Australian Outback Spectacular & Ringers Western partnership

[New display name]

3 minutes ago, AlexB said:

what could replace it when it's time comes?

Mad Max.  

[pushbutton]

I get what you're saying Alex, but I think this new show "Heartland" is sufficiently different  (both in the story and the visual effects) that it provides a great example of how to refresh the concept sufficiently that people will want to come and see it again.

Plus also many guests from interstate and overseas  (and even some from Queensland) will still be seeing it for the first time!

I personally think as long as they continue to refresh both the story and visuals every few years, there's no reason it should ever get tired.

If I was being very picky, I could say the only thing I wish had been refreshed more than it has is the food.

That said, it's superb food considering how many they cater for, and they have made a couple of minor alterations to the menu, so I'm more than happy!

Edited November 29, 2018 by pushbutton

[joz]

I think it's sustainable. The newness factor has well and truly worn off and it's running off it's own sustainability at this point. I think the newness of the technology might see a boost of some kind, but ultimately it's sustainable if people enjoy the show regardless of the tech. If people see the new show and think it's good and tell their friends then it's sustainable, as it has been for the past 8 or so years since the newness wore off.

[New display name]

Dracula's on the GC has been going 33 years now so AOS should be ok.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

• Original show - April 4 2006 - September 2009 - call it 3.5 years
• Heroes of the light horse - September 2009 - End of 2011 - call it 2 and a bit years
• Spirit of the horse (Phar Lap) - End 2011 - November 2014 - 3 years
• High Country Legends - November 2014 - November 2016 - 2 years
• Salute to the Light Horse - November 2016 - October 2017 - 1 year
• Return of High Country Legends - November 2017 - November 2018 - 1 year
• Heartland - November 2018 -

 

Like many of VRL's shows and entertainment concepts, the original was designed by inspiring legends of the industry, with no expense spared. As you can see - the lifespan of each show appears to be decreasing. I do hope that Heartland turns that around, considering the upgrades they've sunk into the arena and the show (and the cast) - but i'm not convinced on the sustainability aspect beyond that...

Soon the show will be reduced to a few guys on horseback drifting and doing donuts for 20 minutes. 

Dracula's is a different beast. Since the Newmans started in 1964 in Melbourne, they've reinvented their formula multiple times. These days Cabaret and Vaudeville have given way to a more Sin City Vegas after dark vibe.

Its this 'reinvention of formula' that I was referring to for AOS - a shift in story beyond the horse, and the homestead... that's all. Clearly an unpopular opinion... but it has to come to an end eventually - and when that time comes, i hope they will reinvent the venue into something, rather than shut it down and use it as a storage warehouse for seasonal decorations and parade floats.

 

[pushbutton]

Salute to the light horse was only ever intended to be a one year show. It was a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC history, which was that year.

Return of High Country Legends was not a new show but just a continuation of a previous show which had been temporarily halted by Salute to the light horse.

No problem at all!

[New display name]

30 minutes ago, AlexB said:

but it has to come to an end eventually

 

Why does it have to come to an end? 

People like horses.

People like beer.

People like getting away from the kids.

People like going on a date and not having to talk to their partner. 

WIN WIN WIN WIN.

[MickeyD]

I attended the Media Launch for AOS way back in what, 2006.. loved it. But I never went back. Now seeing this show advertised has re-ignited my interest and for the 1st time in over a decade I have taken the time to find out more about what this one is about. After all these years I have a few good reasons to be dragged back and it is without a doubt doing the same for many others out there too.

Sorry A-to the-Lex-to the-B but this tine I have to disagree with thee! People do love the Horses, the Show, the Food - and most definately the Beer! The show now looks to be rebooted enough to keep going for a couple more years before the next story- And that's just it- they can keep coming up with new stories all the time, keep it fresh! AOS ain't going nowhere anytime soon and neither should it.

[red dragin]

Clearly after 12 years it's popular enough to invest in new tech and a new story. 

Like @MickeyD, it's sparked our interest after seeing it in probably 2009.

[Brad2912]

Have to say I’ve never been, despite living on the GC for 13 years. I’ve always had a small interest, but not enough to commit to tickets. 

I have to say however after seeing the promo for the new show with the projection mapping effects, it now looks like something really special and unique, not just (insert generic Australiana themed stock horse show here) on steroids...

[pushbutton]

I'm not going to be too specific so as not to spoil it for anyone but here are my initial thoughts.

Special effects (projection mapping) - excellent as I was expecting.

Story - Well to be completely honest not as intense or moving as I had been expecting. Also I just didn't feel like I got into the story quite as much as previous shows. This could very well just be because it was the first time I've seen it! Also it was the very first show tonight, and there were just a couple of parts where I could tell the performance still needed a little fine-tuning.

Food - Very good, but  (again just me being completely honest)I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the meals from previous shows. Still good though.

Oh, and the helicopter from High Country Legends is back!

Overall I'm glad I went. I will be going again very soon  (tickets already booked for December). I highly recommend it to anyone who's never been before, as well as to those who have!

Final comment for now: I was really hoping they'd have Mark Mitchell end the show with "Coupla Days!" The line could definitely have been made an appropriate response to a question and would have been a superb finish to the show. I reckon there's still enough people who fondly remember that line from watching Con the Fruiterer who would have loved that!

The show did end with the same song as the previous show "I Still Call Australia Home". It's a wonderful song, but there are many others that could have been equally good, but also would have been fresh to the new show. To me it just seems a bit lazy to use the same song.

I'm whinging though. It's fantastic! Go see it! 😆

Edited November 29, 2018 by pushbutton

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

12 hours ago, MickeyD said:

Sorry A-to the-Lex-to the-B but this tine I have to disagree with thee! People do love the Horses, the Show, the Food - and most definately the Beer! The show now looks to be rebooted enough to keep going for a couple more years before the next story- And that's just it- they can keep coming up with new stories all the time, keep it fresh! AOS ain't going nowhere anytime soon and neither should it.

You aren't disagreeing with me though, for the most part. I never said its old, or tired "now" - I'm just trying to spark some imagination over what else they could put in there when they decide the 'outback' story has had its day (which may be a while off yet).

[New display name]

13 hours ago, MickeyD said:

 A-to the-Lex-to the-B

Hahahahahahaaha, be warned @AlexB I will be using this in the future. 

34 minutes ago, AlexB said:

When they decide the 'outback' story has had its day.

NEVER! 

[MickeyD]

31 minutes ago, Skeeta said:

Hahahahahahaaha, be warned @AlexB I will be using this in the future. 

Excellent. My work here is done🤣

[pushbutton]

What has well and truly had its day (if there ever was one) is the "Hollywood Stunt Driver" show with no stunts.

That needs to go. Outback Spectacular doesn't!

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

oh ffs.

just forget it.

[New display name]

@MickeyD

[rappa]

Two points...

One, last night was the first preview performance of the show (official opening is next Friday) so I’m sure you’ll see some things refined. 

 

Two, Con the Fruitera is the perfect example of 20th century race humor which just would never fly with a modern audience so no way you’d see that line in the show. 

Edited November 30, 2018 by djrappa

[pushbutton]

I don't regard that line as even slightly racist. Frankly there were several things said in the show (such as "Arse" and "Shit") which I would say are a lot more potentially  borderline offensive than "Coupla days"!

I'm sure it would be just harmless fun, and for those who remember Con the Fruiterer, a nice little nostalgic nod to the character Mark Mitchell is probably best known for.

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by pushbutton

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Yeah. They should bring out guys wearing blackface too. Just because it'd be a nostalgic nod to the past.

[Jamberoo Fan]

On 29/11/2018 at 3:57 PM, AlexB said:

What are people's thoughts on the show's longevity?

What i'm saying is - how many times can they do a 'story of life in the outback' without the overall concept becoming stale...

...and - what could replace it when it's time comes?

Due to the nature of AOS, it will last as long as it is profitable. Since it is a dinner show, a lively atmosphere is needed as part of the experience. They need to ensure it remains at near-full capacity for every show otherwise prices would go up and there would be less in attendance and therefore, less atmosphere, a critical part of the experience, which would reduce value for money. AOS seems to update the show every time attendance drops enough to be close to break-even and/or near it becoming noticeable that some seats aren't being filled (I have never seen AOS sadly - though I want to - so I'm not sure about the latter & the former is just a guess).

If projection mapping wasn't introduced, I'd say Heartland would have been it's last show before a major re-think.

To 'replace' it, they should just remove the word 'Outback' from the title of the attraction. So it is just the 'Australian Spectacular', which would allow them to also tell other Australian stories not related or linked to the outback. Retrospectively, they could rename the original show as just 'Outback'.

However, I'd say projection mapping has allowed Heartland to have a 3 year stay rather than a 1 year stay. As I will detail below though, projection mapping may only add a short-term boost to AOS though.

It should be noted AOS are heavily influenced by Olympic ceremonies. Ignatius Jones, who designed this segment in the Sydney 2000 Olympics Opening Ceremony, yes, you guessed it, helped design the original AOS. In 2002, he even directed and wrote a travelling musical theatre called The Man From Snowy River: Arena Spectacular (You can see the influence it had on AOS in the below video, which I think was filmed in Brisbane Entertainment Centre):

So no doubt, he was the man to help design AOS particularly since that film above was distributed by Village Roadshow. Back to the Sydney 2000 Olympics ceremonies though, those ceremonies heralded in the 'technology' era of Olympic ceremonies.

These types of ceremonies reached their peak a decade later with Beijing's massive effort in 2008. 2 years later, Vancouver did the 1st ever near-fully projection mapped ceremony, heralding in the 'projection mapping' era of Olympic ceremonies. Projection mapping was used prominently throughout that ceremony but this segment (from 01:35:55 to 01:41:44 - the impressive projection mapping really starts at 01:37:41) was what really heralded in that era as people then realised the possibilities projection mapping can provide. David Atkins creatively directed the Sydney & Vancouver Olympic ceremonies and helped Ignatius Jones with The Man From Snowy River: Arena Spectacular.

Projection mapping has been used prominently in all Olympic ceremonies since then except London 2012, who used it only in 1 segment. However, projection mapping has been critizied in Olympic ceremonies in the past 4 years as being 'lazy', 'cheap' and 'overused' as it has replaced many of the special effects once utilized in the Sydney 2000 to Beijing 2008 era. VRTP shouldn't fall into that trap as it will turn the show into a glorified cinema screen otherwise and regular visitors would easily see a lack of creativity in technology & special effects. Olympic ceremony directors have, since that criticism, in the past couple of years, began to try and blend projection mapping with technology more where budgets permit, which has reduced that criticism, though not fully. So it should be noted that how Olympic ceremonies evolve will likely be how AOS evolves.

Edited November 30, 2018 by Jamberoo Fan

[westical]

11 hours ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

They need to ensure it remains at near-full capacity for every show otherwise prices would go up and there would be less in attendance and therefore, less atmosphere, a critical part of the experience, which would reduce value for money. 

Most places drop the price when attendance goes down, not jack them up. 

[rac2703]

12 hours ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

To 'replace' it, they should just remove the word 'Outback' from the title of the attraction. So it is just the 'Australian Spectacular', which would allow them to also tell other Australian stories not related or linked to the outback. Retrospectively, they could rename the original show as just 'Outback'.

I disagree with needing to change the name, most of the previous shows had very little to do with the “outback”, the title of the individual shows demonstrate that. The whole “High Country Legends” is set in the high country mountains and had nothing to do with the actual outback. 

[Jamberoo Fan]

If that's the case @rac2703, then AOS may be suffering a brand image problem, which might justifying removing the word 'Outback' now rather than later. I've never been to AOS and due to the word 'Outback' being in it's title, I'd assumed every show is linked to the outback, which, when considering whether to attend it again (if I already went there), would lend to an argument that the show is roughly the same as before, so it's a lower priority.  The outback is also very stereotypical Australian, which might discourage interstate tourists from attending as they might feel it's not targeted to them. Obviously, international tourists would attend and locals would attend to support local business. I know some shows have featured World War I & Phar Lap but I assumed there was major connection to the outback in some way due to the word 'Outback' in the overall title. Maybe they should remove the word 'Outback' then?

3 hours ago, westical said:

Most places drop the price when attendance goes down, not jack them up. 

I was referring to when they can no longer break-even. If they are making a strong profit, they have some lee-way to lower prices to return to good attendance levels. But if they start making losses, lowering prices may no longer be an option. The only option is to increase upcharge/food/beverage/souvenir prices (and there aren't many of those at AOS) or try to produce a cheaper show without making it less entertaining (such as by adding projection mapping).

[pushbutton]

17 minutes ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

The only option is to increase upcharge/food/beverage/souvenir prices (and there aren't many of those at AOS) or try to produce a cheaper show without making it less entertaining (such as by adding projection mapping).

But there's a large shop full of souvenirs which you walk through as you enter,  and a long bar serving all sorts of drinks right at the front of the pre-show room.

Don't those count?

Oh, and photos they take as you enter, which they encourage you to buy during the show.