nev
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Posts posted by nev
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On the contrary, Big Brother and Idol were deliberately overlapped this year in the hope that BB watchers will continue watching Channel 10 as Idol starts - notice how the first two episodes immediately followed BB shows? There are actually 3 full weeks of Big Brother left, and after that the site still remains as the Big Brother production office which isn't just vacated the second the final eviction show goes to air. There are weeks of bump out, followed by lots more post-production work. Get some information from some real sources and you might show some credibility.
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It's a shame.... the high resolution map of Manchester in England also stops a short distance from seeing Alton Towers too!
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It's actually not covered in cloud, but is rather a lower resolution image. Not all of the Earth is photographed at the same resolution. In the case of Sydney, unfortunately the current CBD and western subrubs images are of a lower resolution than the rest of the city. An example of cloud cover can be seen over the Haweksbury river to the north of Sydney, where Brooklyn is pretty much completley covered.
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And a few more....
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Here's a couple of pics for those who haven't seen the light and downloaded GE yet.... Disneyland and Magic Mountain from the USA and Movie World, WetnWild and Sea World from AUS are attached. Unfortunately the Cedar Point image isnt a fantastic resolution, so you can't really make anything out. The Australian images at least are a few years old - the Big Brother house at Dreamworld looks like its in season 4 or 3 configuration, and Shark Bay isn't built at Sea World. Maybe someone else can hazard a guess at when they were taken?
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The house is located at the northen end of the park, about a 400m walk north of the eviction stage that's used on Sunday nights. The entire BB production compound (House, auditorium, production facilities and storage areas) is surrounded by a 10' high security fence which is under constant camera surveillance. The actual house compound is surrounded by another high fence with only one entry point which is patrolled by armed guards with dogs 24 hours a day. Entry to the house building is then controlled by proximity card, otherwise it's impossible to get inside the camera runs. Another proximity card is then needed to get from the camera runs into the house itself. - So yes, it's under a lot of security. From what I understand, the house is accessible from the nearby highway, but it is a minor access road that isn't used outside construction periods. Apparently it was also used briefly this year when the recent floods made the creek overflow that runs between the production area and the house.
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Here's what I think is a pretty good example.... this is a video I took of Scream from my digital camera back in '03 at SFMM. http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=MOV03965 Cheers nev
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As I said, it's totally up to how much a company spends in there. Any venue in Sydney looks like a shed if you just put some tables in. I've seen a dinner event and a few corporate gigs in there, and some look like warehouse parties, while those who spend the money can create a really intimate or dominating, themed environment. Also depends on who's doing your event management and productionI've seen the place set up for fine dining and it looks pretty good but it's like eating in a giant shed with high ceilings.
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Funny Richard, cause when I spent some time at the BB site a few weeks ago I also got that impression.... maybe the rumours will be true
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You'd be interested to know Eskimo that all of the production equipment - lighting, cameras, production gear, and about 90% of the production crew are actually supplied by Global Television which bases its operations and equipment at studios in North Ryde, Sydney. All of the technical set ups at the BB compound are temporary outside broadcast units which are still in Global Television shipping containers and demountable buildings. Of the 170 production crew on site at Big Brother, almost 100 of them are brought up from Sydney and accomodated in Gold Coast apartments during the production of the show. The show is also sold to Channel 10 on a year to year basis, so production is not only not guarunteed to be run next year, but may also be on another network. You may recall two years ago that Channel 7 was involved in the initial bidding for BB3. Consider the fact that the house is practically rebuilt every year from the ground up, and that Fox Studios houses a 3,000 seat indoor auditorium (originally from the Lights Camera Chaos show, and more recently used for 7's Popstars Live) and the costs of moving the production to Sydney wouldn't be all that great. The indoor venue would certainly give the production team a lot more versatility and new design opportunities, and a closed studio environment such as Fox would give crews access to a lot more equipment and production facilities that have been permanently setup, as opposed to the OB units the crew currently work out of at Dreamworld. I don't know how true any of the rumours are, but I can certainly see the logic in such a suggestion.
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The acustics really change depending on how the room is set out - in its bare state the room is a concrete shell with concrete floor, so there's a good amount of reverb. However, this changes by adding carpet and / or building the seating structures, and also by filling it with people. In line with all the other noise complaints, the Big Top's shell has been designed to almost completley soundproof the venue - the main doors are around 9 inches thick, and there is internal padding between the outside and inside walls. One late night last year the audio guy I was working with got the PA inside to 120db before we could hear a low mumur outside the venue. Other than that my limited audio knowlegde doesn't really cover much more ground. The size of the room really prohibits it as a venue for intimate performances without extensive draping, but the beauty of the Big Top's design is that rigging draping is no a huge deal. De La Guarda reduced the performance space to roughly the size of a tennis court, which was quite amazing to see and hear. I've attached a couple of pics from Busta Rhymes's somewhat lacklustre show that I lit last year, sorry for the quality but I spend more time trying to take photos of the rig than I do the venue! Hopefully this will give you guys an idea of what it looks like.
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The Luna Park bigtop is a fantastic venue, having worked in it a number of times I can safely say it's one of Sydney's best spaces in terms of location, size and the amount of thought that went into its construction. It has tons of power, more than enough rigging positions and a good seating system too. While it may appear to be a shed to some people, that's actually the best way a venue can look inside for concerts - it means you don't have to work around obtrusive or decorative features, and leaves the production team to do what they like with the space. It's an incredibly versatile room - as anybody who has seen anything in there will testify to - the ice rink worked well, as did the De La Guarda performance, and I've also lit Busta Rhymes's concert and a number of corporate gigs in there. I would have to say in my opinion, it's the best mid sized performance space in Sydney. The space is still new and isn't well known internationally, apart from its recent feature in the MTV movie awards, where the venue and whole Luna Park site were really not used at anywhere near their full potential. However, it shouldn't be too much longer before more concerts start playing in the Big Top. Instead of saying demolish it or use it for rides space, consider the fact that LPS makes an absolute fortune from corporate hires in both the Big Top and the Crystal Palace. There are two sides to Luna Park, and there has been for a long time - the fun park and the meeting point for Sydneysiders. my 2 cents anyway
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Apparently a bunch of games stores have had their shipments delayed by the Australian distributor. I bought a copy from Games Wizards today, who interestingly enough didn't have it on their shelves. According to the sales guy most stores are doing stocktaking at the moment so they won't display the new game until they finish stocktaking current display stock, so it's probably worth asking the staff if they have the game. One other interesting point - it's $39.95 at Games Wizards and $49.95 at Electronics Boutique. Games Wizards also have RCT3 on sale for $49.95 at the moment too, so now's the chance for all you non RCT nuts to find out what all the fuss is about
And yes Paul, it rocks! -
I think a lot of the less traditional coasters - such as flyers and standups - often sacrifice speed and G forces to concentrate more on the novelty value of a coaster that has a unique operating feature. I found RR to be a pretty amazing ride - the sheer height of the inversions and scale of the ride is intimidating enough, let alone the ride's amazing ability to make any male rider question their reproductive ability after a few laps in those 'seats'... but the emphasis on RR definitely seems to be on the size and novelty of the standing ride position, as opposed to attempting to provide riders with a scary, intense ride. I think it's a gamble always taken on newer coaster types - for example, I found X to be too fast for the inversions, making the ride really disorientating which didn't let me fully appreciate the track layout until my second ride. At the other end of the scale, however, Air at Alton Towers has a few moments where it seems to crawl along the track with such futile drops that you begin to question why it's called a thrill ride. There's a very narrow margin IMHO to get a new generation coaster right - you've got to have the right mix of speed and novelty value, or people don't get the full experience from it. Back on topic, I think RR narrowly missed this fine margin, but would definitely like to see another stand up layout thrown into the mix here. It's probably safe to say that RR is not an example of a perfect standup. It's probably not even worth mentioning the comfort of a ride at Dreamworld. After riding Cyclone, at least a Stand Up coaster would just pound another part of my body other than my ears!
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Because Disneyworld is also in Orange County, FL
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Hey guys - this from the Melbourne Age Website this evening: Boy, 4, dies after Disney World ride Lake Buena Vista, Florida June 15, 2005 - 8:43AM A four-year-old boy died after passing out aboard Walt Disney World's "Mission: Space" - a ride so intense that it has motion sickness bags and several riders have been treated for chest pain. Daudi Bamuwamye passed out yesterday afternoon on the attraction, which simulates a rocket launch and trip to Mars. The Orange County Sheriff's Office said his mother carried him off the ride and employees helped her place him on a bench. Paramedics and a theme park worker tried to revive him, but he died at Celebration Hospital. The sheriff's office said the boy met the minimum 112cm height requirement for the ride at the Epcot theme park, which uses centrifugal force to simulate twice the normal force of gravity. An autopsy was expected today to determine the cause of the boy's death. Officials said the boy from Sellersville, Pennsylvania, was on the ride with his mother, Agnes, and a sister. During the ride, the mother noticed that Daudi's body was rigid and his legs were stretched straight out. She told detectives that she thought he was frightened so she took his hand. "When the ride ended, the victim was limp and unresponsive in his seat," according to a sheriff's office report. The $US100 million ($A131.5 million) ride, one of Disney World's most popular, was closed after the death but was reopened today after company engineers concluded that it was operating normally. In 2003, Disney began placing motion sickness bags in the ride. During an eight-month period in 2003-2004, six people over age 55 were taken to hospitals for treatment of chest pain and nausea after riding "Mission: Space," though none of them was found to have any serious problem. At that time, it was the most hospital visits for a single ride since Florida's major theme parks agreed in 2001 to report such problems to the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Updated figures were not immediately available. One other death was reported at Disney World this year. A 77-year-old woman who was in poor health from diabetes and several mini-strokes died in February after going on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at the Magic Kingdom. A medical examiner's report said her death "was not unexpected". Signs warn visitors about the intensity of the "Mission: Space" ride. "For safety you should be in good health, and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness or other conditions that can be aggravated by this adventure," one sign on view last year said. Signs also warn pregnant women not to go on the ride. Disney officials said in a statement after the boy's death that they were "providing support to the family and are doing everything we can to help them during this difficult time." - AP
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Want to hear something really scary? This is taken direct from the Fido column of todays Sydney Morning Herald - its a column that, each week, advertises jobs for volunteers who would like to donate their time for a worthy cause. This week, jobs advertised included Internet tutors for the Drummoyne Community Centre, A webmaster for a young people's program, a receptionist for Lifeline Western Sydney, and finally... this: Safety and Maintenance of Rides Location: Tonga Description: Australian Business Volunteers seek a volunteer to assist and advise on best practice for maintaining the safety and upkeep of fun park rides. Experience in ensuring the technical maintenance of the rides, an ability to train others, cultural sensitivity and willingness to work in a developing country. Travel and accommodation provided. - SMH, May 23 2005 Now I'd be a little scared if a volunteer was responsible for the safety of rides here, but maybe that's OK for the good unsuspecting people of Tonga. Maybe there is an opening here for you Joz?? Cheers Richard
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Hey guys, just thought I'd share this article I found on the Sydney Morning Herald website this morning about Melbourne's Luna Park... Six stranded on Luna Park ride May 22, 2005 Five children and one adult were trapped for almost one hour on the Mad Mouse ride at Melbourne's Luna Park on Saturday. Four Metropolitan Fire Brigade units, including a helicopter, helped rescue the passengers just before 5pm (AEST) from the top of the Mad Mouse's 15-metre structure. Firefighters freed the six using a hydraulic platform. A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman said it appeared one of the ride's cars had a mechanical failure. "All the trapped persons remained calm throughout the ordeal," the spokesman said. "The rescue was completed without injury. WorkCover is investigating the cause of the incident." The Luna Park incident follows a 2003 Mad Mouse accident at the Royal Melbourne Show when 10 children were injured. That accident was believed to have been caused by a cap which blew off a passenger's head and caught in the Mad Mouse's car wheels. AAP
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Maybe they could put the tiger sharks in the moat around the tigers - that'd be cool. While they're at it, nothing would complete the image better than seeing a school of tiger prawns swimming around in the tiger pool. To top it all off, information kiosks could run the Tiger OS too, just to get a laugh from all the computer minded people too. Methinks tiger island will stay for just the land-based variety of tigers.
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If it was for a charity I supported, I wouldn't be too concerned with parting with a thousand dollars or so.... it goes to charity, so it's a worthwhile cause, and you're getting something cool in return.
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Poverty rates are all well and good, but that means there are still over 750 million people living above the poverty line, which is still 730 million more than the entire population of Australia. I study human geography and demographics, and a poverty line is only ever calculated based on quoted taxable incomes. In real life, the number of people living below the poverty line in Australia at least is substantially lower than quoted figures, because it only takes into account declared income. The tax breaks, construction costs and possibility to open up a new market must also not be overlooked. For most Australians, a trip to Disneyland is somewhat of a highlight of childhood or certainly an exciting trip, and one which a huge number of Australians can afford to make to the US, Europe or Japan at some stage of their life. In India, with lower average incomes and less opportunity to travel, a local park could easily dramatically open up a new market for Disney.
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Unfortunately, it's like any number of lighting or technological installations at theme parks - as soon as they realise these sorts of things cost money to maintain and run, they're left to run. When fog machines aren't given a few dollars worth of fluid a day, they can literally burn themselves out in a few hours, rendering them useless. The experience at Space Probe died, just like the LCD monitors and beacons in the Cyclone queue, the small number of effect in the Tower of Terror, the themeing of the public areas at Sega World.... the list goes on.
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Hear Hear! I remember about half the school stopping to watch the showdown between myself and my head of English in the playground when she discovered I was lighting the school musical instead of sitting in her class! Being the only guy in the school with any technical knowledge got me out of pretty much anything - you should take up a hobby like that.
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"It’s not that hard or expensive to change the light bulbs when they blow. SW's carousel has 1,332 odd light bulbs" Are you that bored at Cartoon Beach already Joz? How did you manage to count them while the carousel was spinning?
Cheers
Richard
Backlot
in Theme Park Discussion
Posted
The Backlot was actually created in conjunction with the Bent Street Shopping precinct under instructions from the NSW government that a certain percentage of the old RAS Easter Show site would have to remain open for public use for a (if I remember correctly) minimum period of 2 years. Suprise suprise, after just under two years the Backlot is closed, and then last year the Bent Street precinct was sold to a shopping centre corporation, so that's why (as you may have noticed) the shopping area is now called "Entertainment Quarter" as opposed to "Fox Studios." I don't think Fox were looking for a theme park, they were merely satisfying the government's development demands for the minimum amount of time. I am lead to believe that the reason why the entry end of the Backlot (near the old Simpsons stage and Babe set) is still open but without any businesses is to satisfy the requirements for the public space area.