Disney MGM Studios " 3D Sound " now available on iPhone App

I don't remember the exact name of the attraction - if you do please let me know in the comments - but ten years ago, at the Disney MGM Studios there was an attraction where you could experiment what WDI Imagineers called "3D Sound". Basically, you had some headphone and sounds like hair cut, thunder storm, plane flying, etc were playing. It was really impressive as the sounds were incredible due to a new technique called "Holophonic Sounds". Later, WDI Imagineers used the same 3D sound technique in the Alien Encounter attraction.

Here is what Wikipedia is saying about this amazing Holophonic sound:

"Holophonics was created by Argentine Hugo Zuccarelli in 1980, during his studies at the Politecnico di Milano university. It, along with Zuccarelli, rose to fame in 1983 with the release of a recording entitled Zuccarelli Holophonics (The Matchbox Shaker) released in the UK by CBS which consisted entirely of short recordings of sound effects designed to show off the system. These included the shaking matchbox, haircut & blower, bees, balloon, plastic bag, birds, airplanes, fireworks, thunder, and racing cars. In its early years, Holophonics was used by various artists including Michael Jackson, who used Holophonics on his album "Bad", Paul McCartney, and Richard Branson. It has been used in film soundtrack, popular music, television and themeparks.

Zuccarelli stated that the human auditory system is a sound emitter, producing a reference sound that combines with incoming sound to form an interference pattern inside the ear. The nature of this pattern is sensitive to the direction of the incoming sound. According to the hypothesis, the cochlea detects and analyzes this pattern as if it were an acoustic hologram. The brain then interprets this data and infers the direction of the sound. Holophonics, like binaural recording, reproduces the interaural differences (arrival time and amplitude between the ears), as well as rudimentary head-related transfer functions. These create the illusion that sounds produced in the membrane of a speaker emanate from specific directions."



Now, why do i talk about this today? Because a new iPhone app (also working on iPad and iPod Touch) was released on the App Store. It's called 3D Audio Illusions and, although this iPhone application is not released by Disney, you'll be able to find back in it some of the great 3D sounds effects you've heard at the Disney MGM Studios attraction. And, good news, it is a FREE application! Here is the Appstore link to download it.

Another good news for those of you who don't own an iPhone as you'll be able to test right now a selection of these 3D sounds. You have the links below for five of them. So, put your headphone, close windows and stop any other sounds in your room to make sure you can enjoy them as best as possible! You can also listen the 3D sound effects of the Alien Encounter attraction in a really good "binaural audio" recording of the original attraction that you'll find on the excellent WDW Memories website HERE.


Here is some examples of Holophonic Sounds:

> Match Box

> Bell Sound

> Hair Cut

> Hair Dryer

> Sensual Woman Voice


Sounds: copyright holophonic.ch

Wikipedia text: copyright Wikipedia

A Disney MGM Studios celebration - Part Four - The Dick Tracy Crime Stoppers attraction that never was - Original Artwork

Hello, as promised, here is the part four of this Disney MGM Studios article series, and this time it will be about an attraction that never was - or almost was: Dick Tracy Crime Stoppers.

Remember this Warren Beatty movie adaptation of the famous Dick Tracy comic strip in 1990 ? The stylised movie where Al Pacino and all vilains had masks to have their faces looking like in the comic strip.



Yes, the one with Madonna playing in it - she was dating with Warren at that time!



Well, everybody at the WDC was so much convinced it will be a big hit that Walt Disney Imagineering designed a fantastic Dick Tracy attraction, a whole park area in fact.
An attraction where "Dick Tracy will recruit guests to shoot it out with gangsters bad guys"...



The 1990's press release was saying that " Guests will literally get "into the act" in this new high-tech action-adventure featuring the very latest in Audio-Animatronics, simulation, sound and special effects." And also: "Guests will join America's favorite comic-strip detective in a high-speed chase with his gangster adversaries." And in what kind of decor this high-speed chase would have take place? Well, this kind of decor - a really great great one.



Just below, two close shots of this artwork to have a better view how detailed it was.




As for the high-speed chase itself, this rendering below will give you a perfect feeling of it.



Here also, two close shots of the artwork.




It looked great, doesn't it? And not only the Dick Tracy Crime Stoppers attraction was envisioned for the Disney MGM Studios, but also for Disneyland, Anaheim for a whole new land: "Hollywoodland". And if you ask any imagineer who worked at WDI at that time and who had the luck to see the model, they will all tell you how great the attraction would have been.

Yes, but...the problem was that the box office of the movie didn't reached the WDC expectations, and, well, you know what kind of things happen when a "eagerly anticipated summer hit" finally is not that successful, don't you? That's right, all the plans were cancelled, and we're all still waiting for this Dick Tracy attraction...although...when i looked again to that cinemascope rendering of the decor, the right part of it reminds me something that i saw in the best themed park on earth: the streets under the elevated tramway at the American Waterfront of Tokyo Disney Sea.

Hmmmm, i'm wondering if something from Dick Tracy Crime Stoppers finally survived? Your thoughts?

Artwork: copyright Disney Enterprises Inc.

A Disney MGM Studios celebration - Part Three - The Great Movie Ride original artwork and behind the scenes pictures

Hello, here is part three of this Disney MGM Studios series, and, as promised, the article is about the Great Movie ride with original artwork and great behind the scenes photos of imagineers at work.

Above is the artwork for something that was probably a mural painting, and below a rendering of the Chinese Theatre area.



Another one of the Hollywood Boulevard with the Chinese Theatre in the background.



Here is a rare rendering for the Singing in the rain scene.



And of course, this one is for the John Wayne scene.



Below is the artwork for the gangsters scene. Imagineer Pat Burke remember: I was with another Imagineer named Malcolm when we were looking for the Gangster shoot out cars and found them. Malcolm needed some vintage gangster cars for the shootout scene. I took him to our big 12 mile walking Pomona auto meet. There we found a restored Chevy which the owner was so proud of with its new paint and mow hair interior like original. When he found out it would be in a Disney show in Florida he was so excited. He said he would bring his family down to see and visit it in its new home. He didn't know we would have to shoot it with many bullet holes for the scene. We trailered it out to the Highway Patrol to register it and mentioned the needed bullet holes. They said if we moved it out back to their firing range they would shoot it up with an old Tommy gun they had. We did so, and they shot it up as promised. I don't know if the previous owner ever went to WDW to see it?



And this is the rendering for the final Wizard of Oz scene.



Before we have a look to some behind the scenes pictures, here is a great story told to me by a friend imagineer about the "Casablanca" scene of the ride, and more specifically about the real plane one can see in the decor:
"The Casablanca scene has the real Casablanca Lockheed Electra plane used in the movie - and the tail section is in the WDW Jungle Cruise. The plane was located by Malcolm Cobb of WDI/ California, in Texas. Malcolm got the Lockheed registry of all the planes and their history and present owners and set out looking. On this Texas plane, no one had any idea it was the real plane until they ran its serial numbers and found it had been registered to the movie studio that made the film at that time. This was done after the purchase was completed. When Malcolm found it, it had been sitting for some time and not running. Another owner nearby owned three of these planes and wanted much more money for his as they were flyable. Malcolm didnt need one that flew and bought the cheapest one, being the real on. When the man who owned the three planes found out what he had missed, he was pretty upset at himself, as it had been right next to his backyard."

The first behind the scenes picture below shows an imagineer at work on the Busby Berkeley opening scene.



When we think about an Indiana Jones attraction, we generally think about Indiana Jones Adventure, or the Epic stunt spectacular, or the Temple du péril but we often forget that there is a great Indy scene in the Great Movie ride! Here, one imagineer is at work on one of the giant Anubis statues.



Other imagineers at work in the same room.



Final touch to the Ark of the Covenant scene.



Inside WDI workhouse, an imagineer measuring the beautiful Ark of the Covenant replica.



Putting in place the Egyptian mummies...



Final touch on the same mummies...



Almost cheek to cheek between a beautiful imagineer and a quite well done mummy...



No, it's not Tarzan and Jane, but two imagineers at work on the vegetation of the Tarzan scene.




And for those of you living outside the U.S who never had the luck to ride the Great Movie Ride, here is the video of the full ride, in two parts.








All artwork and photos: copyright Disney Enterprises Inc.

Youtube video: copyright coasterimage.com

A Disney MGM Studios celebration - Part Two - Sunset Boulevard and Tower of Terror original artwork

Hello, here is the part two of this Disney MGM Studios series and we will have a look today on the original artwork for the Sunset Boulevard and Tower of Terror. Part ONE of this article is HERE if you've missed it.

Let's begin first by a series of renderings for the Sunset Blvd facades, and note that the one above on the top show a building that was never built.







And, yes, the next one is the Carthay Circle Theater, which was replicated at Disney-Mgm and who will be, too, one of the icon of the new DCA placemaking, hosting the "Walt Disney story".



Here is another one, showing the Tower of terror in the background, and the Carthay Circle Theater on the right.



This next one is a beautiful night view, and the Carthay Circle Theater is now on the left!



And this rendering seems to indicate that a "Disney film festival" was envisioned by the imagineers in the Carthay Circle Theater. Just like on the rendering above, note the red tramway on the right. Never built, we will finally get it in the new DCA placemaking.



On this next rendering, have a close look the "orange grove" area on the top left, finally never done.



Let's have a look now to the Tower of terror renderings, beginning by these two early concepts. As you can see , the building had a totally different look.





Here is another TOT concept art, pretty rare, too.



The next renderings are others concept, closer to the final version, and a picture of the model.









This one is really interesting as it shows how the ride was previously envisioned, and as you can see, the Twilight Zone room was supposed to be in the basement and not at the top.



Let's end with a picture of the model that we all know, but always beautiful.




All artwork and photos: copyright Disney Enterprises Inc.

A Disney MGM Studios celebration - Part One - original artwork

Remember the Epcot original artwork series of articles i did recently? Well, the same day i was at WDW photo library during the 25th anniversary press event, i also had the good idea to ask them some material about the Disney MGM Studios - which they delivered to me after approval of WDW Imagineering. Now, with the digital era we are living in i'm not sure it will still be possible to have access to the photo library, but in those days of the end of the 90's, everybody was still using slides...

So, here is the part one of this Disney MGM Studios celebration, with lot of original artwork, and probably many that you will see for the first time. The first one below is of course a park overview, without the Sunset Boulevard which will be added later.



Next one is another one showing the whole park, from a different angle, and probably an early concept...



...just like this one, showing the soundstage and support buildings.



This one show the Hollywood Boulevard...



And on this one we can see a "Pooh Hollywood corner"...was the shop really built? I'm not sure, but tell me if i'm wrong...



This next one is a bird eye view of the Indiana Jones epic stunt spectacular building.



And this rendering show the final explosion scene.



Now, here are some interesting renderings, as i think - once again, please correct me if my wrong - that they're showing never realised attractions. And the one below show a kind of "filming tour" where guests would have been able to look behind windows to the real shooting of a movie - just like in the animation tour you were able to watch Disney artists working.



Here is another one, probably from the same concept.



Does anyone know to which attraction this next one is related - it seems to be the shooting of a tv show...



As well as this one, maybe the preshow of the one above...



The caption on the slide for the one below is: "Sounds effects theatre"



This one is for the Tram Tour on the New York street.



And here are three renderings for the Catastrophe canyon scene.





Next, is a rendering for the Honey i shrunk the kids playground.



And here is a picture of the model, with two WDI imagineers...



And another photo, shot during the making of the HISTK playground.



This last rendering is also related to an attraction based on the Honey i shrunk the kids movie, and i don't remember if it was finally built or not...i think it was - or is it not? Anybody knows?



Don't miss the part two coming soon, with a tribute to the Great Movie ride and the Chinese Theater replica!

All artwork: copyright Disney Enterprises Inc