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Harry Potter and the
Forbidden Journey Universal Studios Hollywood upgrades the fan favourite
Media: The Extensions Of Man: “The medium is the message.” He meant that the form of a medium influences how the message is perceived. McLuhan's declaration has never been more keenly felt
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than in the motion picture industry. When television conquered the world in 1950, the film studios had to change their medium in order to effectively compete. The first effort, 1953's blockbuster film “The Robe,” from 20th Century Fox, used the new wide-screen CinemaScope process which wowed the audience. Not to be outdone, that same year Warner Brothers presented the first 3-D film, “House of Wax.” In 1954, 20th Century Fox improved its CinemaScope with Panavision, allowing flexibility in the camera movement, rather than the static shots of CinemaScope. Also in 1954, Paramount presented VistaVision, which offered a finer- grained projection, and therefore a sharper image. One of the most effective of the various film mediums was
presented in the 1952's “This Is Cinerama,” which used three 35 mm cameras to project an image on a curved screen that approximated the periphery of human vision. Cinerama's crowning achievement was 1962's epic “How The West Was Won.” Those who have seen the film on TV, DVD, or even in standard flat-screen movie theaters shrug and say “Yeah, it's all right I guess.” Those same people who then are able to catch a special engagement of the film in its true Cinerama form (in the few remaining Cinerama theaters, including Hollywood, California) are astounded.
arshall McLuhan, professor, philosopher, and one of the world's greatest “thinkers,” made a timely statement in his 1964 book, Understanding
Someone remarked to me, “Is this the same film that I thought was so ponderous when I saw it on television? It's magnificent!” Motion picture sound also continually improved, with
multi-track sound first appearing in Disney's 1940 film extravaganza, “Fantasia,” and continually improving with Dolby Sound (1971's “A Clockwork Orange”), and Surround Sound (1978's “Apocalypse Now”). Like the other film studios, Universal Studios has long been engaged in the challenge to approximate true human vision in its productions, both in its films and its theme park attractions. Universal Studios Hollywood recently upgraded the “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” ride from its original 3-D version to “4K-HD.” 4K-HD means a horizontal resolution of about 4,000 pixels, in High Definition. Also, the film speed is now faster at 120 frames-per-second, twice its original 60 frames-per-second, and five times the 24 frames- per-second of standard motion pictures. The 4K-HD effect is astounding, offering a superior ride
from the former 3-D version. Besides creating a stronger visual, and thus a more realistic ride experience, there are two additional positive results from eliminating the 3-D glasses: 1) We now see the settings and the animated figures more clearly, and 2) Universal, and we the riders, simply don't have to deal with the glasses. McLuhan's assertion that “the medium is the message” certainly applies here. In a previous Park World article on Disney's new
“Guardians Of The Tower” ride, I cited the failed online petition demanding that Disney retain the original “Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” ride, rather than replace it with “Guardians Of The Tower - Mission: Breakout!” The petition specifically asks, “Why replace a truly inspired and original idea with a marketing ploy? Frankly, this sounds more like something that Universal Studios Hollywood would do. Not Disneyland.” It's no secret that the competition between the Disney and
Universal parks is at an all-time high, at their California, Florida, and Japan locations. But Universal Hollywood's upgrade of its “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” ride is far more than just a marketing ploy. By going from 3-D to 4K-HD, they've done more than just improve the original ride, they have, like Disney, created a whole new ride experience.
Gary Kyriazi is the author of The Great American Amusement Parks, and the writer/producer of America Screams, the first pictorial history and television special about American amusement parks. He has been a researcher and historian on American amusement parks for 40 years.
66 SEPTEMBER 2017
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