I updated this thread - http://www.therpf.com/f10/anyone-seen-thing-collectors-dvd-ss-space-603/#post2369998 - with new photos of the THING saucer prop.
Gene
Close Encounters Mother Ship has it been done
- Thread starter Supa troop
- Start date
I updated this thread - http://www.therpf.com/f10/anyone-seen-thing-collectors-dvd-ss-space-603/#post2369998 - with new photos of the THING saucer prop.
Gene
JMChladek
Sr Member
Okay, but if Jason starts trying to sculpt a CE3K mothership out of mashed potatoes, then we know he's gone off the deep end.
This thread means something.
asalaw
Sr Member
Piling on... sorry about the white balance making some of the shots too warm, I haven't bothered to correct these. Also, the shots that look chunky are from maxing out the digital zoom on my phone. I walked all around the model today, found nearly all the gags on the outside, and the volunteer nearby was kind enough to point out the two sharks, which really cracked me up. I didn't see the Monopoly houses, but I forgot to look for those anyway.
Most of the superstructure is just plastic tube and Plastruct (or whichever company) endcaps for model railroad refinery tanks, water tanks, and so forth. There are also traffic signals on the top deck, and of course all those street lamps, trusses, and cranes. I'd say the bulk of the detailing is railroad stuff. It's the tiny, very specific items that would be hard to match, but that's what 3D printing is for. Don't go all over the net looking for a 1" microbus, just print one. Also that R2 is definitely a scratch-build. That's not an MPC R2, I built at least two X-wings when I was a teenager, and they were much better detailed. This R2 is rather crude by comparison.
Rob's got a point, the model is just very indistinct and spiky, and the real effect comes from the lighting, which will be very difficult, if not impossible, to replicate live on a model because of the way Trumbull shot it. But you can do pretty damn well anyway, and if you're willing to invest in a little time learning Arduino programming (not nearly as hard as it sounds, and there are TONS of tutorials out there), you can vacuum form the dome in clear or milk-white plexi, and put patterns of LEDs behind it, and get the effect Trumbull wishes he could have gotten back then. I'm not stoned, I just think that way.
So here's what I shot today after the Weitekamp lecture:
I certainly will go back with better gear and shoot the living crap out of this thing, but not any time soon. I've got a phaser to finish, handles to deliver, prop & model copyright issues to research, an Eagle to build, and most likely at some point, brains to blow out. Then I'll go back and shoot the Jein Express.
I didn't see the Monopoly houses, but I forgot to look for those anyway.Most of the superstructure is just plastic tube and Plastruct (or whichever company) endcaps for model railroad refinery tanks, water tanks, and so forth. There are also traffic signals on the top deck, and of course all those street lamps, trusses, and cranes. I'd say the bulk of the detailing is railroad stuff. It's the tiny, very specific items that would be hard to match, but that's what 3D printing is for. Don't go all over the net looking for a 1" microbus, just print one. Also that R2 is definitely a scratch-build. That's not an MPC R2, I built at least two X-wings when I was a teenager, and they were much better detailed. This R2 is rather crude by comparison.
Rob's got a point, the model is just very indistinct and spiky, and the real effect comes from the lighting, which will be very difficult, if not impossible, to replicate live on a model because of the way Trumbull shot it. But you can do pretty damn well anyway, and if you're willing to invest in a little time learning Arduino programming (not nearly as hard as it sounds, and there are TONS of tutorials out there), you can vacuum form the dome in clear or milk-white plexi, and put patterns of LEDs behind it, and get the effect Trumbull wishes he could have gotten back then. I'm not stoned, I just think that way.
So here's what I shot today after the Weitekamp lecture:
I certainly will go back with better gear and shoot the living crap out of this thing, but not any time soon. I've got a phaser to finish, handles to deliver, prop & model copyright issues to research, an Eagle to build, and most likely at some point, brains to blow out.
Then I'll go back and shoot the Jein Express. 
asalaw
Sr Member
WOOHOO!!
We're gonna have to get this thread stuck too!!!
I hadn't noticed the FO going into R2 -- good catch Rob!
asalaw
Sr Member
I have a very clear memory of reading an interesting story about the construction when I was a kid, but I can't remember which of the numerous sic-fi and FX-oriented mags I read back then that this comes from.
The story goes that the shoot day was approaching, and GJ was up against it, so he rounded up every warm body he could find, handed them each a drill, and had them all start drilling windows.
Anyone else read that, and do you remember where?
The story goes that the shoot day was approaching, and GJ was up against it, so he rounded up every warm body he could find, handed them each a drill, and had them all start drilling windows.
Anyone else read that, and do you remember where?
robn1
Master Member
That was probably Cinefex #2 The tubes with all the windows drilled out were metal. That article also mentioned R2 having a fiber optic so I knew to look for it.
asalaw
Sr Member
Just downloaded the app -- I had no idea it was digital now! I didn't read it there, I had no idea Cinefex existed back then. Might have been Starlog. Back then I read a lot of fanboy stuff, but they were surprisingly full of good FX stuff. Also Cinemagic, but that was all DIY/backyard filmmaking. I don't remember them covering any pro stuff.
lunadude
Well-Known Member
Cinefex Number 2: "The Empire Strikes Back" & "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
asalaw
Sr Member
Haven't downloaded #2 yet, still geeking out over #1 and the one with the 25th anniversary of ILM, the one with the "Wars Stories" article about SW and the birth of ILM. Gotta read up on Technirama, because it's been years since I remembered what it was. Also found a small nomenclatural error (I'm pretty sure), but I want to chase it down before I open my yap about it. As one of my mentors used to say, "Better to be silent and thought a fool than speak and leave no doubt." Too late for me though...
robn1
Master Member
Cinefex is a great mag, I discovered it in 1980 starting with #2. But I got #1 eventually too.
Oh, Technirama
Oh, Technirama
asalaw
Sr Member
Awesome link! Almost forgot I'm at work. Great, ANOTHER place to spelunk and get lost...
I was on a Paramount film in 1990 as 2nd unit location manager, and one of our jobs was shooting Vistavision plates for process shots and various VFX comps for ILM. We shot quite a lot of "lazy 8" on that show... Till Paramount pulled the plug on our show. But that's another story...
- - - Updated - - -
Oh-- Technirama-- Now I see why they bought a Technirama body and converted it to Vistavision. Almost the same format.
I was on a Paramount film in 1990 as 2nd unit location manager, and one of our jobs was shooting Vistavision plates for process shots and various VFX comps for ILM. We shot quite a lot of "lazy 8" on that show... Till Paramount pulled the plug on our show. But that's another story...
- - - Updated - - -
Oh-- Technirama-- Now I see why they bought a Technirama body and converted it to Vistavision. Almost the same format.
