Smell-O-Vision
Smell-O-Vision
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#1Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 12:45pm
Now that we've placed every show in a circus and hope that idea dies for decades..
What shows would you want to see in 'Smell-O-Vision"
where you would get a scent here and there throughout the show.
Be specific with your creative ideas...
songs/scenes....
Go!
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
ARTc
Stand-by Joined: 11/4/11
#3Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 1:04pm
Aren't shows already in smell-o-vision?
Depends on which way the AC vents are blowing.
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#4Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 1:07pmMaybe they should just turn POLYESTER into a musical.
ARTc
Stand-by Joined: 11/4/11
#5Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 1:31pm
Polyester, the circus musical! YES!!!! I think we have the winner!!!!!
Think about all those sweaty costumes.
#6Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 1:47pm
The Phantom of the Opera would be cool, a musty smell for the basement of the Paris Opera house.
Wouldn't suggest Les Miserable, you imagine the sewer scene where Valjean carries Marius to safety, it would be awful if the Imperial started to smell of turds!
#8Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 2:59pmBarnum.
Holster2
Chorus Member Joined: 7/25/12
JohnyBroadway
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/12
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
#11Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 3:28pm
"Smell-O-Vision is a real thing?"
I strangely know a lot about this, only because my husband used to be with Logitech in the 1990s and early 2000s. Logitech, the technology company, spent several years working privately with a lab overseas to develop a "smell-o-vision" technology that could be both practical and affordable. It never happened and they scrapped the endeavor. The only way you can use "smell-o-vision" is by providing a physical scratch & sniff card to the viewer and then cueing them on the screen. They did it for one of the SPY KIDS movies.
Or, the shorter answer: I don't think it matters whether or not it exists. The OP was being facetious.
#12Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 3:33pmSmell-O-Vision would be great for "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
#13Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 3:50pm
I guess not everyone read the other thread about smell o vision. It was titled honey boo boo or something.
Yes, I still have my smell o vision card from 1981's Polyester. The card had about 15 scented circles on it and they were numbered. Let's say there was a scene in the film at a gas station. A number would start flashing on the screen. You'd scratch the circle with that number, and then smell the circle, which, of course smelled like gasoline.
And yes, there was a fart one.
And I still have my card which still smells!
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#14Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 3:51pmNunsense. You could smell the poppers that the Rev. Mother sniffs.
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
#15Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 3:53pm
Of course, Jane. 
That was revolutionary at the time! Ha!
I don't know. I'm not that sorry they could never master the technology. Do we really need it? It's just one more pointless schtick. Would it really enhance a story or work production (movie, play, etc.) that much?
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#16Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 3:54pmTheres a theater in Disney i believe that releases scents from the seats. Is it the Shrek movie? in 4d? I forget. but it was an interesting approach.
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
#17Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 3:58pmYes, Taboo. Not sure which attraction (Disney or Universal) does this but that particular technology is not new. It was first used in the early 1960s. It's just not practical or very successful for individual experiences, though. That's what they are trying to work on.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#19Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 4:18pmI think the idea actually goes back to early movies. I think there's an episode of The Little Rascals/Our Gang where they are showing a film and the kids plan to spray flower scent into the audience but it gets mixed up and they spray something stinky like bug spray.
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
#20Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 4:24pmGreat memory, Goth. But the original technology was not actually "invented" and utilized until around '60 or '61. I remember reading a hilarious story about how the audience reacted when it first happened. Some ran out of the venue.
#21Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 5:31pmSweeney Todd. That way the audience can smell the decaying flesh from the mutilated bodies in the pie shop cellar. A totally immersive experience!
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#22Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 5:45pm
Scent Of Mystery The Musical
SOM was the one and only film in the process
#23Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 5:49pm
I remember seeing a Rugrats/Wild Thornberries crossover movie that was in smell-o-vision. All I remember was the peanut butter scent smelled nothing like peanut butter.
I think I read in Neal Gabler's bio on Disney that he wanted to use scent in Fantasia, a movie which was very much his baby. He wanted to create a wholly immersive experience. It didn't pan out.
Before I joined here, I read about a production of Our Town on this site where the scene with Emily and her mother at the end was done against tradition, with a fully-realized set that included a working stove. People said you could actually smell the bacon Mrs. Webb was cooking. Ever since I first heard that, I've wished that I could have seen it, but is that account really true? It's almost too fantastic for me to believe.
#24Smell-O-Vision
Posted: 7/5/13 at 7:13pm@taboo There's a lot of attractions with "smell-o-vision", but I'm guessing you're referring to the ride Soarin' .
Videos