BTTF Marty Sunglasses

maton said:
Here is a small sound clip I recorded of Bob Gale's audio commentary on BTTF 1 blu-ray, talking about the glasses. Not much info, but this is what he says.

http://vid22.photobucket.com/albums... future sunglasses sound clip_zps6dyppgws.mp4

'' My recollection is that we had some kind of a promotional deal with whatever company made these sunglasses. It's the only time in the movie we see him wearing sunglasses and we put them in here to do some kind of a contractual obligation and we never see them again, because shooting with mirrored sunglasses is a major pain in the ass.''
Click to expand...

And I still have the same question I had three years ago from page 1, is Bob referring to the Zeiss frames or the Porsche eyewear as originally scripted? Either way, the word mirror could also describe a highly reflective gloss black surface, which would also be a pain to shoot. He only remembers the production difficulties and not the product specifics. Where is the Zeiss advertising for Back to the Future?

Mirrored outside? Definitely looks like it. Mirror inside? Not so much.
 

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I seen some Foster Grant brand aviators, they were black with dark mirror lenses, is that what these are? Black mirrored, or "smoke mirrored"? Kinda both theories in one, in low light they looked plain dark, but aiming up at a light they looked mirrored
 
TheRealMcFly said:
And I still have the same question I had three years ago from page 1, is Bob referring to the Zeiss frames or the Porsche eyewear as originally scripted? Either way, the word mirror could also describe a highly reflective gloss black surface, which would also be a pain to shoot. He only remembers the production difficulties and not the product specifics. Where is the Zeiss advertising for Back to the Future?

Mirrored outside? Definitely looks like it. Mirror inside? Not so much.
Click to expand...
I agree, from the quote by Bob Gale, he apparently doesn't even remember what brand of sunglasses were used. I don't remember any advertising or product promotion connecting any sunglasses with BTTF (whether Porsche, Zeiss, or otherwise). If there had been such a connection or product placement, shouldn't we expect to find more of the product itself, or at least a similar "promotional" version, in the wild? (Such as in the cases of Cyclops from The X-Men films, and Daredevil.) The fact that we're having such a hard time finding anything like Marty McFly's shades in the wild suggests that there might have been a problem with the product placement contract and the deal fell through (perhaps because of the minimal screen time).

Regarding the less-silver look to the sunglasses when filmed indoors, IMO this is simply due to the fact that indoor scenes were filmed on indoor stages. Outside of the areas of the sets being filmed, lighting of film stages is typically very dim and subdued, specifically for the purpose of reducing unwanted reflections, hot spots, and glare. So whenever MJF faces outside of the set, all that reflects in his lenses is darkness.
 
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Scotophor said:
The fact that we're having such a hard time finding anything like Marty McFly's shades in the wild suggests that there was a problem with the product placement contract and the deal fell through (perhaps because of the minimal screen time).
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Dont forget the bottom of page 2. The only question now is what type of lens?
image.jpg
 
Those just look like fairly regular brown lenses but outside, the lights are reflecting. You can see a reflection very clearly in a car windscreen... but it doesn't have ANY mirror finish to it.
 
Indy Magnoli said:
Those just look like fairly regular brown lenses but outside, the lights are reflecting. You can see a reflection very clearly in a car windscreen... but it doesn't have ANY mirror finish to it.
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I took that photo on top of my DeLorean's center console during a late afternoon drive. Even with tinted side windows the lenses reflect clearly the image outside. You can just barely see the outline of the toll windows. I will try some more movie-like lighting scenarios and see if the results are similar.
 
MitasTouch said:
The Zeiss West Germany letters on the screen used ones were just black matching the rest of the bridge correct?
Click to expand...

I believe so yes!

The bridge piece is metal or tough plastic? Was there an option to remove that piece if you want to? ie clip it on and off, or was it on there solid.
 
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maton said:
Ahh I see, thanks Emma. Do your lenses have a mirrored look to them, or are they plain coloured? With black coloured frames?
Click to expand...

Nah, they don't look like Marty's ones, but it's a close match in shape. But I just thought I'd get that pair in case I need the bar with the logo... in the aim to transfer it to another pair someday. This is how mines are:

DSC_0632.jpg
 
EmmaInCandyland said:
Nah, they don't look like Marty's ones, but it's a close match in shape. But I just thought I'd get that pair in case I need the bar with the logo... in the aim to transfer it to another pair someday. This is how mines are:
Click to expand...

Ahh, I see. They do have a nice shape to them. :cool Thanks for sharing a picture of them.
 

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