The Animal Kingdom

If I could hold my hand up and say there was one park where I would have no problem choosing the music (which incidentally is half the battle when editing these films together) I would have to say that the AK was quite easy. In fact I even came out of the show and headed to a kiosk in the sweltering heat and managed to buy a CD that hadn't melted. I already knew as soon as I bought it exactly how this park's film was going to pan out. We also had some luck being the first in to the park to get good views of the opening ceremony. The park does not lend itself to much filming however, unless you can get a great wide angled lense on. The pathways and trees, so well designed make it dificult to get good panoramic shots of the park hence the fact that this film is more show orientated. I decided not to film any Everest construction photos. By the time you read this soft openings will be in full swing anyway and this park will now have a big E ticket draw (I need to keep fingers crossed for some cheap flights for Oct) which hopefully will take some pressure off the MK at peak times. The only problem is, this park struggles anyway at peak times as it is, so here's hoping it balances out.

Magic Kingdom and MNSSHP

We visited the Magic Kingom over a couple of days and then spent one night at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. We had an ongoing problem trying to film during the day at the Magic Kingdom in: the weather would not co-operate. Despite the baking heat, the grey skies would remind you of a dull day in Lancashire. I managed to get around this with one or two tricks, adding the sun when it wasn't there for instance. The MNSSHP was a ball and thoroughly enjoyable I concentrated on the Main Street lighting effects and the great job they made lighting up Space Mountain. The parade was great as you will see (my fave bit is still the grave diggers' spades). The fireworks for MNSSHP were out of this world, involving every angle and corner of the park. Once again I took the decision to mix up the footage and allow the flow of the music to dictate the editing which was quite a challenge with the fireworks. Some of the long shots of Wishes are taken from the balcony during a meal we had at Narcoossees in the Grand Floridian which I have to say was one of my favourite meals of the holiday.

MGM Studios Video

this video was shot over a one day visit to the Studios in Oct 05. I remember mostly how hot it was that day and worrying about the fact that the sun was playing havoc with some of the exposure settings on the camera. I also remember it was a day where I started to run out of tape during Fantasmic. I had already decided not to shoot the entire Fantasmic show but just concentrate on highlights and then find ways of cutting around these to keep the pace moving and flowing.

The various choices of music to this video were quite easily chosen and I think they suit the mood. I always try to keep an editing pace going that reflects the joy and excitement of being in the park whilst attempting to remain true to the spirit of a Disney event.

Sunset at Disney's California Adventure

Our last trip was California over the Christmas Holidays from the 24th of Dec to 31st Dec. After 3 days in the Magic Kingdom and California Adventure we then headed North to Valencia and spent time at Six Flags Magic Mountain. We then headed back into the center of L.A. and stayed not to far from Universal, visiting the Studios and Hollywood before returning home. I love this picture, I remember after a particularly exhausting day I left Jackie in the Vineyard Winery and trotted off around Paradise Pier to get the fastpass for our night time California Screaming. As I turned the corner the magic hour and light was suddenly upon me and the picture practically took itself. The Video for this trip is still being edited and will be available soon.