2001 Monolith build

[drusselmeyer]

The barrier posts interfere with the illusion. A reflection of on of the posts makes the monolith look like it is being supported by a post underneath.

You could try painting the monolith side of the post to look like grass.

 

[joberg]

all I know is that someone told me that a mirror would make it look like its hovering.

But I have no history of such things, and I dont know anyone who I could talk to that has done this

This is the mirror trick they used in StarWars to make the Land speeder "float". As you can see, the mirror cannot be straight, but has to be angled toward the ground.

 

[alan molstad]

This is the mirror trick they used in StarWars to make the Land speeder "float". As you can see, the mirror cannot be straight, but has to be angled toward the ground.

At first I also thought that I would need to tip the mirror down....
But in the testing I did with Nancy holding the mirror I noticed that when you tip the mirror down all you see is the ground near the mirror, so it looked like there was a pile of dirt under the monolith.

Then I was working on the position of the mirror under the monolith, and dealing with the fact that i had piles of cement that were getting in the way of where I wanted the mirror to sit, when I found that you actually have to tip the mirror up .

When you tip the mirror up it reflects the clear area just above the ground, and that gives the person looking the effect of looking under the monolith !

but is also does reflect the little fence in front of the mirror as you can notice in the photos I took.

So its a trade-off
You have a effect of being able to see under the monolith, so that gives the look of it floating above the ground.
BUT, you also reflect anything near the monolith .

 

[alan molstad]

The barrier posts interfere with the illusion. A reflection of on of the posts makes the monolith look like it is being supported by a post underneath.

You could try painting the monolith side of the post to look like grass.

yes, you are correct.

I could have just removed the fence too.

But Im out of time for now, as I got guests here for the 4th of July....

so its going to have to be good enough for now

 

[alan molstad]

I need the fence to keep people back or the whole effect is lost.

But the fence does show up in the mirror and it does look like the posts of the fence might be holding up the monolith.

if i had more time I would come up with a fix to this issue.

But I need the fence for now...and things just have to be this way.
Without the fence everyone walks over to the monolith and see right away its just a sheet of plywood .

and....everyone want to be like the apes and the moon men and reach out and rub their fingers on the side of the monolith....and because its flat black paint, the slightest fingerprints can be seen from 20 feet away.

and i did not want a monolith with fingerprints to deal with...

so the little fence has to stay for now it seems.

I could put up a smaller wire electric fence?
But that seemed like a bit of over-kill......LOL

 

[alan molstad]

and......while I did the best job i can do, and im sure that i now have the only working 2001 Black Monolith in North Dakota.....yet, how many people will know what it is as they walk the garden path?

I will let you guys know the reactions i see to the monolith.

i will be giving guided tours starting on this Friday evening.....after about 7:30.
This hour of the day has the sun behind the monolith, and it makes the color of the monolith in shadow just that more shockingly BLACK......

it also will help the mirror's effect be seen the best.

But, most of the people taking the tour will be in their 20s and 30s.....and....I doubt any of them will have seen a movie that their grandparents went to???

But I will report back here what people say

 

[alan molstad]

Im doing the final clean up of the monolith build site.

I took a video of the area, and later tonight I will take another video and show how the position of the sun will help in how people view the monolith

 

[alan molstad]

this video was taken early in the morning, with a bright sun in the east .

I wanted to show what the site looks like under a harsh light, and then what it will look like with a light that is from a western sun position.

 

[drusselmeyer]

Match the background to the area around the monolith. You should be able to do this in a few minutes. As long as the color is the same the illusion should work.

 

[alan molstad]

Here is the final look.
This video shows what the Monolith will look like to my guests this weekend.
I took the video at about the same time as my guests will start to arrive.

I had the bright sun in my mind as I designed this location for the monolith.

I wanted lots of glare.
I wanted the monolith to be seen in shadow so that the black paint looks extra black.

I think the mirror works about as well as I could hope for.

 

[greenmachines]

Here is the final look.
This video shows what the Monolith will look like to my guests this weekend.
I took the video at about the same time as my guests will start to arrive.

I had the bright sun in my mind as I designed this location for the monolith.

I wanted lots of glare.
I wanted the monolith to be seen in shadow so that the black paint looks extra black.

I think the mirror works about as well as I could hope for.

Great job. my guess is you are controlling the timing of the visit as well to maximize your use of the sun?

 

[alan molstad]

Great job. my guess is you are controlling the timing of the visit as well to maximize your use of the sun?

I noticed....(much like the director of the movie) that there are some lighting conditions that seem to make the monolith look the best.

I also noticed that a nice friendly distance also helped the Monolith seem the most "other-worldly".

My inspiration is the Moon Monolith that was always very hard to see due to the glare.

I also notice after I got the monolith standing up for the first time that when the bright morning sun hits it, it looks like what it is....a plywood thing.

So I never want people to see it with the sun out of the east.
But once the sun has jumped to the West and the Monolith is only viewed from the east, it sits in shadow, and the flaws of the wood plywood are hidden.
At that point, the black paint hides the flaws and all you see (more or less) is the outline in the glare of the sun behind it.

So its at its best right around 7:30 on a bright July evening.

and this fact is reflected in the party invitations we send out...

 

[alan molstad]

"The box that the future came in"

 

[alan molstad]

Ok....its the 6th of July.
Last night we had an open house where I did get a chance to take many of our guests on a tour of the back yard where the Monolith is located.

the typical guest was in their later 20 to mid 30s in age with a few older men in their mid 50s to mid 60s.

None knew what the Monolith was.
None had heard of the movie.
None seemed to know what to think of it as we walked by.

The mirror fooled everyone.
The mirror cased all the men to stop and look and look before they were able to figure out that it was a mirror .
So the hover effect caused by the mirror did what I had the hope it would do .

The sun's glare as well as the little fence did help hide the fact that they were looking at just sheets of plywood.
Everyone asked "What is it made of?"

so Im happy....

But it was a little disappointing that there was zero knowledge of the 2001 movie, and when told about the movie all the guests believed that the movie must have came out in 2001

 

[greenmachines]

Ok....its the 6th of July.
Last night we had an open house where I did get a chance to take many of our guests on a tour of the back yard where the Monolith is located.

the typical guest was in their later 20 to mid 30s in age with a few older men in their mid 50s to mid 60s.

None knew what the Monolith was.
None had heard of the movie.
None seemed to know what to think of it as we walked by.

The mirror fooled everyone.
The mirror cased all the men to stop and look and look before they were able to figure out that it was a mirror .
So the hover effect caused by the mirror did what I had the hope it would do .

The sun's glare as well as the little fence did help hide the fact that they were looking at just sheets of plywood.
Everyone asked "What is it made of?"

so Im happy....

But it was a little disappointing that there was zero knowledge of the 2001 movie, and when told about the movie all the guests believed that the movie must have came out in 2001

Two things come to mind. First, you completely succeeded at what you set out to do. Second, now you know why all those questionable moments in history were actually true. People, the average man, the masses, are that much separated from the rest of the world and can easily be misdirected by politicians and snake oil salesman. It is sad, but very true. One man can be intelligent, well informed and well rounded in a wordly sense but the average man knows nothing but what appears to him in his daily routine. Now, go and watch the movie and its sequel and watch as the movie itself tells you this very truth. Every person who sees your monolith and has not seen, is in for a serious eye opener. They can all thank you multiple times over the coming months.

 

[Astyanax]

Every person who sees your monolith and has not seen, is in for a serious eye opener. They can all thank you multiple times over the coming months.

Hmm...

 

[alan molstad]

August of 2024

well....the summer of the Monolith is about to come to an ending.
Over the last month I have had many guests to my vineyard that took the tour and came upon the Monolith.
these people were of every age...some were kids under 14 years old
some were in their 50s and 60s.

NONE knew what they were looking at.?

So far, not a single person who has visited my vineyard this summer has had the slightest idea what this black billboard was ?

Is this disappointing to me?......yes.
Honestly I keep hoping that someone will rush over to the monolith and want to touch it as is seen in the movie.

But people just walk by....they give it a look, but they have no connection to the movie.


You who are reading this post?....you are a minority.

You are the few...the rare....the last of...

 

[greenmachines]

August of 2024

well....the summer of the Monolith is about to come to an ending.
Over the last month I have had many guests to my vineyard that took the tour and came upon the Monolith.
these people were of every age...some were kids under 14 years old
some were in their 50s and 60s.

NONE knew what they were looking at.?

So far, not a single person who has visited my vineyard this summer has had the slightest idea what this black billboard was ?

Is this disappointing to me?......yes.
Honestly I keep hoping that someone will rush over to the monolith and want to touch it as is seen in the movie.

But people just walk by....they give it a look, but they have no connection to the movie.


You who are reading this post?....you are a minority.

You are the few...the rare....the last of...

Go ahead, say it, last of the stick shift drivers......

Well, rest assured that it looks exactly like it should and that ALL fans of the movie will appreciate the build and your thread on how to.

 

[TDahl]

So far, not a single person who has visited my vineyard this summer has had the slightest idea what this black billboard was ?

Golly, that is surprising. 2001: A Space Odyssey is my favorite film of all time. I was only 9 years old when the film was originally released in 1968 and I do not recall seeing it then, but I did see it a number of times in re-releases during the 1970s (and subsequently). My two grown children know of my love for 2001, and a few years ago my son gave me as a birthday present an "action figure" of the Monolith. It sits on my work desk.

 

[Jintosh]

Okay, I'm a bit surprised that NOBODY knows.
So, you visit the Museum of Technology, that shows early computers that no YOUNGSTER has ever heard of and copy the Font and sign format and put up a basic PLAQUE near your monument describing this as a replica from the movie.