Funworld January 2012

Distortions Unlimited Finds Rewards in Making Monsters

In 2006 Nathan Charlan went to the studios of Distortions Unlimited in Greeley, Colorado, to meet the staff there and witness the unique work it does. Put simply, Distortions makes monsters—sculptures, animatronics, and masks of all sorts of ghoulish and eerie characters. Charlan was captivated by the creations and by the imaginative, humorous, and off-the-wall team that did the work. But he was a low-level employee at a production company, so he filed the experience away for future reference.

Jump to 2010. Charlan was now director of development for a different company—Warm Springs Productions in Missoula, Montana, which produces TV shows for a range of networks. But he remembered his experience at Distortions and decided the company and its married owners, Ed and Marsha Edmunds, would be great for a reality TV show.

"I had met Marsha and Ed and the crew, and I saw what a great personality Ed had," says Charlan. "It was visually stunning there, with great characters, and they had great jobs and careers." So Charlan pitched the show to TV networks, and the Travel Channel jumped on it. In fact, the network was so taken with it that instead of ordering just one pilot episode, it ordered a series of four. Called "Making Monsters," the show debuted on the Travel Channel on Oct. 2, 2011, and ran for four successive Sundays.

"Making Monsters" is set at Distortions' 20,000-square-foot production studio and shows how the staff develops its creations—from concept design, to clay sculpting, to molding, to finishing work. It then follows the Distortion crew into the field, recording the work that goes into setting up the attractions. Viewers witness the long hours and often grueling, detailed work the Distortions staff puts into its inventions, as well as, the comical give-and-take that goes on between team members.

Distortions President Ed Edmunds says making the show is a great experience but adds, "We're already busy with production and pushed for time, so with making the show, they are really hard weeks. Those shows are a tremendous amount of work, representing hundreds of hours."

Marsha Edmunds, Distortions' vice president, says this was a big consideration when deciding whether to do the series: "We thought about it for quite a while because we were concerned about disruption to business. But we became convinced that it would be good."

Ed insists he's not concerned about the show giving away any secrets of his 28-year-old company: "When I started, there weren't video how-tos available, so I've never really been guarded with that stuff, and I think that's what makes the show fun, that we show you just how everything's done."

"Making Monsters" also reveals that Distortions doesn't just do work for the haunt industry. The show chronicled a project for a Monster Mini-Golf FEC, an elaborate stage creation for performer Alice Cooper, and an intricate alien attraction for the UFO Museum in Roswell, New Mexico. Of course, Distortions has also done work for theme parks, zoos, and museums.

Marsha says "Making Monsters" has brought some big rewards. "The feedback from the viewers has been just great, and we like that the show encourages the use of imagination. Also, our crew has been getting recognition."

Though Distortions hasn't been given final word on "Making Monsters'" renewal status, Charlan tells Funworld, "It's looking very promising. It was positively received by viewership and by the networks—things are ­looking very good."

www.distortionsunlimited.com 

New Orleans City Park Goes Beyond Just Picking Up the Pieces After Hurricane Katrina

We've all heard the remarkable recovery stories that have come out of the disastrous conditions left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast of the United States in August 2005. But one story you may not have heard is the amazing rebirth of New Orleans City Park (NOCP) and its grand plans for the future.

The park is a unique state entity of the Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, but it is operated by the City Park Improvement Association; sits on land owned by the city of New Orleans; and receives capital support from the city. However, the city provides no operations funding, and only 19 percent of the park's operations money is supplied by the state, so it must generate 81 percent of its operating budget. "Our biggest [funding] sources are the amusement park, a big holiday celebration, a golf course, a large catering department, and two venues for weddings and corporate parties," says John Hopper, the park's chief development officer.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the 1,300-acre park had $43 million in damages, as 95 percent of it had been under one to eight feet of water. Hopper details some of the destruction: "Water damaged some 200 buildings or structures. The electrical got wet, as did all motorized equipment. There was wind damage, including 2,000 trees down. Even the roadways were damaged because they're not built to be sitting under water for long. In the amusement park, just repairing the antique carousel cost over half a million dollars." In fact, the park was lucky to be able to repair the 108-year-old carousel at all—most of its amusement rides were unsalvageable.

Hopper says that after the hurricane, there was "a certain sense of denial" from those associated with the park and serious questioning as to whether it could ever reopen. But into this breach stepped scores of volunteers, and some 40,000 have helped out since the hurricane.

"Many sections of the park only look as good as they do because of the sweat equity of the volunteers," says Hopper. "We would have never wished for the hurricane, but without it, the park would not be as far down the path to being a great park as it is. Before the hurricane, corporate [donors] located outside New Orleans were interested only in the cities where they were located. But after the hurricane, they really cared about what happened here."

NOCP's master plan calls for a $143 million investment to substantially upgrade the park by 2018, New Orleans' 300th birthday. The latest addition resulting from that plan is a 36-hole miniature golf course. It will join Carousel Gardens—the 10-acre amusement park—and Storyland—a venue featuring a couple dozen fairy-tale exhibits for children—in providing family entertainment.

The plan also calls for a splash park—for which the state legislature just set aside $5 million—and a $24 million championship golf course.

Though New Orleans City Park is rightfully proud of its recovery from Hurricane Katrina, Hopper is quick to make one thing clear: "One of the messages I want people to go away with is that we are not here to repair hurricane damage to a park, but to build a much better park."

http://neworleanscitypark.com 

TAA Puts Its Rock-Solid Expertise on the Line at Avoriaz

Theming and Animatronics Industries (TAA) of Madrid, Spain, was recently selected by Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs Group to do all of the elaborate rock work for the Aquariaz waterpark at the Avoriaz Aquatics Center, part of the Avoriaz resort in Portes du Soleil, France. What makes the waterpark and TAA's project so unusual is the location—not a warm beach retreat or big-city theme park, but a mountain ski resort located some 6,000 feet up in the French Alps.

Aquariaz will be indoors and consist of an experience swimming pool, an aquatic and leisure area with rock landscapes, a lazy river, Jacuzzis, wave pools, and slides. A separate spa is located adjacent to the pool area.

"Theming and Animatronics Industries is very proud to win this project," says Udo Weisenburger, president and CEO of TAA. "It is very significant for TAA in the sense of realizing [its] first project for the French Center Parcs Group."

TAA is understandably pleased to win the project, but executing it will be quite a task because of the location of the waterpark. TAA always creates all of its rock work on site, and getting everything in place to do so will be a challenge. "TAA executes the cement rock works always on site with professional cement machines of high capacity and a team of specialists," says Weisenburger. "Before the winter period, all major material and cement has to be driven up to the construction site in the mountains because as soon as the snow starts, trucks cannot drive up anymore!"

TAA will create some 10,800 square feet of rock surface area for the waterpark. The work involves applying cement to a water-resistant structure. Then, sculptors give it a natural look. Later, painters come in and execute the fine finishing work. But in this instance, the rock has to do much more than just look good.

"The rock work itself has to be of excellent quality," says Weisenburger. "It is not just decorative, but in direct contact with the guests. The surface has to be very soft and also fit the requirements of the quality of water and the health and safety requirements, and it has to be long-lasting. Rock work close to and inside of water is challenging, [but] TAA has done this work in the past with success." One example of the rock's use beyond decorative purposes will be a climbing wall with swinging ropes that drop guests into the pool.

Artificial rock that is continuously in contact with chlorinated water often "bleaches out" and loses its natural-looking color, which is quite a problem. But according to Weisenburger, TAA has addressed this: "Over the years of experience and successful rock work in salt and also chlorinated water, TAA created its own special mixture of cement and integrated color in order to prevent the 'bleach out,'" he reveals. "A sample rock has been already executed on site and approved by the client."

The work should take three to four months, with the Avoriaz Aquatics Center expected to open in June or July 2012. www.taaindustries.com 

Toverland Launches Boldly into Its Second Decade