This week, I've been focusing on reading a memoir by Marty Sklar, the only Imagineer to have worked on the opening day projects for every single Disney Park in existence. Needless to say, his anecdotes and reflection on the growth of Imagineering presents a vital understanding of the career. So far, I've most enjoyed his encounters with Walt Disney, who was a character in his own right. I also love that he was a Writing major in college and began his career by writing publicity articles about the building of Disneyland. Eventually, he came to hold one of the most important Imagineering positions: Principal Creative Adviser.
When Walt first started building the company, he was told by one of his good friends that he couldn't hire ordinary architects and engineers. Instead, Walt needed to train his own people because his endeavors focused on bringing stories into a man-made reality. Walt reassigned many of the film makers, writers, animators, set designers, and producers from his movie production company and told them that they were needed for his Disneyland project. When writing my paper, I want to focus in on how the people involved in Imagineering aren't necessarily trained engineers. In actuality, they are innovative people who are focused on storytelling. I can use many Imagineers as prime examples. Bob Gurr, who designed the Main street vehicles, never went to engineering school. Building cars was just a hobby. Marty Sklar was going to be a journalist until his writing talent was noticed and brought to Disney. X. Atencio, who was not musical in any way, later created the lyrics for "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirate's Life for Me" for the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. I can also talk about their belief that anything that can be dreamed of, can be built.
When Walt first started building the company, he was told by one of his good friends that he couldn't hire ordinary architects and engineers. Instead, Walt needed to train his own people because his endeavors focused on bringing stories into a man-made reality. Walt reassigned many of the film makers, writers, animators, set designers, and producers from his movie production company and told them that they were needed for his Disneyland project. When writing my paper, I want to focus in on how the people involved in Imagineering aren't necessarily trained engineers. In actuality, they are innovative people who are focused on storytelling. I can use many Imagineers as prime examples. Bob Gurr, who designed the Main street vehicles, never went to engineering school. Building cars was just a hobby. Marty Sklar was going to be a journalist until his writing talent was noticed and brought to Disney. X. Atencio, who was not musical in any way, later created the lyrics for "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirate's Life for Me" for the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. I can also talk about their belief that anything that can be dreamed of, can be built.