I can’t believe how close we are to the opening! It’s been a crazy few months, but I’m having a great time putting together this show.
Today I’m sharing a first look at how we’re getting the fountains to “dance.” Since “World of Color” doesn’t have any live performers, the fountains will become our dancers and actors. To help with staging the fountains, we brought in Joshua Horner. Josh is a fantastic choreographer from Australia. One of his dreams was to work with Walt Disney Imagineering on a show. Well, I am glad we were able to make his dream come true!
We asked Josh to take the musical score for the show and create a style and choreographic point of view for each number. Whether it was the signature look to the show’s theme, or the lush balletic moves in “Part of Your World,” Josh put his heart and soul into the movement of each piece.
The end result of his work was inspiring. We brought the creative team together and had Josh present his ideas. For each of us it became a wonderful fount of inspiration that sparked new ideas and really helped shaped the show.
One of the most amazing experiences you can have is to be in recording sessions for a Disney Spectacular. Last week I had one of those days… and it was extra special. An orchestra of over a hundred players performed the score for World of Color. Even more exciting, we recorded it at the famous Abbey Road studio in London.
The orchestral score is a very important element to any show. In my mind, it makes up more than fifty-percent of the experience for an audience. The World of Color score has taken over a year to create due to its complexity. Mark Hammond – the show’s composer – worked countless months perfecting the harmonic nuance of each scene.
Since the show is built out of classic Disney animation moments, each scene needed its own flavor and personality. When we strung them all together, they would create the perfect environment where water, light and projections could live in harmony. The end result, as we are hearing today in this video of the recording of the ‘Night on Bald Mountain’ music from Fantasia, is glorious.
Hi, I’m Steve Davison, and I’m an Imagineer with Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment. I’m joining the Disney Parks Blog this month to talk about a project that’s very close to my heart – “World of Color.” In the coming months, I’ll be sharing the latest updates on the show, some inside information and exclusive photos and videos.
As testing begins in the Paradise Bay Lagoon, through periodic blog posts, we’re going to be giving guests a behind the “water screen” look at the show as it is created. It will take months of programming to bring all the elements to life as we weave the tapestry of the show together. When you create a show you mentally put it together in your mind. Then you take those initial ideas and test them looking for the right look and feel. After a lot of trial and error, you finally get to see it come to life in front of your eyes.
But even before the programming sessions can begin, all the effects systems have to be brought on-line and fleshed out. With thousands of individual effects in the show, this meticulous initial testing process takes time. Every device has to be individually tested and programmed into the master show matrix. Once this is complete, the actual programming can begin.
One of the first effects elements to be tested was the fire system. Audiences are going to be really surprised by the World of Color fire effects. Because the units are randomly placed throughout the show platform, they will shock you when they appear. Here is a test video of the first look at the fire. While it is not the final program, it will give you a sense of the visual power it yields!
Thanks for visiting the Disney Parks Blog. We welcome your comments. Please understand that this is a moderated blog. Blog comments will be reviewed prior to posting. As a result, there will be a delay in the posting of comments. Not all comments will be posted. Comments may also be removed after they are posted.
