Reel FX has done a bunch of ride films in the past, but it was my very first. It was something I’ve always wanted to do though because as an avid theme parker from birth, it’s pretty much the coolest thing ever to grow up and make a ride that’s going to be ridden by hundreds, if not thousands, of people a day for the next decade!
Now if you ever find yourself being one of those riders, you’ll be able to see the work I did in a hand full of the “pre-show” shots , the ones that you see when you’re standing in line (which I can’t really talk about), and also in the ride itself (which again…can’t really talk about)! But I can say that it was a lot of fun to do and that I’m incredibly proud of the work we all did as a studio. Not only because of how great it turned out visually, but also because of all the hurtles we tackled during production. Both technically and aesthetically.
Given that the ride is called “Minion Mayhem” it needless to say brought with it thousands of individually animated props, hundreds of little minions running around, characters flying through the air, and more FX elements than I’ve ever seen before on a show.
Man I really want to tell you all about the ride…but I just can’t. So I better just end this post now. But again it was a lot of fun to do this ride and I know I’m not the only one here at Reel FX that is insanely proud of the work we did. I just wish that rides could have credits at the end of them so that you could see just how many people worked on this ride to make it what it is. But since I don’t think anyone would stick around for 10 minutes after the ride is over to see all those names, just take me word for it. It wouldn’t have turned out nearly as fluffy without the incredibly talented team we have here at Reel FX.
Maybe they’ll put up a really big plaque instead? An artist can dream.
Onto the next project I won’t be able to talk about for a very long time!
UPDATE:
Well I’m happy to report that I can now say, AWARD WINNING RIDE! That’s right, in one week Reel FX took home both the Annie Award for this ride’s outstanding Animation and the VES Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project! I’m very proud of the project and especially the wonderful team of artists we have here at the studio who made it look as beautiful as it is.
Check out this projects link on the right side to see the winning VES submission and more about the work we did on the show!!
