The Universal Orlando, Halloween Horror Nights 18

Click image to enlarge

After many weeks of planning and pixel pushing, this year's Universal Orlando, Halloween Horror Nights website has gone live!!!

Keep checking in on the site in the coming days and weeks and watch it unfold.
This will be my third year on Universal HHN team and I can tell you that it is going to be an amazing event!

Launch Over the Lagoon

This afternoon, at 5:02 PM the Space Shuttle Discovery launched on mission STS/124. I watched it from the lagoon at Universal Studios, Orlando. Even though it is more than 45 miles away,

it is always an amazing sight!

I was standing on the New York side of the lagoon, looking across to the pointy roof the "La Bamba" restaurant, the soundstage containing the "ET" ride (center), and The Hard Rock Hotel (far right). 

Click images to enlarge

Orlando Time

Sorry for the long delay since my last entry. I have been settling back into the routine of living and working in Florida again. I am back to work at Universal, helping the Halloween Horror Nights team to dream up another awesome event.

I had a chance to park-hop at Disney last weekend. The crowds at the Magic Kingdom were pretty large, and I walked out of 3 disorganized restaurants before giving up and deciding to eat off the property. That part was not very magical.

However, the mansion was as wonderful as ever, and Pirates looked great too!

I also found the spot where the well used to be. (See the January 12, 2007 post)

We were handed a "wait card" while in line for the mansion. We were asked to give it to the cast member at the doombuggie operations board. It is one way Disney determines the queue wait times.

I also went to Disney Studios and went on my number one themed thrill ride, Tower of Terror!

I'm sorry, but I think the giant Sorcerer's Apprentice hat, blocking the beautiful Chinese Theater centerpiece, is one the biggest design blunders I've seen in a long time! What were they thinking? The fact that all it houses is a pin trading post, makes it even more ridiculous.

Give us b ack our beautiful sight lines! I think Walt would have a fit!

Epcot was very nice. I finally saw the Spaceship Earth rennovations, and thought they were fantastic! Judi Dench is a favorite actor of mine, and her narration was very soothing (Although Walter Cronkite will always be my favorite). The interactive "movie" was a little silly, but my big dumb head pasted onto a retro styled animated character was pretty darned funny!

Even though I'll be at Universal for the next 5 months, we still played in the parks on Sunday. In particular I wanted to ride the new "The Simpsons Ride"! It's a very funny, wild ride, (although I found it slightly nauseating, probably due to my age). Something I was not at liberty to tell you earlier was that Universal Creative tapped me to create some graphics for this attraction, and it was terrific seeing my work installed!

It w as also exciting to see the steel rising behind Jurassic Park at Islands of Adventure, as construction on the "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" is underway!

I'm looking forward to doing a lot more cool things while I'm here, so stay tuned!

Universal Monsters, Haunted Mansions and Friends

Tim (on the left), who works at Universal, Hollywood, built a beautiful version on my Liberty Square haunted mansion model, complete with lights and sound effects

(I mentioned it in an earlier post March 14th).

Tim built it as a birthday present for his pal, Daniel Roebuck. You might recognize Daniel (on the right) from his many movie and TV appearances over the years. You can see all of his credits here.

Daniel writes about the model - "It’s just slightly smaller then the real thing so finding a place for it has been difficult. I finally decided to give it Grace’s room so I sent her to a CONVENT!"

Click image to enlarge

Tim writes, "My superbly talented neighbor and friend (who does animatronic work for Disney theme parks) helped me coordinate the lights with a one-minute sound chip placed in the house.

Here’s the basic show sequence:

Wind blowing and lone dog howling heard

Loud thunderclap accompanied by mini strobe reflecting

off the house

Haunted Mansion organ music begins and continues thru male voiceover

LEDs in the greenhouse pulsate to the voiceover, giving the impression the

disembodied voice is coming from ’something’ in the greenhouse!

Voiceover (deep male voice):

"Welcome foolish mortals to the Haunted Mansion. (chuckle)

I am your host, your GHOST host. There’s no turning back now.

AHH HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

-brief silence-

Heartbeat sound heard accompanied by the red LED pulsating in the tower windows

Female voice scream!

Soft female voice:

"Hurry back.......hurry baaaaack....."

End of show-"

Hey, Tim, I want MY mansion to that now! :)

Daniel and Tim are also HUGE fans of horror, and in particular, the classic Monsters of Universal. They are avid collectors of anything monster related, and their "Mons ter Rooms" are amazing!

After corresponding with Tim and Daniel for a while, they led me to a Universal Monster fan site "Universal Monster Army" which is great fun. There is even a section where members post photos of their "Monster Rooms" including Tim and Daniel. It is wonderful to see that somewhere the "classics" are still getting the attention they deserve!

Geisterhaus-Papiermodelle

It was very exciting to discover that Haunted Dimensions was linked on the German magazine web site, Der Spiegel-Online!

Haunted Dimensions is also mentioned in this week's Ehrensenf web TV show!

Show host, Mark Freuer, mentions Haunted Dimensions at around 2:30.

But do not blink! It only lasts about 10 seconds.

I really enjoy the international appeal of my projects!

As a fun side note, Mark and his co-host make cameo appearances in The Hooters video

"I'm Alive".

A Beautiful Haunted Mansion Book!

I received my copy of the SLG Publishing's hardback, Haunted Mansion comic compilation, "The Haunted Mansion: Welcome Foolish Mortals".

First, let me say, Yes, I am an affiliate with SLG. They asked me to help promote their book through this site and, being a fan of their comic series, I gladly agreed. I was sure that the book would be a cool addition to any mansion-phile's collection, but I honestly had no idea how gorgeous the book would be until I receiv ed my own copy!

This book is fantastic!

Click images to enlarge

The art and stories are an fun, eclectic collection of interpretations of the Disney Haunted Mansion lore. S ome are whimsical and light-hearted, and others have the spooky, dark style of the old pulp horror magazines I grew up with, like Eerie and Creepy.

The book itself is designed beautifully! It comes in a full color box sleeve, which helps protect the beautiful tome inside.

When I pulled the book out from the sleeve, I had to say "Wow!".

The back cover has a gold, embossed "999" (for the 999 happy haunts in the mansion).

I expected to see the book's title on the front cover, but to my delight is has

a gold embossed "Gracey" coat of arms! 

And because I'm such a mansion geek (and because I designed a paper model of the Conservatory Coffin) I also noticed that the embossed borders on the top and bottom edges of the cover are the pattern of the conservatory coffin's pedestal drapery!

To top off the wonderful design of the book, the pages are cut with an irregular, scalloped edge, giving the feel of an old, hand-bound book, and the red, ribbon bookmark is the final, classy detail. Can you tell that I love this book?

You can read more about the features of this awesome new publication and buy your own copy, at the SLG website, HERE!

Back Home for the Holidays

My most recent gig at Universal is over, and I'm back in chill y Pennsylvania.

Watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" come to life at Universal's Islands of Adventure was a priceless experience! It is interesting to note that while I spent the Spring and Summer designing the horror of the Universal Halloween Horror Nights web site, I was literally back to back with the brilliant artist who was helping to design this stunning, beautiful set for the Grinch show.

The show is sweet, funny and truly heart warming!

Every show left me with misty eyes, even in rehearsals. 

Click images to enlarge

I also had a chance to meet the Simpson's before their arrival in this year's Macy's Christmas Parade at Universal Studios. I created some of the graphics on their parade RV.

Here they are arriving for the Macy's Parade, in their RV. 

I created the graphics used on the donut boxes and Duff Beer cans on the roof of the RV.

Video Games Live

This past weekend we went up to the Yale University campus in New Haven, Conn. to see the spectacular, and brilliant concert, "Video Games Live"! 

"Video Games Live is an immersive concert event featuring music from the most popular video games of all time.   The Yale University Orchestra  & choir performed along with exclusive video footage and music arrangements, synchronized lighting, solo performers, electronic percussionists, live action and unique interactive segments to create an explosive entertainment experience!" 

It just so happens that Jack Wall, who is the orchestra conductor, Co-creator and Exec Producer of "Video Games Live", was also a classmate of ours from our High School graduating class of 1981!   His credits include the music from Myst III: Exile, Unreal II, and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, among many, many more.   Here is Jack's site, http://www.jackwall.net/index.html

My wife is also from the same High School class, so we were able to have a mini reunion with Jack, which was very cool, and my kids got to meet one of the leading video game music composers in the country!   We also had a sneak peek of the rehearsals the night before the concert, which served to build excitement to seeing the real thing!

If you read this Jack, thanks a TON! It was an unforgetable night!

This is the stage before the perfomance. Behind the screen is the 104 year old, 3 story tall, Woolsey Hall Pipe Organ,

on which Martin Leung played the music from "Castlevania". Awesome!

Unlike most folks in the entertainment industry, Tommy Tallarico (game industry icon, and concert host), encourages guests to take video of the show and post it on YouTube, so if you want to see some of the concert from that night at Yale, check out these Youtube videos. Keep in mind that no photos or video can compare to seeing and hearing the REAL THING!

As the show begins, the giant video screen behind the orchestra lights up modestly with the classic 1975 game "PONG" (can it really be 32 years ago?!) .   The audience cheers!   As the game begins to play, the beeps and boops of the game are picked up by the orchestra and serve to establish a rhythm that builds to a grand crescendo of music and visuals from 1980's games.

Here is a fantastic clip of the "Mario Medley" opening at Yale showing a great shot of Jack and the orchestra playing along with the video!

I never realized that hearing an orchestra playing the music from Donkey Kong, Centipede, Frogger, Sonic, Mario , Legend of Zelda, and Space Invaders, could be as emotionally stirring as it was! It was like hearing a sentimental, old pop tune from my teen years!   It was like a visit from a old, dear friend!

By the time Jack gets to the music he composed, Myst:Exile, the full power o f the choir and orchestra sent shivers down my spine! 

In between the musical sets, people are chosen from the audience to actually play games on the big screen, while the LIVE orchestra follows the game play music in real time! Hearing 3000 people cheering a guy on stage, who is trying to get his Frogger across the gauntlet of cars, trucks and logs, was hilarious fun! 

Video games have always been marginalized as being unimportant or even downright subversive in American culture, but as you hear 30 years worth of music and memories, presented with the power of a full orchestra and with the heart of live choir, the results are completely surprising and delightful!   Video Games Live is a brilliant production, which proves that "video" games are a legitimate art form, which is here to stay!   

You have to see this show!

Everything you need to know about "Video Games Live" can be found here, including photos and video clips. 

My Universal "ScreamHouse" Model

Here is the second paper model kit I designed for Universal, Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights web site. This was the facade of the haunted house attraction called "ScreamHouse". As with my "Psychoscareapy" model (see below), I enhanced the model with a few custom parts and a little bit of miniature landscaping.

The Psychoscareapy and ScreamHouse models are no longer available for download from the Universal site. If you you want them, you can find them HERE in Paper Model Purgatory. 

"The Shark Is Still Working"

A pal of mine, Michael Roddy, is one of the producers of the newly completed documentary,
"The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact and Legacy of JAWS".
It is a fascinating insight into the making of one of the most terrifying movies of the 20th century,
"JAWS".
If you are a fan of JAWS, take a look at the web site for 

"The Shark is Still Working" HERE.

My Universal "Psychoscareapy" Model

I am in the process of buidling all of my paper models for my own collection. Over the past year I have constructed multiple versions of all of the models, but ended up giving them all away, leaving my shelves empty! I am taking this opportunity to modify and enhance the models with custom parts and a little bit of miniature landscaping.

Here is one of the models I designed for Universal, Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights web site. It is the facade of one of the sound-stage haunted houses "Psychoscareapy"

depicting the "Shadybrook" asylum.

I used reindeer moss and flat moss (found in craft and hobby stores) to simulate the overgrown vegetation, and I stuck in a few shrub twigs to simulate dead trees.

I recreated the chainlink gate using some stretched contour mesh (used in clay sculpting) and toothpicks. I gave the whole gate a dry brushing of black and gold acrylic paint, to make it look rusty.

The Psychoscareapy and ScreamHouse models are no longer available for download from the Universal site. If you you want them, you will find them HERE at paper Model Purgatory.

Ignignokt Has Left the Building!

I received great reactions to the "Ignignokt" lite-brite that I placed on my front page mansion last Friday! I have to admit that I was a little nervous about it at first, considering the "stir" the real ones created in a certain North-eastern city. However, in this case everyone seemed to get the joke and enjoyed it!