Studio Tour

[William]

I would like to ask about something due to F&F being 4K; Do you think King Kong 360 could get a overhaul to look like the new Kong and to

update the projectors? It could be possible due to the new Skull Island film being made.

As discussed before, we expect Kong to receive an upgrade in order to maintain convenience; it would be quite annoying for guests to keep track of 2 pairs of 3D glasses for the duration of the Studio Tour.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Honestly, I don't believe it's 100% necessary for Kong to be upgraded. It'd be nice, but who's to say that the polarized 3D technology Kong uses can't also be used with 4K? Yes, dolby digital 3D is higher quality, but it's more convenience than anything. Dolby Digital requires a smaller number of projectors since it's a color based filtration system, where as the polarized 3D tech requires a different projector for each eye. But 4K is just a resolution. You can have 4K be polarized 3D like Kong or Dolby Digital monolense 3D like Transformers. It'd be cool to upgrade Kong to Dolby Digital but I don't think it's necessary to upgrade the technology. They can upgrade the projections and footage to 4k while still keeping it polarized 3D (like with Imax 3D).

 

[smoaT]

I wanna see more interactive elements. Make it feel more active and as if stuff is being filmed. Make us feel part of the action in more ways than just the tour animations. Have live actors pretend to be directors and actors and stunt guys or monsters along the way. Install cameras in the trams and have us be part of some sort of "film", kind of like in Disaster in Orlando. More stunt and effect demonstrations. They always show that one clip when they advertise the tour...you know the one. Helicopter over NY Street, Director with camera on a crane while an explosion goes off in one of the NY Street streets while the tram watches. Do more of that.

I hope they don't do it... think about it and it sounds and will look cheesy. I am talking about pretending we are in a movie... I am all in to have more stunts and effect demonstrations, but everything else will feel cheesy...

 

[Allen The Actor]

Making us pretend or feel like we're in a movie has been the basis of Universal Studios Hollywood since the beginning. Even in the Universal Experience, there are some video clips of some previous street shows that made the audience feel like they're part of the movie. Obviously it's fake. Hollywood is fake. But a little fantasy and having the audience pretend they're actors for a moment isn't that cheesy if done properly. And it can be pretty hilarious even if it is cheesy. I'm down for more improv and comedy...

 

[William]

It doesn't have to be cheesy. It can be action-packed, or even comedic. Disaster! in USF has a way of making guests a part of the fun, and letting everyone laugh their arses off afterward.

 

[Jon Fu]

I wanna see more interactive elements. Make it feel more active and as if stuff is being filmed. Make us feel part of the action in more ways than just the tour animations. Have live actors pretend to be directors and actors and stunt guys or monsters along the way. Install cameras in the trams and have us be part of some sort of "film", kind of like in Disaster in Orlando. More stunt and effect demonstrations. They always show that one clip when they advertise the tour...you know the one. Helicopter over NY Street, Director with camera on a crane while an explosion goes off in one of the NY Street streets while the tram watches. Do more of that.

I hope Universal doesn't pursue this route. They've tried so in the past with King Kong, Fast and Furious: Extreme Closeup and Florida's version of Revenge of the Mummy. Not only is it incredibly awkward, but it disrupts the flow of the experience with unnecessary backstory. Just let it flesh out without interruption just like Universal has done recently with Transformers and Despicable Me. Don't end up trying to mimic the studio feel like Disney has with the Indiana Jones Stunt Show at Disney Hollywood Studies.


Just my thoughts.

 

[Allen The Actor]

Except that USH actually IS a studio and it'd be less awkward than in Florida if done right. You're talking about Transformers and Despicable Me. Not sure what that has to do with my suggested idea. I'm talking about REAL actors along the tram route, not prerecorded stuff, especially for rides. In stand alone rides, I agree it's awkward, like Orlando's Mummy. But for our studio tour, it'd be great. Because it's a behind the scenes look at the studio, and it'd be cool to have "actors" and "directors" in the different areas of the backlot and around different sets. Make it feel lived in and actively busy. Having cameras installed in the trams for a few cheesy reaction shots by the tourists would be hilarious.

 

[smoaT]

I hope Universal doesn't pursue this route. They've tried so in the past with King Kong, Fast and Furious: Extreme Closeup and Florida's version of Revenge of the Mummy. Not only is it incredibly awkward, but it disrupts the flow of the experience with unnecessary backstory. Just let it flesh out without interruption just like Universal has done recently with Transformers and Despicable Me. Don't end up trying to mimic the studio feel like Disney has with the Indiana Jones Stunt Show at Disney Hollywood Studies.

Just my thoughts.

Agreed one hundred percent. Disney Hollywood Studios in Paris and in Orlando feel cheesy because they try too hard to make you believe you are in a movie studio and part of the action. Universal doesn't need that, it is a movie studio. 

 

[Miss Betty Juice]

But we're a movie studio with absolutely no interactivity. I agree with Allen. I want some sort of interaction and to be made to feel like I am part of the movie making process. I long for the days where we were always told to "ride the movies" and "watch the movies come alive". I miss the studio part of Universal Studios. If there was a place where the forced studio feeling should be, its here. Except it wouldn't be forced or cheesy here because it belongs here.

 

[Jon Fu]

Except that USH actually IS a studio and it'd be less awkward than in Florida if done right. You're talking about Transformers and Despicable Me. Not sure what that has to do with my suggested idea.

Transformers and Despicable Me represent the current direction of Universal's creative output. You can count King Kong 360 - 3D as well, and that absolutely is relevant in this conversation.


I'd like to assume that guests are wise enough to detect fake directors and producers on the lot. It's a lot more realistic (and in my opinion, honest) to depict the realities of Hollywood - both good and bad. If you see a movie star or director, great! But to create the illusion that this is a regular occurrence...well..disingenuous and doesn't depict the realities of the industry.


Universal has one of the most active backlots in the world, with actors, stars and creative individuals working in soundstages and office buildings putting out great content for a variety of mediums. There's need need to "fake" that because it already takes place on the lot every single day. Why try to fake or exaggerate that process? Just so you can create that fake illusion? Look how well that worked for Universal Studios Florida, let alone Disney's Hollywood Studies and other "studio" theme parks around the world. People know when it's fake, and they also know when it's the real deal.


Plus, when you look at Universal's attempt to create that movie-set atmosphere in the original King Kong and Fast and Furious, you can see that the park doesn't have a great track record at simulating such an experience. I understand the desire to create an experience like the Special Effect Stages on the Studio Tour, but I don't think that concept is feasible given the push to increase capacity. It was nice while it lasted, but we're in a new era of automated attractions that run without the need of an entire cast.

 

[Allen The Actor]

^ Obviously guests are smart enough. It wouldn't be any different than having a fake Marilyn Monroe and the mini shows they do with her where they have audio yelling "action!". They know she's fake... or the different walk around characters around NY and French Street. They're fake too. They know they're not in NY or Paris.

Real directors and actors are 90% NEVER seen by guests visiting the park or the Studio Tour. It's ridiculously rare. That's why it should be exaggerated and fake. But you say it like it's a bad thing. I would really make the backlot come alive! I'm not saying have guests get off the tour to participate in stunts or comedy, that'd be unrealistic and hell for capacity reasons. Just have more actors along the backlot. The difference between here and Orlando is that we have a REAL working backlot. Except when the tram drives by, it feels dead...as all action is never shown, unless it's a tour animation. I'm not saying lie to the guests and say they're real actors or directors. Just give them an example of what it's like to see a full crew.

That's no different then when the Tour had a mini stunt show demonstration on Denver Street. Obviously not a real stunt movie going on. But the point of the tour and Universal is to get a behind the scenes look at how things work.

Not everything needs to be automated. The attractions you mentioned are stand alone rides. That's the direction Universal has always been in for rides...I don't think they need any humans either. But the Studio Tour definitely should feel more alive. What i suggested is basically exactly what Universal is currently doing with Norman Bates. We know he's not real. But that little moment is quite popular and really makes that set come alive! Especially since it's the ACTUAL Psycho set!

Are you saying we should get rid of Norman because everything should be automated?

I think it'd be fun to have a stop on the tour where you get a sample of what it's like to be on set. See the director on a rig, some actors, some effects, etc. That'd be cool on the NY sets.

Have a monster scene during the night tour the The Court of Miracles. That'd be cool. You get my drift?

 

[Jon Fu]

Are you saying we should get rid of Norman because everything should be automated?

I never suggested or said such a thing. Don't put words in my mouth.


Plus, they play the Norman Bates scene straight. There's no illusion that he's an actor. He is, in this instance, Norman occupying the hotel from the movies.

 

[Allen The Actor]

I know you didn't suggest that, but you saying everything being automated and not needing actors because it makes it seem fake like in Orlando kind of made it seem that way.

And they can play everything else straight as well. An actor playing a director on NY Street doesn't have to make it cheesy or all cliche or has to ham it up. Same goes for any hypothetical actor along the tram route for any "demonstration" scenes. It doesn't HAVE to be cheesy. Just as they play Norman straight (barely, it's still quite humorous in a way), they can do that with any actors on the backlot. Cuz we have an advantage...they'd be on a REAL backlot in a REAL studio with REAL sets.

My main point is...i just want the tour to feel more alive.

 

[Jon Fu]

The key differentiator I'm trying to get at is this: do you want the guest to be transported from a filming environment with the necessary pretense to a fantasy experience - because quite honestly, you can't have it both ways. Universal used to do that with Fast and Furious' "Quiet on the set" and the lights, camera, action sequence in the original Kong. By all accounts, those were jarring and certainly unneeded. Either transport the guest fully or make no quibbles about the realistic filming environment. You can't have both.


If you have to constantly remind the guest that you're in a studio with cuts or pauses mixed in with storyline in an attraction (again, look at Hollywood Studios' Indiana Jones stunt show versus the continuous, holistic nature of WaterWorld), you've dropped the ball. Just watch the video below. Could you imagine if WaterWorld was changed to follow a similar format? It'd kill the show and its pace.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/j9KSHZSkmxw?feature=oembed
This is my opinion, of course, and others are certainly welcome to disagree.

 

[Allen The Actor]

^ Thing is, you're talking about the tour animations. That's different and I thought I made that clear that I don't wanna see that interactivity as a part of the tour animations. It didn't work for the original F&F because that was just a bad overall experience with a cheesy voice over.

Yes, you CAN have both. If done correctly and without trying to be super cheesy. When the tour guide says something about turning on the rain for the flash flood, it's very straight and not cheesy like the crap F&F was. Also, I never remember that as part of the original Kong and don't have that it any videos of mine but ok lol.

Either way, yes, you can have both reality and fantasy mixed if done properly. I don't think you're visualizing it properly because of some of Universal's previous efforts.

If not done in a super cheesy way, it can be really cool.

And again, I'd wanna see this along the tour route along the sets. Not in the different animations or park shows.

There needs to be more "demonstration"/"how-to" experiences at USH like in years past.

Universal used to have very similar experiences in the past. Just like Adri said, I wanna see "studio" and put back into the Universal Studios experience.

There used to be popular shows, attractions and experiences at USH that made guests feel like they're making or part of a movie. USH needs that.

 

[smoaT]

The cheesy concept was indeed suggested Allen. You even said to have cams on the tour cars to have reactions of the guests. I really don't see the point. The Bates Motel part is amazing because it's not pretending, it's fast, interactive enough. All the wannabe studio parks have failed because they pretend too much. The park with lowest attendance numbers for Disney are the Studios ones. Indiana Jones is such a wasted opportunity because it could be one fluid show and instead we get this half baked experience. I think that's why SES is not very popular. It's good the first time you see it, but it really is a torture in repeat viewings... I don't think it's a good idea to pretend having film crews on the backlot. I am all in for stunts though...

 

[Allen The Actor]

I suggested the cams for the inside of the trams just for the segment where the "director" wanted us to be in the action as actors, just like in Disaster in Orlando.

Let's agree to disagree. You guys keep comparing my idea to the cheesiness of what the Orlando parks tried to accomplish, which is not what I suggested.

Let's agree to disagree.

Lemme ask you guys THIS then....

What would YOU guys like to see added to the studio tour and especially the new night time tour to differentiate it from the main day tour? Not new tour animations, besides that. What would you add to the tour to keep it fresh and new?

So many of you were fans of the idea of a new BTTF stunt segment by the Clock Tower. Everyone knows it's not the real BTTF being filmed. But a segment showing how famous scenes were filmed, with a director and actors and stunts, would be cool. I'm curious what you all would like to see then?

 

[Alexshow.]

I'd actauly love to just see some added things for the NightTime tour at the old Fast & Furious location, they could do something if they wanted to retheme that particular section of the tour to something new.

 

[Chris]

I want to see the Western Street shootout come back.  It was always fun and a little break from the action of the tour.

So many of you were fans of the idea of a new BTTF stunt segment by the Clock Tower. Everyone knows it's not the real BTTF being filmed. But a segment showing how famous scenes were filmed, with a director and actors and stunts, would be cool. I'm curious what you all would like to see then?

I think this would be an awesome idea, but I also fear that it isn't realized or practical.  To have someone drive a real DeLorean all night long would be wasteful.  If this was for only the summer of 2015, I could understand it.  The tour was always about bringing the locations of the world to life in the backlot and this would stay true to something they have not done in a long time... something practical!

 

[Alexshow.]

More or less of what could happen with the Delorean, have it as a Projected image as they will have to close the Tour for 30 to a hour to get Actors on the lot, etc...But point being, they can do a projected wall that's quick to assemble and have the projectors on the rooftops of the Sets around CourtHouse to further make it work.. *Slides to the dark room