Tag: MastersofFX

On the 20th anniversary of The X-Files Movie: ‘splosions!

In my book, Masters of FX, I profiled 16 visual and special effects supervisors about their bodies of work. One of those was Ian Hunter, who, through Hunter/Gratzner Industries and New Deal Studios, has contributed a wealth of practical, miniature, and other effects work for large scale films and other projects.

Hunter supervised the miniature explosion of the federal building in The X-Files Movie, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this week. Back in 1998, the film featured a mix of practical and digital effects work, but the building explosion and subsequent partial collapse – which happens very early on – was easily the most spectacular scene.

That work made its way as a dedicated spread into Masters of FX, but as a special for the anniversary, I’m sharing Hunter’s full notes on that scene that he prepared for me for the book. Read on to find out more about the concept of ‘pre-disastering’, air rams and cut-up phone books. Continue reading “On the 20th anniversary of The X-Files Movie: ‘splosions!” →

2001: a 50 year space odyssey

2001

When I wrote Masters of FX, one of the many highlights was speaking to visual effects supervisor Doug Trumbull. He, of course, was the pioneer behind several of the effects sequences in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, which celebrates its 50th anniversary today.

2001 is still one of those films effects practitioners refer to and reference when they’re designing shots or talking about what influenced them, which is pretty incredible for a movie half a century old. Amongst the jaw-dropping sequences in the film, the ‘Stargate’ corridor of lights and shapes engulfing the astronaut still dazzles most viewers. Trumbull created the effect via a setup he designed and called the Slit-Scan machine.

It involved shooting moving footage made of back-lit coloured artwork, chemicals, and high-contrast imagery with the shutter remaining open while the camera was also moved. As the name suggests, the slit-scan photography technique required 60-second exposures and a specialised camera setup to capture the slit and the imagery behind it.

Few visual effects shots remain as awe inspiring and quite frankly as psychedelic as 2001’s Stargate sequence. Luckily, Trumbull didn’t stop there, continuing incredible designs on films such as Close Encounters, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Blade Runner. You can see an excerpt below and read more about the visual effects supervisor’s work in those films in Masters of FX.

Trumbull