The Incident
Original "Earth Day" Release Date (Pre-Incident) On October 28th of last year the unthinkable occurred: hundreds of hours and thousands individually catalogued files, which had been the JLH Audio Archives, were irrevocably lost! Over a decade of collecting and countless hours of work disappeared in the course of single night. In forensic terms, my external hard drive performed its last spin. Additionally, all of my images and projects I created since my artistic infancy (ca 2004) vanished. Everything that I had worked for and cared for was gone.
I foolishly never backed-up my Graphics Archive. The last time I made data discs for my audio was 2006. (1) I don’t need to tell you just how much of an asset this was to my work and personal life. I listened to the audio almost on a daily basis and I used the graphic files to constantly evolve personal projects and (of course) E82. I felt as if I was suffering from a digital form of Alzheimer’s - there was information there I but I just could not extract it. Without this information, E82 could not survive and it crippled the foundations of projects for YEARS to come .Jack Wagner Collection Jack himself made several recordings for himself to simulate in-park PA system’s reverb and echo properties.
I attempted to retrieve my information by taking the hard-drive to several, commonly known data recovery centers. To retrieve the information would cost $1,000+!!! I couldn’t exactly afford to blow $1,000+ dollars on… well Anything! A very good friend (who at one time worked in Clean Room situations) offered to help. Happy to have some relief, I gave him the hard-drive. However, he soon fell victim to a set of circumstances far worse than any I could imagine which caused the data to remain locked in the hard drive for months (and months and months) more.
As “luck” would have it, several months before the meltdown, my mother went through major surgery. While at her bedside in the hospital, I loaded several key E82 assets onto a jump drive so I could work on them. Thanks to this discovery, I was able to keep the website “alive” for months after the melt down. (2) However, most of the materials that I needed were locked away in the original drive, including all of the necessary files needed to continue the ‘Future World Soundtrack Series(FWSS)’.
Phoenix
After 5 months and 20 days, the JLH Archives were restored by the superb services of Data Savers based out of Atlanta, GA. Six days, and over $600 later, they were not only they able to recover the information, but maintained the ever important file structure of the drive! Now at last things could continue. With (most) of the needed information restored, work could continue. The now vastly delayed ‘The Land’ edition could proceed into production.
Dichotomy
Each successive release of the FWSS presents its own set of unique challenges. If Universe of Energy’s problem was too little information, The Land was too much (a problem that nearly always good to have). This not to say that everything I wanted to have on this release was available (3), but with over five hours of quality material, this release was reduced rather than extrapolated.
The Land (original 1982 state) is a highly unusual pavilion in many ways. First of all, it’s an entirely indoor pavilion devoted to an entirely outdoor subject. Then, its basic architecture is rooted in late 70’s futurism, while is décor is deeply rooted in pre-1940’s vernaculars. And if all this appears perplexing, its music is an odd combination of Jazz, Electronic/Orchestral, and nearly every variation of Traditional Country.Particularly in the case of Kitchen Kabaret, there are more genres than you can shake a maraca at. (4)
While walking through the pavilion, one does not notice the disparate genres. The ear naturally cross-fades the music while passing through the environment. . This phenomenon does not happen while listening to a compilation of music.
Trying to recreate this phenomenon has become the biggest challenge in creating a seamless listening experience. The construction of a running playlist came easily enough. The problems began to emerge when “viewed” from its transitions. In most releases for the FWSS, the preferred listening experience is to cross-fade between tracks for a non-stop musical journey. With The Land, “seamless” just wasn’t going to work. So it was decided that more traditional, two-second gaps between most tracks was best for this presentation.
Production Notes
(Highlights Only)
DISC ONE
2. Pavilion Atmosphere
In theme park sound design, the length of an area’s Background Music (BGM) is typically determined by the amount of time an average guest spends in a particular location. Conversely, The Land’s BGM is considerably longer than most other pavilions. The Land’s BGM is also peculiar in it its musical arrangement. Most Future World atmospheres are intermixed/arranged to flow from one composition to the next. The Land, on the other hand, contains multi-second gaps from one song to the next. Since the BGM for the land is to be presented as a single track, gaps between songs were shortened or eliminated entirely.
3. Symbiosis - A Creative Partnership
Following the pavilion’s natural the flow, the first attraction we encounter is the ecological film Symbiosis, located within the Harvest Theater. The film’s soundtrack was edited to become score-centric. As a result, 40% of the film was eliminated (an impressive feat for a long-winded guy like me:). Ironically, the challenge was not with the music, but with the narration. I took careful consideration to maintain a coherent sentence structure. As strange as it may sound, the edit was more about grammar then music!
5. Revolving Restaurant
1982 may have been “The Year of the Computer” (5), with the release of films such as: TRON, and Blade Runner. However, it was also a time when television series, like Little House on the Prairie and The Dukes of Hazzard were on TV. Country-Western was the most lucrative genre in popular music. Taken in this historical context, it’s not difficult to understand why it takes a dominate role in The Land. My personal tastes aside - I knew that at least one representative of the genre had to be utilized. However, all other country-western songs were kept to an absolute minimum... You’re Welcome.
9. The Kitchen Kabaret
As in the Pavilion Atmosphere, the gaps for the music of Kitchen Kabaret were of great concern. To maximize space, the soundtrack was shortened and cross-faded to mimic the show’s continuous soundtrack.
VENT ALERT
In the past, I have been criticized for my use of reverb. While I understand that other copious collectors are used to hearing recordings a certain way, with all due respect, the FWSS is not for them. The Series is about presentation not content. The use of a very subtle amount of reverb is done for several reasons:
- To more accurately simulate the in-venue experience of multiple speakers in a large space.
- Artistic license to “open-up” recordings that are typically performed by a small orchestra, thereby giving these magnificent attractions the appropriate gravitas they deserve. (6)
10. Kabaret Coda
Borrowing a term from the late Michael Jackson, this track is the “Sizzle” of Disc One. The instrumentals of “Meal Time Blues” and “Veggie Veggie, Fruit Fruit” originate from a set of recordings made during the final days of the Kabaret’s run. It was revealed that the theater’s exit hallway broadcasted a nearly vocal-less version of the soundtrack.
DISC TWO
2. Weather Balloons
One of my biggest frustrations with Disc one is that it is simply not long enough for all the material that I want to include. This track is a lay-over from the 1982 originals and acts as a transitional piece for the many tonal changes that occur in the pavilion, beginning with track three.
3. Concert Lobby
A few words on nomenclature. As I’m sure many of you have noticed, there is an enormous amount of creative liberties that have been taken in the naming of track titles for the FWSS. This is done for many reasons including: uniqueness, evocativeness, and now legal ramifications. The purpose of presenting any of these atmospherics is to provide a taste of environment in which they were located. My intention is not to provide a free copy of song XYZ. Rather, it is to represent the listening experience of an attraction. Thus new titles of song medleys are essential for compilation development.
5. Living with the Land (The E82 Voyage)
As with many aspects of the project, this track greatly benefits from the classes I have taken at Full Sail University. In my Digital Audio class, I was introduced to programs such as ‘Garage Band’ and ‘Soundtrack Pro’. Since the beginning of E82 I have been using extremely low-tech, linear editing software that satisfied my needs., However, getting the opportunity to use these powerful tools proved to be a light year jump that was needed to make mixes like this possible.
Within these “newly discovered” programs are vast libraries of music loops, as well as natural and mechanical sound effects, such as: wind, rain, waterfalls, thunderstorms, farm animals and others that can be remarkably similar to those found on the actual ride. The result of all these sound effects is a complete rebuild of the attractions soundtrack. I strived to match the timing and aural quality of the attraction by utilizing multiple video sources.
The original concept for this track was the entire 14-minute boat ride, including the production greenhouses. However, this concept proved to be highly problematic. Ultimately, this track suffered the same fate as the WEDway track for Randy Thornton’s ‘A Musical History of Disneyland’ for nearly identical reasons. (7) I wasn’t able to acquire the much sought after “Barn Theater Music” nor the original finale music. Still, this track needed an ending. I couldn’t help but to think of Bruce Broughton’s beautifully understated score to California Adventure’s “Seasons of the Vine”. Although this is a radical departure from a purist perspective, I hope that this score will one day serve as a musical underscore during the awkward silences between narrations of the Greenhouse segments of the boat ride.
6. Architectural Forest / 7. Concourse Skyway
In selecting songs for these medleys, the process can be an extremely fun and challenging. In the case of these two tracks, the challenge was to pick themes that were evocative of The Land (2005), while being largely unidentifiable with the movies that they originate from.
These themes were carefully chosen to be of contrasting moods between the two environments. Where Sunshine Seasons was tranquil, Soarin’ was energetic and filled with the anticipation of the exciting hang-gliding experience to come.
The Omission
I am sure that many of you have noticed the FWSS Edition of The Land has a large gaping hole in its coverage of attractions. The ‘Circle of Life’ film in the Harvest Theater wasn’t included on this release for a number of reasons. The chief reason was the soundtrack itself. ‘Circle of Life’s’ musical score is almost entirely comprised of cues used (or modified) from ‘The Lion King’. As a compilation representing the unique aural experiences of Epcot’s Future World, a trip to the wilds of Disney’s animated Africa is largely unnecessary, uninteresting and inappropriate. However, the opening bird calls of ‘Living with the Land’ are a subtle reference to the film, as the animal sounds originate from its pre-show atmosphere.
From The Land to Life
Even though we’re many months away from release, contrasts between The Land and the Wonders of Life couldn’t be more distinct. The Land is a massive pavilion with layers of history, whereas the Wonders of Life represents a single moment in time. As of this moment, the plan is to have a tightly constructed 80-minute trip back to the 1989. Then use Disc Two as another “high concept” album (Similar to The Progress City Suite). It could be…
- a postulated trip to a vitalized pavilion by way of new background music
- OR an exploration into non-pavilion-specific music of Future World
- OR something else entirely!
This is where YOU come in. For the first time in the History of E82, I am opening up the floor to YOU! In the comments section of this essay, please submit your ideas (in form of comments) for the Second Disc of the Wonders of Life.
Requirements:
- Keep it Realistic
(I don’t actually have access to WDI’s A/V archives so don’t expect miracles.)
- Keep it Creative
(Remember, the FWSS is about presentation – Classic Material Seen in a New Light)
- Keep it Futuristic
(It is the Future World Soundtrack Series, so no excursions to that “lake” in the back of the park).
And one last thing, don’t be afraid to look for Epcot outside of the park, there’s a great big world out there and there’s a lot of Epcot in it if you know where to look.
FOOTNOTES
- “Foolishly” might be a bit of strong word, as my finances (no matter how much downsizing I perform) always teeter very close to “the red”. So even though my archive are important. I could never justify spending more money on such “luxuries” like data backup, when necessities such as food, power and transportation take precedence.
- Thanks to coinciding classes at Full Sail, I was able to take advantage of the full functionally of “Smart Layers” which helped extract many vector files from the key files made for E82.
- I think everyone would love to finally have the Barn Music and finale for Living with the Land, and I’m continuously fascinated with (to my ears) the music never heard like Symbiosis original pre-show score.
- Musically, the current (2005) pavilion is a lot more musically cohesive than any previous incarnation. Of course, one could also argue that its cohesiveness stems from its use of needledrop material but that’s a debate of aesthetics that even I find a little tiresome.
- Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year" for 1982.
- I can also say, in Walt’sMusic.com’s
- In an interview about the massive project, Randy cited that a WEDway Peoplemover track was planned for the Disneyland 50th Box Set, but was cut for a lack of musical interest. In essence, a narration track pointing out things “left and right” with muzac in the background is compilation time best spent elsewhere.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013 at 10:01AM 
