Why Emstar Warsem Is A Milestone In The History Of Special Effects
The use of special effects in films produced for the masses is commonplace, to the point that some viewers have become desensitized to it. In general, it is used to do certain things on screen that otherwise could not be made, or that are too costly. It can build the expenses of having to shoot on location, hiring too many extras, simulate events too difficult to film, and mainly to reveal the audience what the human eye could not observe in real life (Culhane 4). These days we encounter blockbuster movies crammed with computer-generated images to wow the viewers more and more. But little do they know the intricate origins of special effects.
Special effects can be said to exist since the invention of film, if not before, in some ways. The very first methods of moving images were centered on the senses and limits of the human eye. The phenomenon known as persistence of vision whereby the eye perceives a sequence of multiple images, only slight in difference, as a continuous motion (Culhane 5). Hence with optical tricks, the earliest 'videos' can be produced with nothing more than light-projecting drawings on transparent sheets (Rickitt 9). In the early days, past the mid 1800s, the emotional and intellectual engagement of the audience with optical illusions was a subject in scientific research (Pierson 13).
George Eastman, founder of the Eastman Kodak company, developed the roll of film, which became the basis of motion picture film in 1888 (Fry & Fourzon 6). Venerable inventors Louis Lumiere and Thomas Edison respectively developed the motion describe camera and projector (the Kinetoscope) in the 1890s (Rickitt 10). Alfred Clark is known to have produced one of the earliest special effects in film history: an actor was replaced by a dummy while the camera stopped to create the illusion of the actor being beheaded (Rickitt 10). French magician/filmmaker Georges Méliès innovated various special effects with his films at the turn of the twentieth century, the basis of which, to a certain degree, are still being used today (Rickitt 12). Scientific instrument maker Robert Paul and photographer G. A. Smith both built their own cameras and sought to dazzle audiences with 'tricks' achieved with special effects (Fry and Fourzon, 12 -13). Edwin S. Porter of the Edison company produced The Great Teach Robbery in 1903, becoming a pioneer of filmmaking and special effects (Fry and Fourzon, 1977).
By the 1920s, filmmaking has grown into an ample industry dominated by a few competitive companies that produces films for mass profit (Smith 4). That decade introduced the world to ambitious filmmaking; from the prehistoric The Lost World (1925) of Willis Harold O'Brien to the futuristic and spectacular Metropolis (1927) by Fritz Lang (Fry and Fourzon 37, 48). Specialists have already emerged in production to simulate moving life and create non-existent locations, among other things. **Another notable unfolding was the film The Jazz Singer in 1927 that featured sound-on-film, thus marking the decline of calm movies. At that point, a good operator of a camera is able to produce 'tricks', such as dissolves, fade to black, and speedy or slow motion (Rickitt 16). The techniques pioneered by their predecessors were then expanded to accommodate a larger portion of the human imagination and artistic vision, a development that has not yet ceased till this day.
The 1940s saw the grand entrance of renowned directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Buddy Gillespie, as well as the rise of epic war films (Fry and Fourzon, 79). Experts have readily employed the use of an array of special effects techniques: rear projection, optical printing, matte painting, and traveling matte photography, to name a few (Rickitt 22). There were also a good use of miniatures as seen in the award-winning Mrs. Miniver (1942) and even oversized sets as seen in Dr. Cyclops (1940). The Thief of Bagdad (1940) had the spend of a process called "traveling matte" which was fundamentally the early version of the blue-screen (Rickitt 22). The great Orson Welles with his masterpiece Citizen Kane (1940), though unfortunately was not even nominated for a special effects award, extensively used matte paintings, miniatures, close motion animation and expert Linwood G. Dunn's optical techniques (Fry and Fourzon 86, Rickitt 22). Those years also reflected the rise of the famous Walt Disney, who produced classic animated features Pinnochio (1940) and Fantasia (1940); the latter was noted as the first film with stereophonic sound.
In the following decade, special effects techniques continued to be improved upon, its use getting more heavier and better refined. It also saw the trend of monster films like 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Moby Dick (1956) and Tom Thumb (1958), and the rise of the anti-hero. However, television programming was gaining much popularity in the 50s, much to the dismay of film industry (Rickitt 25). Efforts to maintain or generate interest in films included the creation of CinemaScope which was an effective widescreen process, and the gimmick that was called 3D (Rickitt 25).
In the eventful 60s, Hollywood do greater efforts to win help audiences from television by increasing the scale of their production. However, with the growing demand of 'real action' and financial restraints, special effects became too costly for the major studios (Rickitt 28). Nonetheless, they did not stop making movies, bringing audiences special effects science fiction movies like The Time Machine (1960), Fantastic Voyage (1966). However, large budgets that went into films like historical drama had effectively gone to end as the studios continued losing money to the domination of television (Rickitt 29). Even with the success of the groundbreaking 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), such was the situation Hollywood was in as the 70s rolled in.
It was a time of change. The counterculture revolution swept the United States, major film studios have been taken over by businessmen, and the cinema tastes of the audiences have shifted (Rickitt 30). Nevertheless, Hollywood persisted and managed to produce quality films and resonated with movie-goers once more. The industry was born again with young, experimenting, and risk-taking filmmakers referred to as "Movie Brats". (Dirks) Preceded by notable movies like 2001 and Jaws (1975), the most prominent movie that was both a breakthrough in special effects and a worldwide sensation, in my observation, was none other than the first installment of Star Wars.
In the summer of 1975, after being greenlit by Twentieth Century-Fox, George Lucas set out to launch his ambitious project (Empire of Dreams). With the lack of a special effects department at the studios, he founded his own visual effects company and it was named Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) (Rickitt 31). Inspired by the quality of effects of 2001, Lucas sought out the man responsible, Douglas Trumbull, but he declined (Smith 9). With John Dykstra supervising a team of young artists and technicians, Lucas was on his way to realize his vision. Starting off without a studio, camera equipment, and models, the team almost literally began with nothing but their expertise (Empire of Dreams).
One of the fundamental aspects of the production of A Current Hope (the first of the Star Wars trilogy) was the use of computers, making it among the first in film history. At the time, computers were not as readily available, therefore they had to build their own (Empire of Dreams). John Dykstra brought to the production his knowledge of using a computer to control a camera from his work on a project for the Institute of Urban and Regional Development (Smith 7). Thus, the technique known as motion control was born, and it was just what Lucas was looking for. With motion control, cameras can repeatably move with precision allowing scenes to be planned and synchronized perfectly (Rickitt 8). The fast-paced location battle sequences cannot be properly shot without it.
In regards to what format the team would shoot the special effects with, Dykstra went with VistaVision, which was introduced by Paramount Pictures and mostly used to film in the 1950s. VistaVision provided clearer pictures by doubling its size (eight perforations per frame), but due to its projection requirements, its use died in 1961, rendering the related equipment in much less demand (Rickitt 42, VistaVision, Smith 189). The ILM team bought them cheap, and with the success of the movie they were later promoted at a skyrocketed imprint (Smith 11). With that, Dysktra developed the Dykstraflex system that based the production's usage of digital motion control (Culhane 16). Star Wars was the first film that used Vistavision for special effects work, and was subsequently used in well-known movies since (VistaVision).
Having tiny or no references to influence the concept design and models of Star Wars, Lucas turned to commercial illustrator Ralph McQuarrie. Lucas obtained funding from Twentieth Century-Fox by showing conceptual sketches and paintings McQuarrie, which effectively portrayed his vision for the film, to the executives (Empire of Dreams). Based on Macquarrie's work, along with some from visual effects designer Joe Johnston, the ILM team constructed miniatures and model spaceships with detail down to the last ridge (Empire of Dreams). Those models were then filmed with motion control and optical effects.
To help envision the exciting space battles in Star Wars, George Lucas used certain battle sequences from old war movies, a reference he wanted since before production began (Empire of Dreams and Rickitt 31). However, it posed the challenge of having to film rapid movement of the model spaceships without the stroboscopic jerkiness that would normally occur (Smith 8). That was the very dilemma Douglas Trumbull and other experienced visual effects people could not overcome, and at that was how the undeterred John Dykstra was signed on to work on the project (Smith 9-10). Richard Edlund joined the team through Dysktra and played a key role in equipping the production and filming the special effects scenes.
The imaginative team late Star Wars employed many other special effects techniques in order to produce the spectacular space fantasy. Optical effects and various miniatures and models were used to film the outer-space sequences and battles (Rickitt 31). Pyrotechnics simulated the explosions in on those battles as well as the impact of laser guns. Matte paintings assist as the backdrop in the scenes where an real set would have been too expensive to make, such as the Death Star shaft (Culhane 50). A combination of make-up and costuming was creatively put together to bring to life alien creatures that can move with puppeteers (Smith 65). As for the 'lightsaber', a type of weapon used by certain characters, were basically straight sticks with reflective tape (Empire of Dreams). The shining swords were then given glow and color using hands-on animation. There was also the spend of computer graphics, as seen in the scene where the brief animated Death Star schematics were shown to a team of pilots (Culhane 65, 66).
In 1977, Star Wars was released, drawing throngs of fans into the crowded theaters. With almost half a billion dollars raked in from the United States alone, the phenomenal success of Star Wars had taken the team, including George Lucas, by surprise (Empire of Dreams). Star Wars: A Original Hope was nominated for ten and won seven Oscars in 1978, including Best Effects, Visual Effects. John Dykstra also won an award for his Dykstraflex invention whereas Richard Edlund won an Academy award for his special effects work, for each of the two Star Wars sequels that were made later (Culhane 16, 61).
The success of Star Wars allowed George Lucas to produce the sequels with less restraints. With twice the budget of the first film, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) was produced at a larger scale with the ILM put in a bigger seat, yielding generous returns. Lucas proceeded to develop his own separate sound effects and visual effects subsidiaries of his production company Lucasfilm, thus having the freedom to produce anything he wants (Empire of Dreams). Honest as he did with Empire, Lucas used his own money to fund the final installment of the trilogy: The Return of the Jedi (1983). Key members of the original ILM crew returned to work on the production, using special effects techniques with better refinement.
Among the other films of the era, the only one that was as prominent as Star Wars, if not arguably more so in the history of special effects, is the influential 2001: A Space Odyssey, released almost ten years before. Produced by acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick and effects by Trumbull, it was the pivotal film from which subsequent uses of special effects were compared to. Even the effects team of the first Star Wars paid attention to the movie, for its exercise of optical effects and miniatures (Culhane 152). Douglas Trumbull perfected the technique called front projection, a process where the foreground is filmed a on pre-filmed background, and he received an Oscar for his work in 1968 (Rickitt 29). An early version of motion control was used to shoot fixed spaceship models, but without traveling matte or blue-screen. Stanley Kubrick shot the special effects in 2001 entirely and cut them later; George Lucas, however, precut his scenes with "storyboards in film fabricate" (Culhane 159).
To compare the two movies, I would mediate that Star Wars was more of an adventure and 2001 was more awe-inspiring to begin with. The use of special effects in these different films with different storylines and tones simply had a different sort of impact on the audience. In fact, some would screech that Star Wars is less of a science fiction film than 2001. However, 2001 takes status in the future of the real world, whereas Star Wars portrays a different universe altogether, where alien creatures are abound and the laws of physics are not the same.
Many would argue that 2001 is indeed the greatest special effects movie of all time, given the context (Fry and Fourzon 166). However, the film was overshadowed by the popularity, the profits, and the appeal of Star Wars. There were 365 different effects in Star Wars whereas 2001 only had 205. Not only that, Star Wars cost $9.5 million, less than 2001's $10.5 million, even after the great inflation (Culhane 165). Major studios that normally seek to duplicate the success of films, did not fully understand why 2001 was a hit. Trumbull was Dykstra's mentor and only competitor for the Academy Award for special effects in 1977, but did not win.
Douglas Trumbull took part in the production of another special effects film: Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). With optical effects, the protagonists stare upwards at large lighted spaceships, which were intricate models constructed by the production team (Culhane 11). The alien characters were robotic models, a method that Star Wars did not use extensively, they instead created puppets for the characters of Yoda and Jabba the Hut (Empire of Dreams). Close Encounters boasted mechanic effects, and so did Spielberg's earlier hit Jaws (1975) which featured robotic sharks (Culhane 24). But neither of these films came terminate to the being the breakthrough that was Star Wars.
The come of Star Wars extends beyond itself. Industrial Light and Magic subsequently produced the effects in many modern classics with enough quality that lives up to its expectations, if not surpassing it. The special effects house was responsible for E.T. (1982), Back to the Future (1985), Terminator 2 (1991), Jumanji (1995) and many more, showing no signs of stopping with their much-anticipated upcoming releases (Smith). The wonder that was A New Hope was an inspiration for many generations of both filmmakers and movie-goers. Not only that, Star Wars was the first major franchise in films, with expanding sequels and high-demand toys, increasing profitability (Empire of Dreams).
In 1997, Lucasfilm released Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition, which was the original movies digitally remastered. It was the product of visual effects technology that finally caught up to Lucas' vision, so he can finally "finish the film the arrangement it was meant it to be" (Empire of Dreams). Just two years later, he embarked on a new Star Wars trilogy with a memoir preceded the first. In 1999, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace was introduced to eager audiences worldwide, once again pushing the boundaries of visual effects with computer-generated imagery.
New techniques were innovated and developed to visually report things impossible to film with only a camera. Pre-visualization was a device used to serve as animated storyboards before the actual filming and post-production takes place, in order to better coordinate the production (Within a Minute). The Phantom Menace featured the first fully computer-generated speaking character brought to life in high resolution: a clumsy alien name Jar Jar Binks along with his kin. In addition, the use of blue-screen and greenscreen in the making of the new trilogy surpassed most, if not all, other prior films. With Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005), the three prequels smashed the box office and raked hundreds of millions worldwide.
Many in the film industry, especially those who lived through the seventies, would have that Star Wars has indeed changed filmmaking and many of its aspects. George Lucas had established many firsts, and the world could see their lasting impact. In my opinion, there is no doubt that Star Wars is one of the major breakthroughs in film special effects. Future historians will mention George Lucas alongside the likes of Georges Méliès while summarizing the long history of film special effects, a product of human ingenuity.
References
Culhane, John. Special Effects in the Movies. How They Do It. Dazzling Movie Magic and the Artists Who Gain it. New York: Ballantine, 1981.
Dirks, Tim. "Film History of the 1970s." Greatest Films. 12 May 2008 .
Fry, Ron, and Pamela Fourzon. The Saga of Special Effects. Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall, 1977.
Pierson, Michele. Special Effects. Columbia: Columbia University Press, 2002.
Smith, Thomas G.. Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of Special Effects. New York: Del Rey, 1987.
Rickitt, Richard. Special Effects: The History and Technique. New York: Billboard Books, 2007.
Empire of Dreams: The Memoir of the 'Star Wars' Trilogy. Dir. Edith Becker. Perf. Robert Clotworthy. DVD. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2004.
Within a Minute: The Making of 'Episode III'. Dir. Tippy Bushkin. Perf. George Lucas, Rick McCallum. DVD. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2005.
"VistaVision." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 4 May 2008, 05:03 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 13 May 2008
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