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Soarin' Expansion and new Soarin' Around the World film
- Thread starter danlb_2000
- Start date
ABQ
Well-Known Member
@FerretAfros I haven't seen the film in person, obviously, but are you certain the ballooning was CGI? Only as I live in the desert southwest, I am certain quite a bit of ballooning does take place in Monument Valley. Seems silly to CGI that. Of course as no flying is allowed over the Taj Mahal, I see why they did it in CGI, though it could have been left out entirely, which would have been better, IMHO.
FerretAfros
Well-Known Member
I also haven't seen it in person, but the way that the dome of the Taj Mahal transitioned into the first balloon made me think that it was CGI; it aligned with the CGI dome a little too perfectly to have been filmed from a helicopter. The other balloons may be real (they had real ones in Napa for the original, but they were farther from the camera to avoid potential conflicts with the chopper), but I have a strong hunch that at least the one used in the transition was CGI@FerretAfros I haven't seen the film in person, obviously, but are you certain the ballooning was CGI? Only as I live in the desert southwest, I am certain quite a bit of ballooning does take place in Monument Valley. Seems silly to CGI that. Of course as no flying is allowed over the Taj Mahal, I see why they did it in CGI, though it could have been left out entirely, which would have been better, IMHO.
The Hidden Mickey in the new film that is made with the balloons also makes me suspect that CGI was used. I don't know too many details of the production process unfortunately :/
As a note regarding the new projectors, has anyone gotten definitive confirmation that they are IMAX Laser? I was under the impression that they were using the same dome (the Soarin' screen is a dome) projection technology from Christie Digital Systems that they are using in DCA, which I believe also uses lasers.
MagicHappens1971
Well-Known Member
@wdwmagic's post states "New IMAX Laser projectors deliver an incredibly clean image, with zero artifacts visible - a much welcome change from the often dirty projection of the original ride."
MagicHappens1971
Well-Known Member
I just saw Soarin this weekend with the new screens, it's much clearer but the old film isn't mastered for the IMAX screens so it wasn't as clear as it could be
AND... the plot thickens :/ Looking at the Attraction Overview documentation for Soarin' from 2013, the pre-show A/V came/comes from "Two MPEG-2 streaming video servers". That sounds like it would be digital to me, although IIRC MPEG-2 is pretty low quality.
I want to say it's over the last few years the quality had visibly reduced.
The current DCA version playing seems to be far better. So I assume it was the source file.
KingOfEpicocity
Well-Known Member
I dont see what youre talking about with the Taj Mahal, I couldnt tell if it was CGI or real.
Next Big Thing
Well-Known Member
I rode the Over California version today. Concourse A was still closed... I went on Concourse C. The pre-show was most definitely the California version as Patrick specifically calls it "Soarin' Over California" where before they cut it so he just says "Soarin'".
Anyway, the film quality was terrific and all the effects seemed to work. Looking forward to seeing SOTW in a few weeks.
Anyway, the film quality was terrific and all the effects seemed to work. Looking forward to seeing SOTW in a few weeks.
DisneyCane
Well-Known Member
HUH? The original film was filmed on 70mm IMAX film. As long as it was at least scanned in 4k, it will have the maximum resolution possible for IMAX laser projectors. The original film has a lot higher resolution than the projectors are capable of projecting.
As a capture format, film still has the highest resolution and dynamic range. Digital capture does better in low light and convenience. Something shot on 70mm film and scanned in at least 4k resolution will look better projected on 4k laser projectors than something shot on a 6.5k digital camera.
OvertheHorizon
Well-Known Member
I saw Soarin' Over California on Thursday at Epcot. I was in theater "C" and was surprised to see a "dust bunny" on the image. It seemed to me like the scents used were stronger than prior times I've done the ride. The sound seemed enhanced from prior viewings. Looking forward to seeing Soarin' Over the World on June 20th.
flynnibus
Premium Member
MPEG-2 does not mean poor image quality. It was used in broadcast for years and is what your DVDs were based on. Image resolution and bitrate are what would have limited it.
Dust would still be possible. There's still optics involved.
Ahhh got it. Broadcast Engineering is definitely not my area of expertise.
halltd
Well-Known Member
I rode concourse C today and the screen/image was amazing. And, it smelled like Footlocker in the queue and exit corridor (which is a good thing). 
I wasn't expecting the "Soarin' over California" logo and intro from Patrick since I hadn't read about it here yet. So I was like, "uh...what's that?". ha ha ha!!
I had probably THE worst seat in the entire theater, too. Bottom row, far left seat. It's right at the curve in the screen and right over the CM control panel for the ride. They had the light on the panel and about five of them were having a meeting during the film, so all I heard was them talking. If you get this row/seat, I'd suggest asking to wait for the next cycle.
Also, the old ride system lowered back to the floor during the last fireworks explosion and this one (unless it was just a fluke) stayed up until the screen changed to blue and then lowered. It just caught me off-guard since I'm so used to the old version...and it didn't seem as fluid.
Anyways, the scents and image quality were amazing. So, I can't wait to see the new version...as long as Patrick is still there.
I wasn't expecting the "Soarin' over California" logo and intro from Patrick since I hadn't read about it here yet. So I was like, "uh...what's that?". ha ha ha!! I had probably THE worst seat in the entire theater, too. Bottom row, far left seat. It's right at the curve in the screen and right over the CM control panel for the ride. They had the light on the panel and about five of them were having a meeting during the film, so all I heard was them talking. If you get this row/seat, I'd suggest asking to wait for the next cycle.
Also, the old ride system lowered back to the floor during the last fireworks explosion and this one (unless it was just a fluke) stayed up until the screen changed to blue and then lowered. It just caught me off-guard since I'm so used to the old version...and it didn't seem as fluid.
Anyways, the scents and image quality were amazing. So, I can't wait to see the new version...as long as Patrick is still there.
KingOfEpicocity
Well-Known Member
You know Patrick isn't really in many movies/tv shows so it shouldn't be hard (or expensive) to use him again.
He is in the new Epcot/DCA pre show for SATW, although from what I've seen it just looks like they re-used / re-edited existing footage.