World of Color

[dlfreak]

I still don't understand the paper cutouts especially now looking at what they are doing which is cutting out pieces of paper, taking pictures of it, and then assembling it all in the computer to animate. Why bother using the paper at all if it's all going to be animated in the computer to look like stop-motion? Just seems pretty bizarre.

[Camino]

Im excited to see them setting up for the show on any summer night, just like they do with fantasmic, it always amazes me how they set up a show like this.

[Nftysqrt]

I also get the feeling that they know people will be staying at the hotels and filming the testing, so there holding off on testing the wow factors. I don't knopw if it's true or not but makes sense. The show will be amazing, and Moon if it is just water dancing to music it's still freaking 100 million times better than anything else and will not be a failure. Look how popular the Bellagio is.

[JonasClark]

You can bet they're trying to hide some of the best stuff from the public. I'll toss in two recent discoveries, for those who don't know. One, all the globe lights in the viewing area DO have multicolor LEDs inside. Two, there are fountain jets with multicolor LED light rings hidden in the viewing area.

As to the water screen, the rear screen HAS been tested. It consists of 42 fan nozzles. The forward screen has approximately 22 of the same. As well, the back and front screens can be made with mist screens, or with Chasers set to continuous jet.

Problem: The central on-platform projector cabinet has been removed, and a larger hole cut. Reason yet unknown, but they may be rebuilding its elevator lift, which I believe is intended to tilt it back so it can project up from under the central rear mist screen, which can swing forward.

At least one Butterfly nozzle is installed and has been out there for a while. I'd say it's safe to say that it works; perhaps they're waiting for the rest to arrive.

Types of effects: A lot of this WILL be like a water show, but remember how many things can be done with the rig they have. The Grids can create carpets of water, walls and curved shapes, change height to create three-dimensional shapes (like the whales' backs for the Finding Nemo sequence). Chasers can do high-speed Bellagio type chases, and there are two arcs, connected at the SSS end and each touching multiple concentric rings, making possible lots of complex chases. They can also fire for longer periods, creating circular forms and walls of water. There are three different types of moving nozzles (fan, jet and spinner) as well as cones that can change into jets and back. Fog covers the platform. Images can be projected, not only on fans (which can move around, taking a wedge of projected image and moving it) and on screens, but on anything, including the wake of a moving jet. I could go on... This show has countless possibilities, and I have full confidence in the programmers' understanding what can be done, and pushing the rig to the limits. They want this to be incredible.

[dlfreak]

A year ago I was very hesitant about a water show really being enough to really be impactful for longer than the initial launch but after seeing the digital recreations at the D23 Expo and just imagining this done with water... it can't be anything BUT impressive. Plus, the ease of it being "reloaded" for additional shows is pretty promising... I just hope they actually do as they intend and constantly update the show.

[n747]

I still don't understand the paper cutouts especially now looking at what they are doing which is cutting out pieces of paper, taking pictures of it, and then assembling it all in the computer to animate. Why bother using the paper at all if it's all going to be animated in the computer to look like stop-motion? Just seems pretty bizarre.

Have you seen any animation quite like that? I know I haven't. There's a magic to the paper...combined with the fluid motion that computers can naturally provide. Stop motion is neat...but it's really ragged and not at all refined for something as spectacular and monumental as this show. With this, they've created a flat...yet highly dimensional and extremely lively type of animation. It's phenomenal!

They're playing on the fact that the water screen is flat...yet giving us surprising depth and atmosphere using 2-dimensional collaged elements. I applaud them for doing something completely unexpected - I mean, they have the projection technology to display full HD movies in billions of reproducible colors - yet they've decided to not hit us over the head with it and are using an animation that is gentler and 'warm' - it's on the line of 'cutesy' but not overly simplistic.

[dlfreak]

South Park for the CG paper animation and Corpse Bride for amazing stop-motion assisted with CG.

[n747]

South Park for the CG paper animation and Corpse Bride for amazing stop-motion assisted with CG.

Right, but in either case, both outputs are still very choppy. This is super smooth animation with a real paper model. I don't think anything has been done at the level that they're doing it (even though the method isn't new).

[dlfreak]

I don't understand, I'd say that these paper animations are pretty choppy (pardon the pun). Corpse Bride was far from choppy, in fact I'd venture to say that these paper cut outs are being intentionally animated to LOOK choppy (as if done by animation to make this look like stop-motion) which just begs the question... why bother having an artist actually cut them out on paper to begin with? Why not just have her design the shapes digitally if they are going to be digitally animated anyway?

I don't think South Park was ever animated by hand outside of the initial pilot episode... but it still looks like paper. The animation style is intentionally choppy. They could design these cutout shapes digitally. I'm not arguing that it doesn't belong, visually it it IS interesting... just seems weird to bother designing it out, cutting it out on colored paper and then scanning it into a computer to animate.

All of that aside, it's kinda funny to think that paper is supposed to be coming to life in water instead of actually going limp and sagging.

[Disneytom]

I don't think South Park was ever animated by hand outside of the initial pilot episode... but it still looks like paper. The animation style is intentionally choppy. They could design these cutout shapes digitally. I'm not arguing that it doesn't belong, visually it it IS interesting... just seems weird to bother designing it out, cutting it out on colored paper and then scanning it into a computer to animate.

Maybe they are making everything digitally and these cut-outs are just "models" and the movie is just Disney-marketing-talk...?!