Another 3 shots from Kubrick’s Masterpiece, this time from the simply astonishing “Star Gate” sequence. These stills hardly do it justice, and neither does a youtube clip, however here’s a quick reminder http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=m6yAEvnoCPs
The special effect to create this animated sequence was of course mechanical (not digital) and is called Slit-Scan Photography, I’d never heard of it before either!
Here’s a link to a Wiki overview http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slit-scan_photography and an article on how to achieve the effect with a large format camera http://people.rit.edu/andpph/text-slit-scan.html
A selection of 3 screen grabs Taken from Stanley Kubrick’s genre defining 2001: A Space Odyssey. In 40yrs + it’s never been bettered in terms of artistic merit or design, for me this will always be THE Science Fiction Movie, a spectacle indeed, though not always riveting entertainment in the mould of so much other classic Sci-fi, it is however a brooding experience like no other. Personally I feel it’s almost better to watch and marvel the drawn out acts separately rather than one long sitting, make your own remix…
Warning – Possible Spoilers!
The above images relate to Franks Poole’s ill fated attempt to replace the broken/not broken AE35 Unit, I didn’t realise until recent re-watch that Kubrick used the famous helmet reflection trick on both astronauts and not just Dave Bowman – so here’s a little tribute to Franks last EVA. Interestingly though if one follows Arthur C Clarke’s Canon, 2001, 2010, 2061 and 3001 – the final book actually see’s the 1000 year frozen body of Poole being plucked from deep space, defrosted and brought back to life ALA Buck Rogers! now there’s a plot device…
2001’s greatest scene? a tough one of course, but for me, well it’s Bowman’s psych out trip – “My god it’s full of stars” – chillingly punctuated with brief flash’s of the terrified astronaut, 500 million miles alone and utterly helpless, a rabbit caught in the headlights of oblivion. Suffice to say, 2001 is as supremely powerful and otherworldly today as it was upon release in 1968…
One final note for a test, whats the primary font used to for Status/Error messages on all consoles?… clue is: its visable in this post……
A Peter Tybus Cover Illustration for “The War Book” a collection of short stories published in 1971 by Panther Science Fiction. The tag line is:”War is hell… …whatever century it’s fought in”
All scans taken from the fantastic “The Mike Hinge Experience” 1973… I managed to find a copy of this via Amazon.com It’s an extremely interesting portfolio book that demonstrates Illustrator Designer Mike Hinge was well ahead of his time. A fascinating blend of Art Noveau inspired Psychedelia with a definite techno edge, especially so when you consider it predates Adobe Illustrator by at the very least 15 yrs… The things we take for granted these days!
I’ll post more from Mike Soon….
Another example of early CGI, this time taken from Star Trek 2 “The Wrath of Khan” (Directed: Nicholas Meyer, 1982).
“Wrath of Khan’s” opening chapter starts with the infamous “Kobayashi Maru” simulation, from which this mechanical (and slightly trippy) Bridge-Screen visual is taken… Wicked film, with plenty of great quotes and the usual over acting, It’s generally regarded as best in the series, and it’s also probably the most accesable to non-trekkies.
Read more about it here: www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/ and here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrath_of_Khan check the trailer here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UJTi7KJPx_E
