io9: syd mead

Syd Mead Tells All About the "Erotic Machine" that Got Cut from Bladerunner

Annalee Newitz — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:28:17 PDT

Today on BoingBoing TV, you can see the final part of Joel Johnson's epic interview with conceptual designer Syd Mead, the man who made the citiscapes of Bladerunner into some of the most memorable futuristic settings ever committed to film. Mead talks about the many alternate openings he created for the movie (one of which was deemed "too Holocaust" by the studio), as well as the "erotic machine" he crafted for replicant Zhora, a kind of breast-shaped dreampod that got cut when director Ridley Scott hit the outer limits of his budget. Watch the video below.

BBTV host Xeni Jardin says:

Syd explains he envisioned the world of Blade Runner as a place "you wouldn't want to be for too long," and describes the challenges of designing for "a love story with moralistic underpinnings... if we could actually make people, would we treat them like dishwashers? Just use them up and throw them away?"

Check out the video, embedded below.

Part III of Syd Mead [BBTV]

Tron's Light Cycles Could Have Looked Much Stranger

Charlie Jane Anders — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:40:00 PDT

As sleek and cyber-looking as the light cycles were in VR-game epic Tron, some of the original light-cycle concept art looks even more arresting. Some of the light cycles look almost industrial, like machines made out of pixels, while others look abstract and chaotic, just squiggly lines moving around. Even though the light-cycle concept art includes work by masters Syd Mead and Peter Lloyd, my favorites are the comic-booky drawings by Andy Probert, above. Some more favorites, below the fold.

[Tron Sector via The New Cafe (Racer) Society]

Spaceship Vs. Pirate Galleons, For The Ultimate Booty

Charlie Jane Anders — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:00:00 PDT

Here's a knock-down dogfight between a high-tech spaceship and a whole swarm of pirate galleons, from the mind of artist Nicholas Ferrand aka V.I.A.G. Or maybe the spaceship is teaming up with the more low-fi pirates? My new favorite blog is Concept Ships, which posts nothing but concept art of spaceships, including famous people like Syd Mead and Ralph McQuarrie as well as rising stars. A gallery of some of the coolest images, below the fold.

[Concept Ships]

The Jazz Album Cover That Became Blade Runner

Kevin Kelly — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:07:49 PST

Syd Mead's concept artwork for Blade Runner has always looked a bit like a jazz painting. It's meant to portray a saturnine view of downtown Los Angeles in the future, but the only things in it that are even slightly futuristic are the armored-looking dumptruck on the street, and the hulking mega-skyscraper in the background which is probably meant to be the Tyrell corporation. Besides that, the image is a wash of signage, mostly featuring Asian text. All it needs is an accompanying saxophone track and this could serve as the cover image to an album, circa 1963.

When Blade Runner came out in 1982, Cinefex devoted an entire issue to the movie, complete with scads of Syd Mead's concept art. They later became collector's editions, and were hard to track down. If you were lucky enough to find one, it would usually set you back a hundred bucks. However, Titan Books put out a special edition hardcover edition a few years ago, and you can pick one up for about sixteen bucks. It may not come with an accompanying floppy record full of jazz riffs or even Vangelis tunes, but it does featuring some truly amazing concept design from one of the masters.

Put Futurist Syd Mead On The Hot Seat

Kevin Kelly — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:10:16 PST

Syd Mead has had a hand in designing everything from Ford automobiles, to V'Ger in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, to the Sulaco ship design in Aliens, and even the look and feel of the cities in Blade Runner and Tron. He's definitely a giant in the field of future design, and if you could ask him any question, what would it be?

Hopefully he won't be inundated with questions about the Wing Commander game and Short Circuit. It would be a lot more satisfying if he was asked about things like the failed Star Blazers sequel, Yamato 2520, and what it was like designing parts of the "Mission to Mars" ride at Disney, which is admittedly pretty darned cool. Chime in and ask him whatever you'd like to know, like why he's never directed a film himself. Get cracking, because you only have until November 19th to get your questions in under the wire.

Syd Mead Taking Questions On Illusion [Slice of SciFi]