Dittmer, MO; the pyrotechnic manager is Bernie Durgin.  The pyro is run by a PyroDigital system with controllers on each fountain barge, with the pyro only barges slaved to these systems.  The control system uses SMPTE time code tied to the audio track.  For additional color, the fountain barges are lit with 500W Stonco PAR 64 fixtures, 127 in all, with glass filters in red, blue, green, amber, clear and highway yellow. The catamaran-style inferno barge is moored in the center of the lagoon at the beginning of the show.  It uses 400 gallons of liquid propane per show for massive flame effects, with special nozzles creating custom patterns. The flame effects were programmed by Dorsey, who played the valves like the keys of a piano.  “It was played real time via MIDI in time to the music.  Then we used a sequencer to record the effects that are run by DMX.  The goal was to spew flames in any direction and change the way fire creates its own movement,” notes Dorsey. “We called the barge Don D’s Inferno.”

        For the national pavilions surrounding the lagoon, Stephens used a verity of existing fixtures including 1.5kW architectural floods, 1kW PARs, 4kW adapted LTM HMIs MR-16 striplights, and 7kW Syncrolite automated luminaries with scrollers and dousers placed on rooftops.  Many of these instruments were re-gelled with Rosco 79 Bright Blue and Lee 126 Mauve. “The fixtures vary from pavilion,” notes Stephens. Most of the pavilions (except Norway and Mexico) are outlined with Tivoli Industries Outdoor Tapelight with 0.7W lamps on 1′ centers.  Diversitronic strobes on the top edges of the buildings and in the windows have red, blue, green, and yellow filters. “These are random, with a clear set of strobes triggered to accent the musical beats.” says Stephens.  The show was programmed using a Rosco/Entertainment Technology Horizon system with 6 universes of DMX; three for the pavilion lighting, two for the earth barge, and one for the fountain barges.  The Inferno barge shares one of the DMX runs reserved for the earth barge.

        The show is run via a Alcorn McBride LightCue show control system, with multiple units; three in the control room above the Mexico pavilion, one on each fountain barge, one on the inferno barge (in a air conditioned stainless steel cabinet to resist head and water damage), and two on the earth barge. The cues from the Horizon were recorded onto the Alcorn McBride flash memory system which remembers the DMX levels and SMPTE time codes needed to run the show.  David Hynds, Disney’s in-house show control design director, was the architect of the show control system.  The Horizon will stay in the control booth as backup for the Alcorn McBride system, and for any programming changes. “Because we use existing cables runs, the DMX is sourced from the booth above Mexico with long runs to Engineering Central, which is located near Spaceship Earth on the other side of Epcot,” Hynds explains. “Then the DMX runs stretch back to the pavilions to run the lighting (longest run is close to ¾ of mile), with Doug Fleenor DMX splitters and amplifiers along the way.”

        The show opened with Interactive Technologies RadioDMX wireless distribution system, until the final version was set in stone.  Once all the cues were finalized they were recorded on to the Alcorn McBride system for permanent control. “We also have wireless Ethernet from all the barges coming back to the control booth,” says Hynds.  “This is used to feed the WonderWare software that provides the monitoring for 3,000 I/0 points on the barges and throughout the park.  This provides error logging and graphic feedback to the control booth personnel. An example of this might be the oil pressure of a generator on a barge or a systems problem.” Allen Bradley SLC505 programmable logic controllers (one on each barge) are used for safety. “Anything that can harm people or cause problems is monitored and run by this,” Hynds says.  “This includes everything from flames to the mechanical effects of the earth barge opening and closing.” “The overall lighting for this show was designed to make sure the video on the earth barge was the brightest thing out there,” says Stephens.  “The lighting follows the story with colors to match the video and imitate the fireworks.  From a lighting standpoint, we helped convey the message of the story of the creation of the earth, and give it all an extra oomph.”

In September, Walt Disney World guests can glimpse today’s Canada in a 14-minute motion picture presented in CircleVision 360 as a major feature of the Canada pavilion in Epcot World Showcase. Titled “O Canada!” the updated film includes new scenes highlighting Canada’s natural beauty, cosmopolitan cities and diverse populace.

In addition, the film is now hosted by Canadian actor Martin Short, whose charm, warmth and wit add a distinct and authentic flair. Walt Disney Imagineers collaborated with the Canadian Tourism Commission to update the film, including new orchestration and images, and Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila singing the music of “O Canada!”

The motion picture takes guests from the far northeastern shores of Newfoundland’s Bay of Fundy by railroad to the southwestern beauty and tranquility of Buchart Gardens in British Columbia. Canada’s natural beauty is majestically displayed — from the 800-year-old redwood trees of Cathedral Grove to the astounding splendor of Horseshoe Falls to the snowy mountains of Kananaskis Valley.

The film includes the nation’s capital, Ottawa, with its Parliament buildings and Rideau Canal; the sophistication of Toronto, with its nightlife and film festivals; and Quebec City, the cradle of French civilization in Canada. Also mentioned: the not-so-famous but artfully named small towns of Moose Jaw and Medicine Hat. The people of Canada are featured in outdoor activities including skiing, whitewater rafting and hockey.

By: Carmine Torchetti             The World Showcase in Epcot houses some of the most interesting and ethnical aspects of Walt Disney World. It is indeed a classic area of the resort, comprising half the EPCOT theme park, including pavilions devoted to such countries as Italy, America, China, Japan, Morocco, Canada, England, and much more.  Indeed one of my favorite parts about the resort, it offers a wide variety of everything to be found in Disney World, well, almost everything.  There is much in the way of shows, dining, and shopping, but what about the rides? 

            We have Maelstrom, one of my favorites belonging to the Norway Pavilion, which is an exciting boat ride that takes you through the past of Norway’s Viking history. Then we have the Grand Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros, a boat ride that takes you through the culture and livelihood of Mexican culture.  Those are all fine and good, but for a pavilion that has some eleven countries, two rides seems too be not sufficient.  Now, there are theatrical shows that the other pavilions displays for the guests, such as Reflections of China in China’s pavilion, the American Adventure in the American Pavilion, and O Canada in the Canadian Pavilion, which will be getting its facelift, but there are some countries that don’t offering neither a sit-down theatrical show or a ride, such the United Kingdom, Morocco, and Italy.  Now although, some of these countries have stage productions, such as Morocco and Italy, again, it doesn’t seem to be sufficient.

            In the past, there have been plans to add such rides to the world showcase.  For example, some of the original pavilions were thought of when imagineers thought of adding rides to the showcase.  These included a Rollercoaster for Japan named Mount Fuji, due to the fact that it would be sponsored by Fuji Film and a simulated bullet train ride for Japan as well.  However, due to the fact that Disney had a long standing relationship with Kodak Film, the idea fell through.  Germany was also rumored to have a boat ride added to its pavilion, named Rhine River Cruise, another ride idea fell through.  Finally, more of a rumored ride idea was thought of for the Canadian Pavilion, a Brother Bear themed boat ride.

            Besides the Fuji/Kodak dispute, reasons for the rides above not being added are unknown, and sadly, no new ideas have been made public lately with the with regards to the world showcase and its rides or lack there of.  Now, some can make the argument that too many rides may take away from the effect of the World Showcase, and this I can agree with.  However, all I am talking about is something for every pavilion, if not a ride, a theatrical show.  For example, stage shows outside in Morocco and Italy do not seem to be enough for me, as I feel that a boat ride and a theatrical show in Norway leave guests with more of an understanding in Norwegian culture than in Italian culture.  The purpose of the world showcase is too educate and enlighten the guests of Walt Disney World to the very ethnicities, backgrounds, and lifestyles of their fellow guests as well as their own.  I firmly believe that in addition to the shows, rides, and appropriate cast members that work the pavilions that represent their respective  nationalities, additional rides will help improve the already popular area of Walt Disney World, as well as maintain the lure and luster it has had for so many years.