I’m home from my amazing trip to California for the premiere of Oz The Great and Powerful! I have so many great things to share with you over the next few weeks!

In addition to the land of Oz, we had the opportunity to go behind closed doors to meet with the creators and animators of Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph!  It was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

The most fascinating part of the tour was the ability to capture scenes with characters using the Motion Capture cameras.  Upon entering the room, it seemed like a sparse, empty room, but in actuality – it was an entire soundstage ready to make movies!

With soccer cones serving as boundaries and white tape sectioning off the scene and boundaries, the room was surrounded with LED lights and television screens allowing the animators to be a part of the action – virtually!  What looks like a typical tripod is actual a camera itself – set to “film” the characters and scenes in a new way.

The Motion Capture camera was surprisingly very light and easy to operate.  With just a few small up and down motions of the camera, you can make a character run in place or even go jogging.  Turning the camera in any angle allowed you to see different areas of the scene and get a unique vantage point.  The entire process was fascinating!

Check out this short video of me getting some hands-on experience.  (Special shout out to Di from Free Sample Momma for the video!)

Also, for the latest news, check out www.disney.go.com/wreck-it-ralph/

Wreck-It Ralph is now available via digital download and on Blu-ray DVD Combo Packs available on March 5th.

** Walt Disney Pictures invited me on this all-expenses paid trip as their guest . Thoughts and opinions here are 100% my own and not influenced by others. **