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Re: I Went To The Studio
I would love to hear your story when you have the time and a computer.
I would love to hear your story when you have the time and a computer.
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Magnús: - I have fans of all ages and I don't think it's weird when older people like LazyTown. LazyTown appeals to people for many different reasons: dancing, acrobatics, etc. -
Re: I Went To The Studio
If you're allowed to answer, and more importantly if the following makes sense, I've 2 questions for you:Originally posted by Rowan
There wasn't much of a language barrier then? if I went, in my head I imagine the journey on arrival to be something like -
airport, taxi to hotel, studio, hotel (repeat according to how many times you're allowed to visit), airport then home.
Where you hindered at any point in time by not being fluent in Icelandic?
Also, when you arrive at the studios, is it a guided tour? I don't mean like a theme park, I'd be wary of getting lost in a labyrinth of corridors or entering a room I shouldn't, do they send you ID prior to your visit? it seems like only one person gets to visit at a time.Getur einhver annar verið Glanni ? það bara passar ekki
Stefan Karl Stefansson, það er enginn eins og þú!Comment
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Re: I Went To The Studio
Ahh, good question. Well the Icelandic started when I got on the airplane. Expectedly, the whole crew was Icelandic and did the announcements and stuff in Icelandic first, then in English. Even though I don't think that the Icelandic accent is particularly difficult to decipher, combined with the fact that they were speaking over intercoms made me pretty much miss everything they were saying in English. Especially the pilot. I didn't really talk to many people in the airport, though they all seemed to default to English first, which was not the case for the rest of the journey. Of course, everyone defaulted to Icelandic first, except for the folks in the tourist centers. I do wonder what would happen if I was asian or black or some other race which made it obvious that I probably wasn't a native. Most people would greet me with "Goðan daginn" which is Icelandic for "good day," but some would start with "Halló." At first, I would reply with "Hello" and I would make sure to really be clear with my pronunciation, as to not to confuse it with halló. But that didn't really work. Most people would continue speaking to me in Icelandic and I'd have to say "Sorry?" And then they'd get it. I felt rude doing that, so when they greeted me, I started to reply with an English phrase. "Hello, how are you?" "Good day to you as well." etc. etc. That worked every time, and they got the cue to start speaking English. I wouldn't ever say that I was hindered necessarily, but it's never really fun to be totally barred from a conversation due to language. I would have liked to know what everyone was saying. It's just something you kind of take for granted.
Yeah I got a guided tour, at least at first. I was shown around to get a general idea of the layout, and to be told what the rooms were and stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary. After that, I was pretty much allowed to do whatever I wanted. The doors are locked and require a little magnetic key and pin number to enter, so I didn't exactly have "full access," but once I was in, I could do whatever I wanted, as long as I didn't leave lol. When I was there, there were other guests, though I'm pretty sure it was all business related.Originally posted by Glanni's GirlComment
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Re: I Went To The Studio
Whoops, took me a long time to get back here...
What Stingy said about the language barrier is pretty much the same in my experience! The only person I met who actually wasn't totally fluent in English was one of the taxi drivers I had, who told me he had learnt English by watching TV and chatted to me about British football, haha. When I was on the way to the studio, I gave the guy the actual address and he just asked me if I was going to Lazytown, which was kind of a surreal thing to be asked. Seems like the company take people to and from there a lot.
Whilst I was visting there were quite a few other guests too, including some kids who were playing on the set of Robbie's lair... I'm not sure if they were involved with the show or if they were someone's kids or what. I guess that it depends on who you're contacting to invite you and how busy they are and stuff. But it's relatively informal, I wasn't given a pass or anything, it was just like, a guided tour and then "yep, do whatever you want". I have no idea what studios are like in other parts of the world, but I think that reflects my experience in Iceland in general. People are very laid-back about things. I guess a small population and a low crime rate helps with that. It's a really lovely country, and I enjoyed being there a lot outside of the studios as well as in them.
As for what happened to me, well, it was actually pretty similar to what Stingy posted so I won't go into huge amounts of detail, though I didn't meet quite as many people or get as much free stuff thrown at me, haha. I was mostly just shown around by Halli (PR guy) and Bússi, the producer, though I did speak to a few other people too. They were really cool and I had a great time seeing everything... watching the episodes being edited with CGI effects in post-production was pretty awesome. Since I'm working part-time in technical theatre, I had a massive geek out seeing the sets/costumes/props warehouse/puppets from a semi-professional standpoint as well as from the perspective of a massive Lazytown fan. I talked a lot to Bússi about how things are made, other production stuff... The puppets are incredible to see in real life. So many details have gone into them... same with the costumes. Also, I wasn't really aware of how much wear the puppets get - apparently for the ones that appear most often, they have around 2 puppets per episode, so like 20+ puppets per character made for each half-season. Considering how high-quality they are, that's expensive as hell. But that's one of the great things about Lazytown, the fact that they put so much attention (and money) into getting the highest quality everything, for an amazing result.
We discussed writing, too, which was interesting. Like how they've been trying to make an effort to write more/better episodes for characters like Trixie and Pixel who are a bit more difficult to write for. What else was really cool to see... the style guide, which is updated for the new series. So many little things, all of the artwork and products that are on display, are amazing. It's such a great place to be, everyone there is so friendly and nice and being surrounded by Lazytown stuff is amazing. There's really nowhere else I've been like it. I also really liked the small details, like bits of concept art in various places, or even graffiti. I remember seeing a stick figure Stephanie drawn on something in the studio and it made me smile.
A fair amount of time here too. And funnily enough I was talking about the older versions of the puppets to Halli and mentioned some things about them, like how one of them had been in an episode of the TV show and he was like, "wow, you know more about the show than I do!" though I was thinking, "pshh, that's nothing compared to the full extent of my knowledge..."
And on the way out someone introduced themselves to me, complimented my haircut and asked if I was going to work there. You don't know how much I wish I could have responded with a "yes". Well, actually, you most likely do.
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Re: I Went To The Studio
Buhhhh..... I want to go back...Comment
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Re: I Went To The Studio
I read all of it in pieces. Great stories
Magnús: - I have fans of all ages and I don't think it's weird when older people like LazyTown. LazyTown appeals to people for many different reasons: dancing, acrobatics, etc.Comment
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Re: I Went To The Studio
God, you are so lucky and to have met Magnus! Did you visit just as a fan? Because that's what I wanted to do. Go there and visit the studios. Did you have to set something up or did you just go? Awesome Story!Comment
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Re: I Went To The Studio
Yeah I just went there as a fan. I did have to set things up, because there are combo magnetic and code locks on many of the doors, so you can't exactly just pop in. I had to get an escort and all that, and they knew that I was coming about 5 months in advance.Comment
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Re: I Went To The Studio
Wow! You're story is great! But may I ask you something? I wish to visit Lazy Town Studios (wish!) and I would like to know how did you made you're reservation for visiting the studois? I mean, where did you book you're ticket (or something like that).I didn't found any web site where i would do that even if is just a wish now. Hope that I didn't annoyed you with my question
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Re: I Went To The Studio
You may to a bit too late. In no time at all, the studio in Iceland will no longer be the headquarters for LazyTown. But to answer your question, this wasn't a tour by a tour guide or anything like that. There were no tickets (apart from plane tickets) involved. I had to contact and employee there and set it up that way.Wow! You're story is great! But may I ask you something? I wish to visit Lazy Town Studios (wish!) and I would like to know how did you made you're reservation for visiting the studois? I mean, where did you book you're ticket (or something like that).I didn't found any web site where i would do that even if is just a wish now. Hope that I didn't annoyed you with my question
No, I was there during post production of season 4, so that had already past. It was only an anecdote told to me.Comment
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