2001 Monolith, size?

[alan molstad]

THE SITUATION:
Im planning on building a life size monolith.
I understand that the size given in the book is different than the size of the real movie prop.
I wish to make the movie prop.
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THE PROBLEM:
I have received information that the movie prop was 69"inches wide, but that just seems a bit too wide to my eye, so I want to know if there is anyone with more information on the size of the movie prop?
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[David3]

I know you're aware of metaform3d's thread on his amazing build of the monolith. His dimensions stack up from what i can tell.
Couldn't find any hard info on the actual dimensions of Kubrick's black monolith but the original clear acrylic version is still extant and its dimensions are known as 10'9" x 5'9" x 8".
Not sure if this came about after ditching the clear monolith idea but apparently Kubrick wanted something narrower in width to look more aesthetically imposing on film.

10'9" (129") is the dimension i would start with as a constant for the height as it still needs to fit under the set ceiling in the scene in the hotel room at the end and is consistent with behind the scenes references of people next to it on set.
As for the width Kubrick is said to have wanted the monolith's dimensions to reflect the same aspect ratio of the film itself as it is projected on the screens in the movie theaters - so if that's Super Panavision 70 then the aspect ratio is 2.2:1 - which gives a width of 4'10" or 58" (measuring off the screen it works out to be more like 53" same as what metaform3d came up with but could that be due to lens distortion?).
In the end its not the accuracy of the set dimensions that's important but what was meant to be conveyed to the audience through the screen.. or in other words what looks right to your eye.

 

[3Dsf]

The monoliths in the movie were not all the same size or proportions. They also don’t correspond to the proportions described in the novel - Arthur C. Clarke was quoted as saying that the sequence squared idea was his “gimmick” later.

 

[joberg]

Yes, I think metaform3d's is the one that is "closer" to a 2001 Monolith structure. That is: it looks good in picture

 

[alan molstad]

so if the width is 53" inches, that would fit into what people expect?
or to your eyes, is 58" inches a better fit to what people were expecting?

 

[David3]

personally i think 53" if your height is roughly 129" (10'9")
then you could try out a cardboard mock-up to see how it looks in context with the environment you're placing your monolith in and you may find that with surrounding objects or lighting it may look better to the eye a little wider or taller

 

[alan molstad]

is there a list of materials to build the same design?

I noticed that the frame is not 2x4s...
Could I use a 2x4 and rip it in half to make the frame with?

It would save a lot of money.

 

[metaform3d]

I looked around to see if the dimensions were well known but got a bunch of inconsistent numbers. One of the original documents had the numbers I used for depth and height, but listed the width as 83 inches. That's clearly wrong, but it could be a transcription error -- seeing a "5" as an "8" is pretty common.

The prop dimensions -- at least for the prop from the hotel sequence -- can be measured pretty easily from the pictures. The light panels on the floor of the hotel are 3 feet square. That's confirmed by comparison to Keir Dullea, who is 6 feet tall.

<img src="https://i.ibb.co/fvKxzZd/hotel-keir-dullea.jpg" alt="hotel-keir-dullea" border="0">

The width and depth can be measured pretty close to directly because the base sits right on the floor grid. The height my be foreshortened but it can be cross-checked with different angles.

<img src="https://i.ibb.co/vcNkcBG/hotel-side-crop.png" alt="hotel-side-crop" border="0">
<img src="https://i.ibb.co/DwD9R8s/2001-hotel-monolith-crop2.jpg" alt="2001-hotel-monolith-crop2" border="0">

All that evidence lined up nicely with 8 by 53 by 129 inches.