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From the show I saw that night, the kids in the audience were really into it and blown away by the stunts; in the end they really liked to show altogether. Having "The Three Musketeers" concept as a stunt show in this park was very risky and from what I heard from audience reactions, it was one that paid off.

Going on Sunday to see the show again, can't wait! :D
 
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After watching the show tonight, it has significantly improved in my eyes: the effects during the dock fight and Milady de Winter's vanishing act at the end have new firework explosions that improve the effects in question, the actors are more comfortable, the sound is more audible, the fireworks are wonderful, and the audience (myself included) loved it. All we need now is a full video of the show and I'll be happy. :)

This show is doing improvements while London Rocks does nothing being the rubbish garbage that it is, sad really.

 
BGW Family said:
Ken Billington did design All For One as well as Roll Out the Barrel, Scrooge No More, Monster Stomp on Ripper Row, London Rocks, Entwined!, Gloria!, Illuminights, Kinetix, Emerald Beat, and Irish Thunder.

Incorrect, incorrect (his firm, not Ken), correct, incorrect (his firm, not Ken), correct (the first two years), depends on the year, depends on the year, depends on the part of the project, depends on the year, correct, and correct.
 
dumpsterfyre said:
BGW Family said:
Ken Billington did design All For One as well as Roll Out the Barrel, Scrooge No More, Monster Stomp on Ripper Row, London Rocks, Entwined!, Gloria!, Illuminights, Kinetix, Emerald Beat, and Irish Thunder.

Incorrect, incorrect (his firm, not Ken), correct, incorrect (his firm, not Ken), correct (the first two years), depends on the year, depends on the year, depends on the part of the project, depends on the year, correct, and correct.

Well, who did the lighting designs for the shows that Ken did not do?
 
dumpsterfyre said:
BGW Family said:
Ken Billington did design All For One as well as Roll Out the Barrel, Scrooge No More, Monster Stomp on Ripper Row, London Rocks, Entwined!, Gloria!, Illuminights, Kinetix, Emerald Beat, and Irish Thunder.

Incorrect, incorrect (his firm, not Ken), correct, incorrect (his firm, not Ken), correct (the first two years), depends on the year, depends on the year, depends on the part of the project, depends on the year, correct, and correct.

Welcome to the forum. My aren't we touchy and nitpicking. Ken Billington owns KBA Lighting Design and is responsible for his company's work. Regardless of if he designed it personally, or not. The park will certainly rearrange designs as they see fit year to year. The same as lines or blocking differing from the original script, songs added or removed, etc. The Irish Blessing shortened in Celtic Fyre, as an example.

If you would like to provide the information for each year, please do. Please also tell us who designed All for One. I will let KB Associates, Inc speak for themselves.
 
Hey BGW Family, I want to ask if you've seen the show yet. Have any thoughts on it?
 
This was ambitious and of scale. I think this show is in the right direction for BGW in terms of type and quality. A little rough around the edges, but every show has to start somewhere. Just look up the preview show for Celtic Fyre and compare it to now. Actually, Phil R. had a lot to do with both shows. I think he is the man for the job. It certainly is not "Musketeer Rocks". It has the potential to be very good.

That this once dark theatre is alive again is also a big bonus. I really love this theare with the park, coasters, and sky as the background.

I don't want to say anything bad about the show as I don't want to discourage the move in this very good direction. I have seen the issues noted by others on here and agree or disagree as anyone would. After London Rocks, Illuminights, Clocktoberfest, blah blah & blah, this show is just refreshing. I have hope for it and want it to succeed. Isn't this essentially the same kind of show often wished upon the Globe? I'll accept it as it is, flawed and imperfect, but encouraged that the creative team will change what doesn't work and build upon this foundation to make a great show. Hopefully, those will not be improvements à la London Rock v3. Eh, at least you aren't told where you HAVE sit to in this theatre to watch this show…yet.

That being said, this weekend was the most satisfying I have seen. The synced fighting sounds (live theatre suicide) had been substituted with live actor grunts and sounds. The general sound was good and all of the effects seemed in time and working. Only a few dead spots that might have been synced tracking or effects reset related. I feel some fight scenes are a bit busy to follow but know that is a big stage which one might have an urge to fill. The set design, costumes, and music are fantastic. I never got to enjoy or assess the performers as you have to pay the up-charge, or at the end be a pass member, to have the privilege of close seating. BOOOO. I thought they did well and had good character Given more time, they would have grown into their roles.

Alas, just as things are smoothing out, the season is over. I'm interested is seeing how they apply what they've learned to improve the show next year.

Too bad the set is massive and will require lots of work to change out for 'Twas that Night (I don't think the designer was aware another show would be playing there and did not design the set to be modular). Because I would love to have a HOS show back in there! Like some old friends who might be visiting San Marco this year. ;-D
 
Wonderful review BGW Family, and I certainly agree with you. Last Sunday night when I saw the show, the rough spots have been smoothed over and at least the team will now know what to do when bringing the show back in 2017 (which is what I heard from asking the cast). Both Pete Dunklee and Phil Raybourn have a great show on their hands that'll just get better in the future, they both prove how to do a show like this and if they can get the same passion and quality into the Globe, ll Teatro di San Marco, and Festhaus; they both proved that they know how to run the entertainment department without changing too much and going overboard which is what Scott Gasparich tried way too hard to do.
 
Thanks for spewing out all my thoughts, BGW Family. I really couldn't agree more. Even if you don't like the show itself, if nothing else, this show is a step in the right direction for the park. It is an obvious sign they are trying to step away from the obnoxious sparkle fests that were everyday productions by Scotty G and Jason Kantowitz. I'm not moved to rave that Phil was responsible for that aspect of the show, but you can see the people they are bringing in (writers, directors, etc.) have completely different and much more fitting tastes for the park than what have been previously used in the past several years.

Even so, going into this, I knew the genre and show type was a complete shot in the dark for the park. I was excited for the show leading up to it, but I was not optimistic that the show would be considered at all masterful in the type of theatre it was trying to portray. Again, the show opened as a complete clusterfuck, and hasn't been able to iron it all out until the last couple of weeks. If they had given them 1 or 2 weeks of extra prep and rehearsal time, the show probably could've opened in the same caliber we see it right now. Therefore, the critiques it got for the first month or so were well-founded. Even at the show's best, I still agree there are many issues, my main gripes are dead space and the opening. Hopefully, we will see the show open next year with those issues ironed out. I have faith that the park won't make adjustments to this show like they have London Rocks and Roll Out The Barrel which resulted in a worse show instead of a better one. But instead, have change that improves the show and keeps the audience interested like what they have done to Celtic Fyre (that show seems to out-do perfection year after year).
 
Interesting that you'd say that Matthew, because I watched the Celtic Fyre 2010 preview video and I do agree that the 2011 thru present versions are far superior to it's first season version. I have strong faith that Phil Raybourn and Pete Dunklee will do the same for All For One, turning a show that I really like into a great show I love.

They can do it. :D
 
Today is the final performance of All For One for the 2016 season, but it will come back for the 2017 season.
 
I hope this show gets about the same attention as Gloria did from 2011 to 2012. In 2011 Gloria was just a concept that could have been better. In 2012, the improvement made the show dramatically different, while keeping the same basis.

All For One is already leaps and bounds better than when it started. Now that they have finally settled on one microphone for the main characters, they can fine-tune other things next year, such as lighting. Also, maybe the drop curtains (in my opinion, the most iconic set pieces) can be redone so they can use it during both performances. Right now they can only use them in the second performance, because they can't be reset between shows.

The show mostly relies on lighting alone to switch the setting. This doesn't work during an 8:00 showing, because it's too bright outside. They use a "follow" method to switch scenes and follow performers across the stage. This is a big issue, because sometimes the show may need to be re-blocked slightly, and then they can no longer follow the performer.

I saw this happen when one of the two Milady D'Winter(s) performed after a long hiatus. She was supposed to walk downstage (where her spotlight shines). Instead she walked in front of the stage, and there was nothing that the lighting people could do, because there was no cue for that. She was completely invisible. Meanwhile, her downstage light kept shining on a blank stage until the next scene.

Show control systems at BGW don't work quite the same way they used to, and it's clear that BGW was slow to adapt for that theater and show type. Hopefully next year they can iron out everything. If this year's hard work and learning is any indicator, then I have good faith that the new team can pull together a runaway hit next year from the start.
 
Phil Raybourn and Pete Dunklee are two of the biggest reasons why for the first time in years, I have optimism that the entertainment department will finally get their act together. All For One is the show that is a great step in the right direction and I can't wait to see what the new team does for next year.
 
I think the actual production was just as bad as, if not worse than, the technical side of the show.

To me, the telling of the plot itself was poor. The audience participation at the beginning was cringe-worthy, cheesy, and difficult to understand. Not to mention, it felt like a lazy attempt to shoehorn crucial exposition into a gag. Perhaps some sort of pre-recorded projection, or even a simple narration, would be more effective and less deserving of eye rolls.

The transition into the first major scene was equally awful; it was awkward, poorly timed, and didn't mesh well with the previous scene. It seemed like the show was going for something better suited for a TV show or movie, where a character thinks of an event happening elsewhere, and the film cuts to the scene he is thinking of. But played live, I don't think this worked out well.

The worst part for me was the dialogue. Maybe it was the stilted, high school drama class-style delivery, but every time a character opened their mouth I wanted to crawl inside Nessie's cave and hide. The lines were cheesy, over-the-top, awkwardly worded, and simply made my skin crawl.

I usually don't rag on performers, but as I said, some of them had ZERO acting talent and probably should not be acting. Their athletic skills were impressive, but as far as acting goes, they may as well have been auditioning for a black box play. Frankly, the show would probably be much better if the microphones didn't work at all. At least we'd be spared from the terrible delivery of terrible lines.

The conflict resolution, too, was weak. The villain isn't foiled. There's no dramatic end to the antagonist. Milady de Winter just randomly vanishes, and one of the Musketeers makes a passing comment that she may someday come back. I understand that the Three Musketeers story ends in a similar way, but--let's face it--All For One is hardly an accurate representation of the original story, so they may as well have gone for a more satisfying conclusion.

Long story short, I personally think the show needs a lot of work on both the production side and the technical side (which I won't delve into now). Until then, I'll spend my evenings in Aquitaine riding Griffon while the rest of my group watches this cringe-fest.
 
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Joe said:
I think the actual production was just as bad as, if not worse than, the technical side of the show.

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That's a great photo of the show curtain Luke. :)

EDIT: I think Castle O'Sullivan's full show video is coming soon, can't wait for it. :D
 
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To give everyone a full status update on my video; the show is finally over for the season, so there is no more need/chance of getting extra footage unless anyone wants to kindly help the process. My PM box is open.

Most of what I need is good footage of the first half of the show. I can pick and choose from (mostly) poor footage of the first half, but that will take a while longer. I want to do a good job of "stitching" everything together seamlessly. There are also a few angles that I would like to highlight of the biggest "wow" effects.

For now, here is a video of the second half of last night's show. The link is only on these forums for now since it is unfinished. (Also, the upload may still be rendering. It should be at full resolution soon.)


Just to hold off those who love pyrotechnics for a while, here is a closeup of the grenade explosion from the barrels at the docks.
 
Great footage so far, I can't wait until the full show is here. Thank you so much for doing this. :D
 
Here's an interesting thought: The improvements that All For One did in the last few weeks were actual improvements that helped the show get much better than it when it opened, is this a sign that this is going to be the same kind of improvements that will help the show next year? I sure hope that is the case because I really, REALLY like this show to no end.
 
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