Musical fountain
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A musical fountain, also known as a fairy fountain, prismatic fountain or dancing fountain, is a type of choreographed
, video projection and three-dimensional imagery.Installations can be large scale, employing hundreds of water jets and lights, and costing into the millions of dollars. Techniques tend to be complex, and require mechanical, hydraulic, electrical, and electronic components that are usually kept out of view.
Fountains that are choreographed to music
The earliest musical fountains were played manually by a live operator, who usually controlled pumps or valves and sometimes lights by way of switches on a control panel. Music was almost always live. Later, choreography could be prerecorded on a punched paper card which was scanned by a computer; and even later, it could be recorded on magnetic tape or, in the most modern shows, on a CD or in an app along with the music. In most automated examples, the choreography is still painstakingly programmed by hand, while some shows are still played live from a control console (sometimes recorded for automatic playback). Recent advances in technology provides for unattended automatic choreography that can rival manual programming.
The earliest choreographed musical fountains
The Bodor Fountain
Křižík's light fountain
The work of F. W. Darlington
F. W. Darlington was a pioneer in electrical fountain control as well as water design.[citation needed]
Prismatic Fountain, Denver, Colorado
In 1908, Darlington constructed a fountain in Denver City Park lake at a cost of US$19,577 (equivalent to $664,000 in 2023). It featured eleven colored light streams that were controlled by an operator.[2] In 2009, the fountain was restored using modern technology for US$3,200,000.[3]
Prismatic Fountain, New Orleans, Louisiana
The Darlington fountain in West End, New Orleans, was likely completed around 1915 or 1916 as the last date on the original drawings are from February 1915. The fountain served as an icon for the West End Park and surrounding yacht clubs and numerous restaurants that were located in the area.
All of Darlington's fountains required an operator to change the water effects and lighting and were likely used in conjunction with music played by a band or orchestra for special events. It is unknown if the fountain was operated in a static mode when there were no performances or if it was shut off.
Restoration of this fountain is planned by the Friends of West End in New Orleans.
Garfield Park, Indianapolis, Indiana
In 1915, the new greenhouses and conservatory were built in Garfield Park, Indianapolis. The dedication of the Sunken Garden took place on October 29, 1916. In 1916, Darlington was hired to design and build the fountains at the east end of the Sunken Garden. The fountains were the first in the country to be equipped with the mechanics that allowed the changing of the spray and displayed lights according to the season and holiday. For Memorial Day, the fountain's lights were alight with red, white, and blue, and on other days, gold and white. The fountains are still an attraction for visitors. The fountain was restored by The Fountain People in 1997 and with a musical control system by Atlantic Fountains in 2003.
Pool of Industry, 1939 New York World's Fair
An early example of a musical fountain choreographed live was the Pool of Industry at the
Later water fountains
The Dancing Waters style of water show is a linear display of pumps and lights. In the United States, similar fountains are the Musical Waters. Musical Waters shows use the basic Dancing Waters mechanics. The fountains use single-speed pumps and do not offer variable water heights, and the revolving nozzles are not present since the Dancing Waters design having been prone to jamming. Despite lacking the rotating nozzles that usually define this type of show, the Musical Waters shows are one of the few of this kind that still retain most of the simple elegance that defined Otto Przystawik's first fountains, including the visual attraction of the human element with live "fountaineers" controlling the effects. Otto Przystawik water shows went well beyond previous musical fountains. While previous fountain merely change scenes during a performance, Przystawik introduced moving water that created the first true Dancing Fountains.
Other United States based companies such as Waltzing Waters Inc, owned by Przystawik's family,
Manufacturers in the Near and Far East, in places such as India and Pakistan, also produce musical fountains. Many of them have updated the look with individually servomotor-controlled nozzles, large water screens on which video can be projected, and laser effects. Shows are built not only in the standard linear form, but in circular, semicircular and oblong shapes, in multiple pools, and many other layouts. In many places in India, a musical fountain is a must-have attraction for any city, and there will often be at least one local company ready to build them. Firms also rent shows.
International Fountain
Built for the
CESC Fountain of Joy, Kolkata
The CESC Fountain of Joy was inaugurated in 1991 in Kolkata, India, as part of the tricentennial celebrations. In 2005, it was shut down due to technical problems. The fountain was reopened in October 2012 following a ₹3 crore (US$561,000) renovation.[4][5]
The fountain features 150 channels available for water and light effects while the old fountain had only 20 water spouts. It has a centre-fed circular water screen of 6-metre (20 ft) height and 18-metre (59 ft) width. In the upper pool, the CESC Fountain of Joy has 99 water effects, while the intermediate pool has 20 water effects and another 30 special water effects in the lower pool. It features a large water cascading area – more than 80 metres (260 ft) long from upper pool to the intermediate pool. The CESC Fountain of Joy comes with an enormous number of lights including LED, PAR lamps and high watt reflectors, capable of constantly changing the colours to make the fountain attractive and eye-catching. According to CESC sources, the Fountain of Joy is integrated with ultra-fast technology, in which water effects will be controlled by the pneumatically assisted solenoid valves, capable of opening and shutting 12 times in a second, thereby resulting in water shooting in air at a spectacular speed. One of the project engineer's claimed that "the concept of a three-tier fountain pool surrounded by architectural and dynamic fountains in the intermediate and lower pools is quite unique in this subcontinent".[5]
Fountains of Bellagio Hotel
WET (Water Entertainment Technologies) also designed the Fountains of
A fog generating device rises from beneath the water to blanket the entire lake with fog, and about 4000 individually controllable underwater lights follow the water patterns' precise movements, sparkling on the water or glowing through the fog. Performing to everything from opera to classical to Broadway to pop, the Fountains of Bellagio run every day on the half-hour, and every quarter-hour during the evening. A team of dive-certified engineers is on-site at all times, maintaining the fountain's complex mechanical, electrical and hydraulic systems.
Despite the scale of such shows as the Fountains of Bellagio, these shows must still be programmed and choreographed by hand. Computers aid the process, but engineers must still spend weeks or months on each new performance before it is ready to be placed in rotation with the other shows.[citation needed]
Branson Landing
Branson Landing located in
Grand Haven
One other notable fountain of the choreographed type is the
A patented drive mechanism allows each pair of sweeps to follow or oppose each other in direction of movement, to move along long or short paths, and to move at any of three speeds, allowing the moving water to follow nearly any kind of music. The original show used punched paper cards, though computers control the new system. The nozzles and pumps have never been changed, only cleaned and maintained, and shows must still be programmed by hand. Even with the simplest of the many programs used to create shows for this fountain, choreographing one three-minute song can take anywhere from two to four hours. The Grand Haven Musical Fountain still performs nightly, and is viewable from a grandstand on the waterfront in Grand Haven.[citation needed]
Kangwon Land Multimedia Fountain
Multimedia Fountain Kangwon Land was opened in August 2007. It is considered Asia's largest musical fountain.[6] Multimedia system consists of 180 m water fountains, water screen, video, light, 12 multi-coloured fire units, and laser. The Magical Box multimedia show consists of the big cube system and the fountain. In combination with the fountain during daylight hours the box appears mirrored, but at night it is illuminated to reveal its interior. At night a globe can be seen, some 20 meters (66 ft) in diameter. The special lighting effects give the impression that the globe is rotating and displays the five continents of the world.
Inside the globe is the "Dome Cinema". The "Dome Cinema" has a diameter of 18 meters and is used as the projection area. Video images from TV, DVD, or VHS sources are projected directly into the dome. These images fill almost two thirds of the space. As a result of the various depths of the room, a new laser video system is used to ensure that the images are not distorted. Outside the "Miracle World Box" is the largest fully automatic screen (24-by-24-meter (79 ft × 79 ft)) in the world. It uses lighting effects, laser projections and synchronized choreographies. All of the technology used in and around the "Miracle World Box" was designed, developed and installed by Emotion Media Factory.
Dubai Fountain
The largest musical fountain project in the world is the Dubai Fountain. It spans on the 30-acre (12 ha) manmade Burj Khalifa Lake. It was designed by WET Design, the California-based company responsible for the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel Lake in Las Vegas. It includes 6,600 lights, 25 colored projectors, and fog. It is 275 meters (902ft) long and shoots water 150 meters (490 ft) into the air (equivalent to a 50-story building), accompanied by a range of classical to contemporary Arabic and world music. It was built at a cost of 218 million dollars. The fountain was formally opened by Sheikh
Disney's World of Color
World of Color is nighttime spectacular at
Disney Dreams!
Disney Dreams! was a nightly nighttime spectacular at Disneyland Paris, based on Peter Pan's shadow story and included scenes from many Disney Films. It included HD projections onto the castle, with pyrotechnics, synchronized fireworks. Water screens and fountains located in the moat of Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant were provided by the French company Aquatique Show.[7] The project took 18 months to be entirely built, including tests and changes, and cost €10,000,000 (~$13,000,000). It ran daily at the park until March 2017, when it was replaced by Disney Illuminations, which utilizes the same technology.
Opryland Hotel Delta Fountain
Located indoors in
Blackpool Pleasure Beach fountains
The Blackpool fountains, created by French company Aquatique Show, are located at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach in the UK. The fountains dance every 30 minutes to a range of music. They opened in 2009 letting people run through them. In 2010, people were barred from entering them due to health and safety. Security guards are present during the show at the attraction. The fountain has 25 jets which can shoot up to 100 feet (30 m).
Multimedia fountain Roshen
The multimedia shows combine water effects (fountain), music, lasers, and 3D projection on the water screen. For the fountain shows, powerful LED lights are used allowing the application of bright and showy backlighting resulting in various picturesque effects. Unlike other fountains in Ukraine, the Roshen multimedia fountain has moving particles reaching verticality in which the water spring angle changes dynamically. The sound power of the audio system is 3840 watts. The height of the central spring reaches 65 to 70 metres (213 to 230 ft), the projection screen dimension is about 16 metres (52 ft) high and 45 metres (148 ft) wide, and the frontal water dispersion constitutes 140 metres (460 ft). The project design and development was performed by Emotion Media Factory.
Aquanura at the Efteling
Opened in May 2012, Aquanura boasts being the largest water fountain show in Europe and the third largest in the world. It was built on a lagoon near the main entrance of the
Before Aquanura opened, the Efteling had an indoor musical fountain ('waterorgan'). It used to be hand-operated, with pedals and levers, but was later automated. When it opened in 1966, it had live music, but as of 1979, a recording was used. The waterorgan was put out of operation in August 2010, its venue being reused as a studio for a children's television program. It is not clear whether the installation has only been covered up temporarily, or if it has been permanently removed.
Fully automated musical fountains
While all pre-programmed musical fountain shows involve computerized show control systems, the use of computer technology to spontaneously "self-choreograph" a fountain to random musical input is novel. Unlike conventional musical fountains, which must be manually pre-programmed moment-to-moment, a fully automated musical fountain uses the venue's own live background music to animate the water and lights in real time.[citation needed]
Celebrate... Tokyo Disneyland!
Celebrate... Tokyo Disneyland! is a nighttime show based on Disneyland's Remember... Dreams Come True and The Magic, Memories, And You. It uses the technology for World of Color and Disney Dreams and all of the past and current nighttime shows from all over the world. Portions of Remember... Dreams Come True was amazingly edited to fit Tokyo Disneyland. The show ended in April 2019, but all the tech is there to this date.
References
- ISBN 9739866905.
- ^ "Denver's Prismatic Fountain Will Again Delight Thousands". Denver Municipal Facts. 1 (14). The City of Denver. May 22, 1909.
- ^ "City Park fountain shows debut Friday". The Denver Post. May 21, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
- ^ "Joy back on maidan... bigger & better". www.telegraphindia.com. October 9, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
- ^ a b "Fountain of Joy to spring back to life". The Times of India. October 6, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
- ^ "High One Resort South Korea - Gangwon-do". Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
- ^ "Water show : Aquatic Show, water special effects and international water show".
- ^ "Roshen Fountain in Vinnitsa was opened! :: Confectionery Corporation ROSHEN". roshen.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.