Events
Universal Orlando mixes hi-tech & simple tricks to serve up scares at Halloween Horror Nights 25
With October 31st just a few days away now, millions of
people are in the process of putting the finishing touches on their home
Halloween displays. All with the hope that they'll then be able to impress the
neighbors and/or thrill some trick-or-treaters when they come a-knockin' on All
Hallows' Eve.
But what are the exact components of a truly successful
seasonal display? To get a definitive answer to this question, I reached out to
Mike Aiello, Director of Entertainment – Creative Development for Universal
Orlando Resort. This event has been serving up top flight frights during
Halloween Horror Nights for 25 years.
And Mike? He's been a part of HHN right from the beginning.
Aiello and his father went to Universal Studios Florida back in October of 1991
and experienced the very first edition of this holiday hard ticket.
Mike Aiello and Jack the Evil Clown (Mike's the one on the left).
Copyright Universal Orlando. All rights reserved
"Then when I was in high school, I actually began
working at the park as a scareactor,which is what we call the Universal team
members who work inside our mazes and scare zones," Mike stated.
"Over time, I rose up through the ranks at Entertainment and was
eventually lucky enough to play Jack the evil clown — who was one of the more
memorable characters that we've introduced at Halloween Horror Nights. In fact,
our guests so loved the Jack character that we brought him back to serve as
host of the 25th anniversary edition of this annual event."
Nowadays, Mike and the Universal Entertainment team work
year 'round dreaming up the nightmarish mazes that have made Universal
Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights one of the most popular seasonal scare events
presented annually in the U.S.
Which is why I thought that he'd be the perfect guy to reach out when I was
looking for tips when it came to constructing a truly terrifying home Halloween
display.
And Aiello? He did not disappoint. Mike was quick to point
out the relatively simple but ingenious things that Universal Orlando does to
ratchet up the thrills in its mazes and scare zones.
Copyright Universal Orlando. All rights reserved
"When building their home Halloween displays, people do
tend to concentrate on the visuals. Which are — obviously — important. But
you also have to remember that — along with sight — people have four other
senses. And if you really want to give someone a genuinely memorable scare, you
then have to try and engage some of those other senses," Aiello explained.
"That's the one thing that we like to do here at Universal Orlando with
our guests. Attack as many of their senses as possible."
"Take — for example — scent. These days, we always
take smell into consideration when we're designing something for Halloween
Horror Nights. In fact, one of the coolest days during our maze development
process is when the team gets to experience what we call smell day," Mike
said.
"And what exactly is smell day?" you ask. That's
when one of the vendors that Universal Orlando works with on Halloween Horror
Nights drops by with a suitcase full of her latest creations.
Copyright Universal Orlando. All rights reserved
"She's this scientist who creates smells. And when she
comes to meet with us, this vendor brings along this suitcase that's filled
with all sorts of smells. Pumpkins, cupcake & cookie scents. But then —
from the bowels of this first suitcase — she pulls out another, smaller
suitcase. And there's a reason that I used the word 'bowels.' Because this
second suitcase contains some of the most horrifying scents you can possibly
think of," Aiello continued.
"And why would someone spend the time to scientifically
recreate all of these horrifying odors?," you query. Because — as it
turns out — this vendor doesn't work for Universal Orlando exclusively. She
also works with the military and law enforcement, training them when it comes
to certain types of smells. Like — for example — rates of decay.
Anyway … Aiello and the Halloween Horror Nights creative
team work closely with this woman to determine just the right order in which to
introduce odors within each of their mazes. With the hope being that — if
guests encounter just the right scent combination as they enter a specific
space — they can then be successfully set up for the scare that's soon to
follow.
Copyright Universal Orlando. All rights reserved
"Take — for example — our 25th anniversary maze. As
you go through that facade, you're immediately hit over the head with this dirt
& root smell, plus a little bit of pumpkin scent in the corridor,"
Mike said. "And that smell combination was completely intentional. We
really wanted — as soon as the guests came through Jack's facade — to hit
them over the head with that kind of natural smell. And it's really pungent
through there. Which is good, because that mixture of scents immediately puts
you in a different location than you were just seconds before."
So keeping that in mind, if you're going with a
Zombies-rising-from-the-grave theme for your home Halloween display, why not
set a pail of freshly turned earth in front of a fan? That way, the air will
then be filled with the smell of those graves that the undead just clawed their
way out of.
Similarly, Aiello's also a big fan of putting people on edge
by using the sense of touch.
Copyright Universal Orlando. All rights reserved
"Mind you, at the Universal theme parks, our
scareactors are not ever allowed to touch our guests." Mike shared.
"That said, we have figured out a way to give our guests the sensation of
touch. And it's honestly one of the simplest scare tactics ever. We're using it
this year at Halloween Horror Nights to great effect inside of our Insidious
maze," Aiello enthused. "What we've done is hang strands of fishing
line in the pathway. And you can't see it as you're walking through the
darkened maze. But you can definitely feel that fishing line as it touches your
skin. And the way that our brains are wired is that we then misinterpret the
sensation of walking into that hanging strand of fishing line that you can't
see as a ghostly light touch on our face or our arm. And that simple.
easy-to-do thing really does freak out a lot of our guests."
Sound is also a great sense to toy with. Especially if
you're looking for new ways to frighten someone. And Mike insisted that there
are frights to be found at both ends of the sound spectrum.
"Here at Universal Orlando, we believe that sound is
just as important as our scenic. Which is why — for something like our
American Werewolf in London maze —
we built an elaborate sound design that actually made use of the stems that
John Landis' team used when they were in the original Pro Tools session for
this 1981 film. We even added a lot of low end to that maze's sound design so
that you can now actually feel that wolf even before he launches his
attack," Aiello stated.
Copyright Universal Orlando. All rights reserved
And how do the dark wizards behind Halloween Horror Nights
pull off this particular effect? As it turns out, there's high frequency low decibel
audio tone that they've deliberately placed on the soundtrack for the American
Werewolf maze which kicks in just a few seconds before the actual wolf sound
happens. And this high frequency low decibel audio tone — while it may be hard for the human ear to
hear — is so strong that it literally reverberates the wood in the enclosures
where these wolves are positioned in that haunted house.
"That sound effect is totally subliminal. But if it
weren't there, the guests would definitely know it. Those wolf-driven scares in
the American Werewolf maze wouldn't be nearly as effective," Mike
insisted.
Obviously, the average person isn't going to be able to do
something that technologically advanced for their home Halloween display. But
Aiello maintained that there are equally big scares to be mined by going with a
simple sound design.
Copyright Universal Orlando. All rights reserved
"That's what I love about what we've done with our
Insidious maze. Just like the films in this horror series — which are terrific
to watch in full surround sound, by the way — the house itself is the star of
the show. So as you walk through this maze, you can hear the eerie creaks
behind you, then in front of you, then off to the side. And that sort of audio
texture — used sparingly — can really unnerve people," Mike enthused.
Mind you, if you're a Central Florida
local and are looking for ideas for your home Halloween display, you can always
swing by Universal Studios Florida over the next five nights and then
experience HHN25 in person. This hard ticket event continues through November
1st. But don't be surprised if you see some pretty hi-tech stuff being tried
out along with the very simple, easy-to-do-at-home scares that Mike mentioned
earlier in this article.
"Last year, we did some tests during the very last
weekend of the event. We brought out some new technology that we're still
investigating," Aiello cryptically commented. "And we're of the
mindset here at Universal that we don't want to present an effect officially to
the public until we have it perfected– that we're doing it the very best that
we can. And I think that we're actually looking to do some more in-park tests
this year. Make use of some new technology that — I hope — we can then add to
our tool box and then use to build bigger & better mazes and scare zones in
the years ahead."
This article was originally posted on the Huffington Post's Entertainment page on October 28, 2015
Events
From toxic gas leaks to the triumph of ‘Finding Dory,’ Lindsey Collins has loved every minute of her time at Pixar Animation Studios
When it comes to “Finding Dory” producer Lindsey Collins, she takes “going-with-your-gut” to a whole new level.
To explain: This Occidental College graduate joined Walt Disney Animation Studios straight out of school in 1994. And after working as a PA on “Pocahontas” & “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Lindsey had just been made assistant production manager on “Hercules” when she began hearing people talk about Pixar.
“I was working at Disney with Ron & John (Author’s note: That’s Ron Clements & John Musker, the acclaimed animation directing team behind not only “Hercules” but also “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin” and WDAS’ soon-to-be-released “Moana”) and was really enjoying that experience. But just before ‘Toy Story’ came out, there was a brief blurb in the company newsletter about Pixar. And I was like ‘Well, who are these guys?’ And then I got to meet John Lasseter and was just totally blown away by what he and his team were doing,” Collins recalled during a recent phone interview.
Lindsey Collins. Copyright Disney Pixar
“Anyway, Disney liked what I was doing at Feature Animation and really wanted me to stay on there. So they offered me a contract. And I was like ‘I’m fine. I can stay here.’ So I signed that contract. And then I went home and threw up all night,” Lindsey laughed. “The very next day, I went back into Disney and said ‘I’m sorry. I can’t do this. I really have to go.’ Then I went up to the Bay area and basically pounded on Pixar’s door & said ‘please, please, please hire me.’ “
Luckily for Ms. Collins, Pixar Animation Studios was just in the process of gearing up to do “A Bug’s Life.” More to the point, Sharon Calahan – the director of photography on that production – saw lots of potential in this recent Mouse House escapee.
“Sharon was hugely involved with Pixar’s decision to hire me. And part of that was because I had worked with background painters while I was at Disney Feature Animation. So even though I had no clue how CG worked at that time, I could talk with Sharon in the terms of painting. And she was like ‘That’s exactly how I want people around here to start thinking when it comes to how we light our scenes,’ ” Collins continued.
Sharon Calahan. Copyright Disney Pixar
“Mind you, I was the one who kept telling Sharon ‘I don’t know how helpful I can be to you guys. Because I really don’t understand a lot of what you’re saying when it comes to CG.’ But she wouldn’t give up on me. Sharon kept insisting that – because I had already worked with artists and knew how to communicate a vision for a painting – I was also going to be able to communicate with software engineers. It was just a matter of learning a new language. Sharon was instrumental in convincing me that I had any right to be at Pixar,” Lindsey stated.
Which isn’t to say that life was initially easy for Collins at Pixar. First there was that steep learning curve which came with her new job (“When I first got here, I had no idea what a render farm was. I was like ‘There’s a farm? Like a petting zoo?’ “). Then there was the fact that the Port Richmond office park which housed this animation studio at that time was downwind of a Chevron plant (“Sometimes – because there’d be explosions or gas leaks at that plant — we’d then be told to shelter in place or to not come into work at all that day. We used to call those toxic snow days”).
But even under these somewhat stressful & occasionally toxic conditions, Lindsey thrived. Largely because she really loved her new co-workers at Pixar (“They were people who could really make me laugh. In a way I didn’t know that real adults / professionals could make me laugh. And I feel like I haven’t stopped since I got here”).
Copyright Disney Pixar
But it hasn’t all been big laughs. Take – for example – what happened when Ed Catmull, the president of Pixar Animation Studios, approached Collins (who was producing “Finding Dory” at that time) about a change that he wanted to make to that Andrew Stanton film.
“Pixar had this new renderer that it wanted to try out. And Ed felt ‘Dory’ would be the perfect project to try this new technology on. The only problem was that – when Ed approached me – we were already well into production on this ‘Finding Nemo’ sequel. Which meant – if we were going to take full advantage of what Ed was offering us – we’d then have go back and redo a bunch of stuff we’d already done on this movie,” Lindsey said.
“But the good news was – because “Dory” was a sequel to “Nemo” – we weren’t discovering a look for this movie. We were just trying to improve on it,” Collins continued. “And that was the handshake deal that Ed was offering. That – if we agreed to use this new renderer plus some new lighting & shading tools. Basically reinventing the entire back end of the Pixar production line – we’d then end up with a far better looking film that was still set in the same world as ‘Nemo.’ As long as the studio delivered on that promise, Andrew was willing to go for it. Mind you, it would be another full year before Andrew would then actually get to see any footage that this new renderer produced. So it was a huge leap-of-faith on his part. But Andrew was incredibly excited when the redone ‘Dory’ footage began coming in and it all looked so great.”
Copyright Disney Pixar
Another technology challenge that Lindsey had to deal with while producing this “Finding Nemo” sequel was Hank the septopus. But in this case, as soon as Collins saw this character described in an early draft of Stanton’s ‘Dory’ script, she immediately got Pixar’s character department involved.
“When you’re working as a producer, you get to see pages a lot earlier than the rest of the crew. And as soon as I read that first scene with Hank, I turned to Andrew and said ‘Just how big a character are we talking here?’ And he said ‘I think it’s a pretty big role.’ And I was like ‘Okay.’ And I then went down to the character department and told them that Andrew wanted to add an octopus to the cast. And they all went kind of pale,” Lindsey said. “I think what they knew right-off-the-bat that – if we were going to do an octopus in the ‘Nemo’ / ‘Dory’ world with all of the realism & beauty that entails and then have that character fit in – it was going to be incredibly difficult if not kind of impossible to pull that off. Largely because the character of Hank couldn’t be super-cartoony.”
“I mean, on ‘Finding Nemo,’ we had had Pearl, the little octopus who was in Mr. Ray’s class. But clearly the whole point of a character like Hank was that he needed to be a jack-of-all-trades. That this character was going to have to be able to get in & out of everything. So the character department knew – right off the bat – that this was going to be something that would kind of break the bank, if you will,” Collins continued.
Copyright Disney Pixar
“Now what you have to understand about Pixar is that we play ‘Chicken’ a lot here. By that I mean, we see how long we can let something sit on the page before we then have to finally move it into production. But when it came to Hank, that just wasn’t an option,” Lindsey stated. “Based on this character’s needs, Hank was going to take every minute we had, all the time between when he first appeared in Andrew’s script and when we’d be in full production on ‘Dory’ to build this. So we needed to commit very early on this character. But the good news is that I think we bet right on Hank. He actually wound up being a far bigger character in this film. And I think that was partially because the technology which drove this character was so cool.”
So how did it feel – after five years of hard work – to have “Finding Dory” become this hugely popular motion picture? The fifth animated film in all of Hollywood history to earn over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office? Collins – the mother of three – put a somewhat maternal spin on her reply.
“You have to understand that – when you work on projects like ‘Dory’ or ‘John Carter’ for as long as Andrew and I did – these movies are kind of like your kids. In that they then go off & have their own successes & failures which are kind of beyond your control as a parent,” Lindsey said. “But as you’re finishing up working on a film, emotions do sometimes well up at the weirdest time.”
Thomas Newman (L) and Andrew Stanton in the booth during the recording sessions for “Finding Dory” ‘s score. Copyright Disney Pixar
Take – for example – what happened while Collins & Stanton were sitting in the recording booth as Thomas Newman rode herd on “Finding Dory” ‘s scoring sessions.
“We’d had this huge orchestra for four days. And then – on the last day – Tom cleared the stage and recorded the scene where Nemo, Marlin & Dory reunite in the pipes under the Marine Life Center. Now you have to understand that this is one of the only times in his score for ‘Finding Dory’ that Tom reprises a cue from “Finding Nemo.’ And he has this single clarinet – or was it an oboe? – play that cue,” Lindsey recalled. “And as this was happening, Andrew got really quiet. He was just sitting there, watching.”
“So I went up to him and said ‘What’s going on? How are you feeling about all this?’ Because we were finishing this film up at that time. And Andrew looked at me and he was really emotional. And then he said “I remember the first time I wrote Dory’s name on a piece of paper. I can’t believe how far she’s come.’ And that’s when I started getting emotional too, ” Collins said.
Andrew Stanton & Lindsey Collins. Copyright Disney Pixar
And speaking of ” … how far she’s come,” one might say the same thing about Lindsey. Who – it should be noted here – when she was studying at Occidental College 25 years ago, didn’t major in business or film studies. But – rather – diplomacy and world affairs.
“Those diplomacy skills do actually come in handy when you’re working on a movie. But you want to honestly know the very best thing you can do at college if you eventually hope to become a producer? Work as an RA,” Collins concluded. “Katherine Sarafian – who’s also a producer here at Pixar — also ran a dorm while she was in college. And the two of us agree that that job was great training for becoming a producer. When you’re constantly dealing with people and have to get answers to ridiculous questions like ‘Okay, who pooped in the closet?’ “
The Blu-ray & DVD version of Pixar’s “Finding Dory” hits store shelves today.
This article was originally published by the Huffington Post on Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Events
Women in Animation panels prove that there’s more to San Diego Comic-Con than just promotion of pop culture
Thanks to Comic-Con International, now through Sunday, San
Diego is the white-hot center of the pop culture universe.
Photo by Jim Hill
Mind you, there’s more to this four day-long event than
those high-profile presentations in Hall H. Which is where various movie
studios will be parading celebrities & showing exclusive clips. All with
the hope that those 6000 early adopters who have (some of them, anyway) been
camped out in this cavernous convention center for hours ahead of time will
then hop on social media and start evangelizing about how cool that footage
from next summer’s would-be blockbuster looked.
But if you can look past those long lines for
limited-edition merchandise and/or the tens of thousands of people who are
cosplaying, you’ll see that there’s another, more serious side to Comic-Con
International. And that’s the part of this four day-long event which allows a lot
of creatives to reconnect with one another.
Take – for example – Marge Dean, the general manager of
Stoopid Buddy Stoodios (i.e., that Burbank-based operation which is responsible
for “Robot Chicken,” television’s longest-running stop motion series, as well
as Sony’s just-about-to-begin-production-on-its-second-season-for-Crackle
superhero spoof, “SuperMansion”). Over the past decade, she’s made at least
eight trips down to San Diego for Comic-Con International. And what Marge loves
most about this four day-long event is all of the old friends she invariably
runs into as she’s coming & going from the convention center.
Photo by Jim Hill
“Whenever I’m down in San Diego for Comic-Con, I just love
the experience of getting outside the hall, walking down the street and then
suddenly going ‘It’s you ! A guy I haven’t seen in three years ! How are you
!,” Dean recalled during a recent phone interview. “Even though I really don’t
like driving to Comic-Con – which is why, these days, I always take the train
down from LA – I really enjoy strolling around San Diego and then running into
people that I haven’t seen for a long, long time.”
Mind you, Marge is sure to run into a lot of people that she
knows / has previously worked with today in Room 24ABC at the San Diego
Convention Center. That’s because this is where Comic-Con’s “Cartoon Creatives:
Women Power in Animation” panel will be held starting at 4:30 p.m. PT. And
joining Dean at this gathering (which will be shining a spotlight on Women in
Animation‘s goal to have a 50/50 workforce by 2025) will be a veritable who’s
who from the worlds of television & feature animation.
Among those who are scheduled to appear today are:
Daron Nefcy, the creator / executive producer of “Star vs. the Forces of Evil.”
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
-
Lauren Faust (the creator of “My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic”) -
Brooke Keesling (the director of animation
talent development at Disney TV Animation) -
Katie Krentz (the senior director of development
at Cartoon Network) -
Lauren Montgomery (the co-executive producer of
“Voltron: Legendary Defender”) -
Daron Nefcy (the creator / executive producer of
“Star vs. the Forces of Evil”) -
Gina Shay (the producer of DreamWorks
Animation’s “Trolls”) -
Stevie Wermers-Skelton (the co-director of
Disney’s upcoming “Frozen” holiday special)
Dean (who serves as the co-president of WIA) views this
hour-long session (which will be moderated by Leslie Combemale of Animation
Scoop) as a great example of a lesser known aspect of Comic-Con International.
Which is the many ways that this four day-long event educates the fan
community. Gives them a clearer understanding of what’s really going on in
today’s entertainment world.
Marge Dean, co-president of Women in Animation, speaking at a WIA event
honoring Nickelodeon’s contributions to television animation.
“I mean, did you know that women hold only 20% of the
creative roles in today’s animation industry? While the landscape has obviously
changed over the 20+ years that I’ve worked in this field, women still predominantly
work on the management side of animation. Not the creative end of things,”
Marge continued. “That’s a big part of what the Women in Animation organization
is all about. More to the point, why we’re doing outreach to the fan community
at Comic-Con this week. We’re looking to shine a spotlight on this disparity in
the industry and hopefully create some opportunities for more women to break
through creatively in the future.”
Of course, in order to know where you are (more importantly,
where you’re headed next), it helps to have to have a firm understanding of
where you’ve been. Which is why WIA will be holding a second panel at Comic-Con
International, “She Made That? Nickelodeon hosts Women in Animation.” This
presentation (which will also be held in Room 24ABC from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. PT on
Friday, July 22nd) will honor some of the real pioneers of
television animation. The women who helped create such memorable Nicktoon
series as:
-
Vanessa Coffey (“The Ren & Stimpy Show,”
“Rugrats” & “Doug”) - Mary Harrington (“Invader Zim,” “Hey Arnold!”)
Television animation pioneer Margaret Loesch
Of course, Coffey was quick to credit the woman who gave her
a leg up when she was just getting her start in animation in the early 1980s.
And that was Margaret Loesch, the then-President and CEO of Marvel Productions.
“At that time, Margaret was the only woman working in
television animation. I was just this intern, working down the hall from Stan
Lee. But Margaret took a chance on me,” Vanessa remembered. “And Margaret not
only mentored me, she genuinely inspired me. I mean, here she was running this
huge production company in a field that was mostly run by men. Margaret proved to
me that not only should women in the animation business but that they could be
these huge successes.”
You see? That’s what’s really great about Comic-Con
International. If you can just get past all of the hype (not to mention handle those
super-crowded conditions you’ll encounter out on the show floor), you might
then discover that some real education has been mixed in with your
entertainment.
(L to R) Vanessa Coffey, Stephen
Hillenburg (the creator of
“SpongeBob SquarePants”) and and Butch Hartman (the
creator of “The Fairly Oddparents.”
Comic-Con International is running at the San Diego
Convention Center now through Sunday, July 24th.
This article was originally posted on the Huffington Post’s Entertainment page on Thursday, July 21, 2016.
Books & Print
It’s Jim Hill in the Restaurant with the Book – The Jungle Book – and You Can Join Him June 5th
It’s a Jungle (Book) Out There
For more than 50 years, The Walt Disney Company has been reimagining the writings of Rudyard Kipling–taking his tales of Mowgli the man-cub and his animal friends and then turning them into hugely popular films and television series.
Let Jim Hill take you from Bill Peet’s far-too-dark take on this tale (which Walt Disney just hated) to Jon Favreau’s photo-realistic box office smash (for which the Studio is already developing a sequel).
You’re sure to go ape as you listen to all of these great behind-the-scenes show business stories.
Join us June 5th, 2016 from 11:30 AM-1:30 PM at HB Burger, 127 West 43rd Street in New York City
Tickets are $62.00: Each ticket includes lunch at HB Burger, the program, and a special souvenir.
Buy tickets now on line here –> Unofficial Guide’s Disney Dish site or here –> e.t.c. (events — tailor made & customized)
Get your tickets now!
email events@etccustomevents.com with any additional questions.
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