‘We shoved so much light into the miniature that it was literally melting and coming apart.’
Category: Retro
The bus in ‘Speed’ wasn’t supposed to land like a 747
But it did, and it was still spectacular.
‘He lost his head’
How they made Keanu Reeves and Dennis Hopper fight atop that train in ‘Speed’.
The first big explosion in ‘Speed’ was very nearly a major disaster
And it was thanks to someone who thought they had missed their bus.
Jar Jar Binks was nearly a practical suit and a CG head
All about that ILM Jar Jar test which proved the character should be all-digital.
‘It cost about $65 to have a cold pizza delivered in the middle of the night to Skywalker Ranch’
The intensive previs process on ‘The Phantom Menace’.
The world already loved lightsabers, but then ‘The Phantom Menace’ made them even better
How new ways of shooting, new digital tools and lots and lots of roto resulted in the laser swords of ‘Episode I’.
How ILM’s work on ‘Hook’ led to ‘Phantom Menace’s’ podrace
Projection mapping played a key role in making those racers go fast. Real fast.
Remember when Brendan Fraser took on all those mummies by himself?
A VFX oral history of ‘The Mummy’s’ coolest action scene.
Man-in-suit, miniatures, mechanics and modern CG: looking back at 20 years since ‘Godzilla’
VFX supe Volker Engel goes back to the film, the trailer, and the production of the 1998 film.
How driving around L.A. with a camera out the window led to one of the coolest shots in ‘Iron Man’
Storytelling with previs, VFX and a Sony hand-held camera.
Going back to ‘Pleasantville’: when doing a DI wasn’t so easy
‘Pleasantville’ visual effects supervisor Chris Watts on bringing through a revolution in scanning/film-outs, the unexpected use of Shake, and the film’s hardest shots (they’re not what you think).
The Nostromo was originally yellow, and other stories from ‘Alien’s’ secret documentarian
Ridley Scott’s masterpiece is about to turn 40 – now’s the time to watch this treasure-trove of behind the scenes interviews.
The CGI tidal wave in ‘Snake Eyes’ that no one got to…sea (sorry)
The true story of the original ending of ‘Snake Eyes’, and its ground-breaking water sims by ILM.
Remember that time Brad Pitt got hit by a van, and a taxi?
How *that* shot in ‘Meet Joe Black’ was pulled off
Bullet Time before Bullet Time
The tests that led to the landmark visual effect of the ’90s.
Making the magic mirror moment in ‘The Matrix’
“Neo looks at his hand; fingers distended into mirrored icicles that begin to melt rapidly, dripping, running like wax down his fingers, spreading across his palm where he sees his face reflected.”
Anatomy of a crash: ‘The Matrix’s’ stunning helicopter scene
I knew it. He’s the one.
Secrets of ‘The Matrix’ code
It comes from Japanese cookbooks, it’s back to front, and it didn’t always flow vertically.
A visual journey inside the miniatures of ‘The Hudsucker Proxy’
Shooting models sideways, making Tim Robbins act in reverse, and the movies where the same miniatures made surprise reappearances.
‘We tried a million things’ – the oral history of ‘Sphere’s’ sphere
The sphere in ‘Sphere’, and how it was made.
‘I felt like it was a poem’: the VFX oral history of Guinness ‘Surfer’
Original CFC crew members reflect on bluescreen horses, crashing waves and a St. Patrick’s Day debut for the famous Jonathan Glazer spot.
‘Super Mario Bros.’: the other huge VFX film from 1993
The first film to use Flame in a big way, as well as several other VFX ‘firsts.’
Remembering ‘Ruby’s Saloon,’ and how it helped make Maya
The untold oral history of the short that helped promote Maya to the world.