Special effects - yes, the film again

[flying_ford_anglia]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C7669
From: flying_ford_anglia
Subject: Special effects - yes, the film again
Date: 8/23/00 11:21 pm  (ET)

When it comes to special effects, I agree that the film needs to strike
a balance. We don't need the in-yer-face, 'hey look at this neat camera
trick' technology, but we do need something more than the wobbly fibre
glass and cardboard sets of 'Dr Who' fame. I'd say just enough to declare
them 'effects' rather than 'special effects'. less is more...

Dee, I think it was, mentioned that there might not be time to get the
computerised effects ready for the film? A friend of mine used to work
for Jim Henson's creature workshop. They had the task of creating the
little alien creature for "Lost In Space" and decided to go for a rubber
puppet, operated by levers.

With the release date for the film looming, the first rushes came out
and they were viewed in stunned silence: The puppet was ludicrous [I can
vouch for this - I still have a copy of that video]. At the eleventh hour,
they hired an SFX company to create computer effects to replace most of
the scenes which featured the creature. They managed it, but had to cut
out most of its appearances [you may have noticed how seldom the alien
appears in the final release].

Anyway, the point of this ramble is that *anything* is possible these
days with technology, but it won't rescue the film if any of the other
elements are weak. Everything needs to be right.

Neil