Remember a while back, around three to four months ago, our grade nine PLP class embarked on our journey to Florida? That was such an amazing trip, and in order for this post to make sense, you should read about the experience first!
now that you have read about my trip to Florida, lets talk about the reason we went there. This trip was based all around Disney, and how it attracts people to the fantasy world, pulling viewers in to seek new thrills and imagination. Each student in the class picked a ride, and when we were in Disney World, we were supposed to film and take footage of our ride, and use that footage to create a mini documentary explaining how the ride draws us to the imaginary world.
Cinderella’s Castle in Disney World, Orlando
My ride was the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction located in the Magic Kingdom. It is a high speed, mine train Rollercoaster depicting the hillside regions in Arizona. The attraction is based off an 1800s gold mining town called “tumbleweed.” The name Big Thunder Mountain is the name of the mountain the pioneers mined in and the name, “Thunder Mountain Railroad”, was the name of the rail system that brought workers to and from the mountain back to the city.
Entrance to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
You can read a more brief overview of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Here
The first day we were in Disney World, we went to the Magic Kingdom, where my attraction is located. It is one of the more popular rides there, so we went there as a class first thing in the morning. I got a lot of footage of the scenery and in the queue line. My friend brought his GoPRO along the trip, which he filmed almost every ride he went on. It was helpful for me and for the entire class that needed footgae for their ride. Unfortunately, I did lose some of my footage due to iCloud messing up, but it did save most of it. I had to use some other photos and videos that I didnt take, but it was ok since they let me use their footage.
The Castle at Night
When we got back to Vancouver, I compiled my photos and videos and created an iMovie documentary on my attraction. I was really excited for this project, because I love editing and creating movies. I came up with a script, added a soundtrack, interview and voiceover. This would all be put into my first draft.
First Draft- Here
In my first draft, I had a lot of muffed up audio. This was because I didnt use a microphone, and instead just spoke into my iPad. The next issue my first draft had was there was to much POV footage. The POV scenes were great, and explained the ride well, but at some points in the video it was unnecessary. My final issue with the video was my interview. The interview was put at the end, with no explanation of what it was telling or going to tell.
In my next draft, I focused on these issues and fixed them. I removed some of the POV shots, and replaced them with images of mining towns and other still images. I also fixed up the audio, making it less muffy.
Second Draft- Here
In my third draft, I didnt change very much, all I really focused on was making sure eveything was how I wanted it. I also changed up a few audio pieces.
Third Draft- Here
Before doing our final draft, our teacher, Ms Willemse, assessed our drafts. In my assessment, she noticed a few things I needed to change. One of the major things I needed to change was my interview. I had forgot to change it from my first draft, and it was still in the same spot, at the very end with no explanation. I quickly changed it, putting at the start to explain the overview of this project and to give people a better understanding when first looking at my video. I also needed to change my audio one last time. I had called the ride different names, including “Big Thunder Railway” and “Big Thunder”. I adjusted these things as soon as I was notified about these mistakes from my teacher. In my final draft, I had a part where its a POV part, just to give the audience a break from all my information. I decided to put some Walt Disney quotes in their, just to make things more interesting for the viewer to look at while wacthing that part of my video.
Final Draft-
Once I completed my last draft, I was very proud of my work. I felt like I had accomplished a lot during this project, and it was one of my best pieces of work this year.
I learned a lot from this project, not only about my ride, but how all attractions at Disney are built and designed to reel in people of all ages to come to this one of a kind place.