Several years, ago I decided to set things “right” and restore Mr. Frees to his proper place. Here are the Results...

As a special companion to this “bedtime story”, The Haunted Mansion – And After Hours Tour serves as both an extended dénouement and an alternate journey through the much beloved edifice, taking place long after the “creepy creeps” have socialized in the pre-twilight hours of the morning. As strange as it might seem, this arrangement has been intentionally constructed for sleep inducement. (My fellow ambient music aficionados understand this :)

So turn-off the lights, turn-on a few LED candles, and lower the AC for an appropriate spooky atmosphere as you listen to the frightful and foreboding experience that can only come from “A Chilling Night in The Haunted Mansion”…

DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM

SIDE A
The Story and Song of the Haunted Mansion (22:41)

SIDE B
The Haunted Mansion - An After Hours Tour (13:13)

In my personal experience, I’m always surprised by my own reaction to the Morning After Test. Usually; I find that whatever it is I’m feeling the night before the opposite is true the next day. For example, the standard edition of Horizons for the Vista Series, here’s what can happen in 24 hours…

As you can see a lot can happen in day.  The original version was way too on-the-noise with the incorporation of blue horizontal lines. Additionally, there was no distinguishing from those lines and the light beams. The sky was still too dark from the memorial edition. And the there were some really weird effects with the pink horizon and the white starburst emanating from the pavilion. Hopefully, you can tell the difference with the final image.

Still, even after the improvements I was still very apprehensive about the final image. But the next morning I couldn’t have been happier about the results.

In sharp contrast is my current project.  Just last weekend I completed Disc One for The Land FWSS release. After completion I was very impressed by the work. However, after listening to the full album the next day there was a lot I liked but a lot more that I didn’t like too. The Kitchen Kabaret sounds great (including some special surprises), as does the new music-centric Symbiosis and great concepts are at work in BGMs and Listen to the Land. The big problem is stitching it all together in the time allotted. In general I’ve discovered that musically, The Land is massive collection of contradictions. New Age versions of folk songs, Traditional Country, and Jazz, what a weird combination of musical forms and one that I have to create a musical flow for. No easy task!

Nevertheless, I have some pretty unconventional ideas I’m trying for and I hope you’ll like the results when it’s released later this season.

Now Back to the Mixing Board!

Three VERY different people who all share(d) a common bond; the rights of the individual. Whether it is the concept of free will, liberty or independence, these passions were self-evident in the lives of each. These people are also the three greatest influences in my life.

Much Much has been written and is celebrated about the creative minds and philosophies of Walt Disney and Jesus, considered by many as “the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind’s progress on Earth,” but Ayn Rand, the screen writer turned novelist and ultimately philosopher, is the least known.

Recently, I found myself watching The Fountainhead on TCM for the first time in many years. It’s a motion picture that so thoroughly ingrained itself into my memory that it reached the level of subconscious thought. While watching it I found myself watching my life in rewind. Most of my adult life has been a consistent struggle against “the collective”, a struggle that has seen enormous setbacks and persecution on nearly every conceivable front. Toward the end of the film, I rediscovered a large portion of my personal philosophy thinking: “This movie is the reason why I am this way!” Its not-so-underlying message of Rational Self-Interest as both freeing the spirit and releasing one’s full potential is a particularly transfixing vision of self-actualization and the world as it could be.    

In between mountains of personal and professional responsibility, Rand has been present in my mind, but never more so than a few weeks ago when I finally decided to watch the Part 1 film of her magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged.The ideals and prophesies of this book/film are so compelling and so applicable to the world in which we live that it has become the most important message of our time. Today, Rand’s Atlas Shrugged (the book) is once again skyrocketing in sales and, after 55 years in print, has become one of the top selling books of all time. Additionally, it’s considered by many to be the second most important book of the last two-thousand years. 

More than her book sales, Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism IS a living blueprint of a way in which to govern this or any complex society. In the case of Atlas it’s a warning against the corrupting power and detrimental effects of excessive/unlimited legislation. As one who is thoroughly committed to the ”ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise”, I cannot understate the importance of Atlas’ message.

Rand’s prophetic vision has also become a tremendous source of controversy as her detractors have become akin to the antagonists found in her work and, although I will not attempt to address them… at this time; what I will say is that if you believe in the ideals of self-reliance, independence, and individualism please support the Atlas Shrugged Trilogy – Watch It, Buy It, and Spread It!

Click on the Image Above to Purchase the Film

(After Viewing) ) I hope you can see through the limited production value to the higher-principles at work in this first Part. (Remember, this a film all major studios will not touch.) Ultimately, I look forward to seeing the trial of Hank Rearden, and John Galt’s speech in Part 3 which similarly echoes the warning and challenge of Klaatu's address directed toward the problems of his time.

For more information on Ayn Rand, and Objectivism please visit our new links in People & Places.

DISCLAIMER: My support of the Atlas Society, is limited to those philosophies relating to government, business, and social contracts exclusively.

CONTRAST & COMPARE

It may sound somewhat sacrilegious, but in order to begin any redesign project one must first acknowledge the past AND then dissect its shortcomings. Even though there is an enormous amount of admiration associated with all things EPCOT Center, there are several aesthetics of 30 years ago that just would not work as-is in today’s world. In the case of Horizons’ Line Art, the icon below served as the inspiration behind the architectural icons (originally used for the Vista Series of desktops). However, (and as discussed earlier) the style of the pavilion icons evolved beyond the original inspiration.  The original Horizons icon (from 1983), is too simplistic and bulky for the E82 set. The following image features several reasons why it wouldn’t fit-in…

At this point it’s important to note that the Original 1983 Icon is a beautifully designed icon and it works wonderfully for multiple uses and a variety of applications. Additionally, the icon for this attraction was designed before the building was completed and the original graphic designer worked off of limited resources to complete the final image. These notes work as a starting point for my process and do not seek to demean the look of the design or critique the work of a master designer who did their work without the precision and tools found in Adobe Illustrator.

ASSETS
Lets be completely honest, whenever you create representational art, you’re only as good as your sources. I’ve done a few of these pavilions using photo reference, which is challenging (at best). Not so surprisingly, the best way to create an architectural icon, is to use architectural elevation schematics, or in laymen’s terms – blueprints. (When working with photos, the simplest act of finding the right placement of a corner can be very difficult.) In short, blueprints take a lot of the guesswork out of the equation. 

INITIAL DESIGN
Graphical Design, of this type, is basically figuring out what details you want and omitting those that you don’t.  (In order for the design to work one should be omitting a lot more than he/she keeps.) For this Pavilion, I wanted the main features like the GRFC Bents, the Overhangs, and the VIP Windows but not much else. Based on these requirements I came up with this…

Well? ... That was simple enough, perhaps a little too simple.  In order to “ground” the structure (and also to avoid making it look like a futuristic tent), I tried an extremely minimalistic first pass of adding the “storefront windows”…  

To quote Lynda.com instructor Deke McClelland, “Now, … at this point … this looks like Garbage!”
This addition, made the line-art way too grounded. As a solution, I decided to try the reverse – focusing on the frames of the windows rather than the windows themselves. Up until now, I’ve purposely stayed away from practical details like doorways, stairs and other non-spectacular items. However, Horizons, was looking entirely too simple, thus some concessions have to be made. (It’s at points like this that I have to remind myself that even thought all of Future World’s pavilions have/had a uniform style they were all still different from each other and therefore should be treated differently.) Furthermore, considering I was now going to incorporate ALL the windows, I could now include the awnings that served as a wonderful juxtaposition of angles with the overhangs above…

OK, that looks good, (and thanks to having the proper materials) it only took a several hours over a couple of nights to make it happen. As our British friends say, “let’s knock off early!” – Not so fast Mr. Harris! My version of Horizons does appear to be an “improvement” of the original, but is not as unique as it could be. Most importantly it’s Not as unique as it should be.

MOUNTAINS FROM MOLE HILLS
Originally, I conceived the E82 Pavilions as rigidly displayed on a single line and very analogous to a typeface. By the time I got to my third pavilion I was already breaking that rule. Now, the series was (to continue the type parlance) to include Descenders. As such, I thought it would be best to mirror The Land, by incorporating Horizons’ hillside. The blueprints I had did not include the planters and hillside, but it was ultimately for the best as a literal translation just wasn’t going to work out. Because the hill was a pedestal for the pavilion it was necessary to keep any amount of detail at an absolute minimum. Originally, I wanted the hill to follow the same through-line as the building profile. Although dramatic, this design choice was not wise in relationship to the other pavilions. If executed, it would create an enormous gap between Horizons and its neighboring pavilions. In short, Horizons would not play well with others! Unlike the rest of the building itself these simple eleven lines took another week to develop!

3D IN 2D SPACE
The biggest difference between the blueprint and the Line-Art is the spacing of the Bents, which was exaggerated to portray a more rounded/dimensional form. Furthermore, you’ll also notice that the negative space around the bents is used to enhance the overall effect as well as the angles of the window awnings.

DUAL CONCEPT
Many of the pavilions of Future World feature sometimes not-so-subtle symbolism. Whether it is the futuristic greenhouse of The Land, the ocean waves of The Living Seas, or the wheel-shaped World of Motion, the architecture itself revealed the subject matter of the attractions themselves.
In the case of Horizons, many guide books and ephemera referred to the building as a “gem-like spaceship.” The original GE advertisements portray the structure as nothing short of a Close Encounters-style alien spaceship from the 21st Century - A “Futureprobe” permanently moored at EPCOT.
The original line-art of the pavilion looked very much like its symbolic intensions. The E82 version had the dual objectives of both representing the original structure and continuing the spaceship motif. The lower storefront windows are intended to represent the gravity cancelling under-mechanisms of ships like those found in Forbidden Planet. (This reference will be a lot more apparent in future applications.)
Furthermore, the planters and walkways of the hillside were designed to resemble scorched-earth marks of so many rocket ships of the last century. Consequently, this is also one of the biggest reasons why it took so much longer to create/visualize this aspect of the design. 

BACK TO THE BEGINNING
The E82 version of Horizons is by no means perfect, but simply an attempt to bring Horizons into the century it stool in praise of. If you’ve stayed with me this long, I’m impressed! Thank You! And I hope you’ll look forward this icon’s first use – in not One but Two editions to the Epcot Vista Series!

I am consistently amazed with the perfect timing of God.  For E82, I’m always on the hunt for (or designing) assets that won’t be used for several years. I’m already collecting images and resources for projects that won’t begin until several years from now.

When I started the Vista Series, I was influenced by a great many things. To spite the common placement, I love the abstract light patterns and nebula like backgrounds of Apple and Windows and would love to take them further. Closer to home I have always been impressed with the clean simple lines of early EPCOT Center guide maps and especially with the line art of Horizons.

This got me to thinking: wouldn’t it be neat if ALL Future World pavilions had similar architectural icons!? Thus I started designing with the same structure as the Soundtrack Series. First Imagination, then Energy, The Land, Wonders of Life and in a surge of patriotism went ahead on a 17-hour tear that became the American Adventure.

Horizons was quickly approaching and initially I thought that I’d use the icon that started it all. But things rarely stay simple in my world. After a few pavilions were completed I knew that my original plan was not going to work. The design of the pavilions have a style of their own and the original Horizons gem/spaceship logo just wasn’t going to fit-in. 

With all of these line-art pieces I would/will stylize the pavilions, BUT I always want them to be based in accurate proportions. (You wouldn’t want to see Spaceship Earth with oversized legs would you?) In order to do that, the best method is to use blueprints to overlay the design on.

For a period of years I looked for a High-Res scan of the building’s West elevation and found nothing. I don’t use ebay, and even my … official … sources couldn’t help. (I guess if you tear down a building it automatically becomes useless to have its blueprints on download.)  All this until a couple weeks ago when a friend of E82, Widen Your World posted this preview on Facebook…. 

Not about to wait for the article, I contacted WYW, and he generiously sent me the High-res Scan of Page A-300 of Horizons. Thank you Jesus! (and Mike too :) 

Keep reading JLH Omnimedia for project progress reports! Horizons design should go rather quickly and will be first unveiled here before being upstaged by all the pretty colors of the Vista Series.

1. The Re-launch of Centorium – E82’s On-line Emporium
   Yes, very soon you’ll be able to display The Legacy on your walls and on your back!
2. A Two-part Essay on the History of Energy
   From the Big bang to the challenges of the modern Universe, get ready to delve into one of the most subversive attractions in theme park history.
3. The VISTA SERIES Continues with Horizons and Mission: Space
   Two very interesting design challenges that will require not two but THREE new backgrounds.
   (Anyone care to figure-out why???)
4. Under Advisement
   EPCOT Center was a celebration of the history and potential of mankind. In order to accomplish this EPCOT’s original designers reached out to the brightest and most forward minds in many fields. This essay explores the original panel and speculates about who should be involved in designing an sustainable Epcot for the 22nd Century.
5. The Future World Soundtrack Series – THE LAND
   The largest of all Future World pavilions, The Land (unlike Energy) will have a lot more material than two discs, so the challenge here will be crafting the very best musical experience possible within the time allotted (it’s a very good problem to have).
6. The Future World Soundtrack Series – WONDERS OF LIFE
   From Listening to The Land to a journey thru Inner Space, debuting Late Fall the FWSS continues with the most delightfully dated of pavilions. Join Dr. Cynthia Lair, and Captain Braddock on a mission inside the body, get grilled by General Knowledge, and do it all while Martin Short contemplates his own existence.                
7. The Trinity
   A graphical exploration of Epcot’s tone from its “Centered” beginnings to the Lower Case era this essay further illuminates the macro-cosmic effects of the microcosm decisions that shape the balance between Epcot’s core objectives – to Entertain, Inform, and Inspire.
8. TRON Geosphere – Continued
   A further investigation into ENCOM’s historical Mainframe, revealing more from The Second System, including a journey to Flynn’s digital vacation destination.
9. THE LOST DECADE
   In the last months of 1966, Walt took a yachting vacation with his extended family. During the course of the vacation an informal discussion between Walt, Roy and Ron Miller took place where Walt outlined his plan for giving the studio and Disneyland to Roy and Ron to run while he focused exclusively on EPCOT and the Florida Project “I need a good Ten Years” he said, in this novel, I plan to give him that time. THE LOST DECADE will be a historical fiction exploration into the entirely alternate reality, focused on impact of Walt’s delayed death.
10. JLH Omnimedia
    You’re on it! Welcome to the new home of E82’s Behind the Scenes, and a multitude of topics that range far and away from Epcot. (Sort of a personal blog for me) For a start, check-out the links on the left there’s tons of wonderful articles and information on a wide variety subjects.

So it looks like 2012 will be quite a busy year. And just like Walt and Marty said… 

“We’re Ready to Go Right Now!”

What event do you find most intriguing?

A few months ago a not-so-small change took place at E82, and apparently was so covert that no one has yet noticed. As was discussed before in Absurdly Obscure, a very large (and unintentional) gap exists between the first and second release of the Future World Soundtrack Series. So large was that gap that when it came time to design the cover art my personal aesthetic had evolved to considerably since the inaugural release in early 2010. Furthermore, some of the continuity and usage requirements had also changed, all of which lead to an ever-so-subtle redesign of the FWSS. The actual cover art was modified only slightly, while the CD labels experienced the largest amount of enhancements.

Just a slight enhancement of silver/chrome effects and a more professional treatment for the margins.

The base image featured a (understandably) dated rainbow color scheme and the original disc was radial tinted with corresponding theme colors. In the update, the image was further enhanced with a more realistic color fade. In addition, the discs now feature the “Epcot Clef” on Disc One and the “Future Notes” on Disc Two.

The most dramatic of changes, the original white background was created for economic reasons (when ink conservation was a serious concern in actual CD production). Now that the collection(s) are exclusively digital, ink is no longer a barrier to design. In addition, both discs were given simulated silver/chrome CD lighting effects for all logos and text.

Thanks to the incredible flexibility of Flickr, and SquareSpace (E82’s hosting company) all of these changes were uploaded and replaced the originals with near clandestine methods. (Even the url’s remained identical!) I really can’t describe just how elated I was to be able to make these modifications and continue the FWSS with as little stylistic deviation as possible. Immediately after I done this a realized “so this is how George must feel of his latest Special Edition!” and it feels great! So next time I take a journey to a Galaxy Far, Far Away and things aren’t Exactly how I last saw them, I’ll chose to celebrate the creative “force” that has the ability, drive, and passion to present a unified world.