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San Francisco, 7:21 AM
Tue Dec 15
25 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Trystero Trystero
    12/11/09

    In reply to The Binary Snowjob - A History Of Cinematic Computers That Never Were
    Another good example of practical effects being used to fake CGI occurs during "Escape from New York." The film-makers couldn't afford render the vector graphics for the glider's landing computer, so they used green-colored tape on a flat black model of Lower Manhattan.
     Reply
    Trystero was starred Trystero was unstarred
    Image of salthegeek salthegeek
    12/11/09

    In reply to The Binary Snowjob - A History Of Cinematic Computers That Never Were
    That end-tital card was awesomely retro. ( like mid- 90's )
     Reply
    salthegeek was starred salthegeek was unstarred
    Image of Emmett Plant Emmett Plant
    12/11/09

    @salthegeek: Thanks! It's got a very PTEN/Universal Action Pack feel to it, which I like.
     Reply
    Emmett Plant was starred Emmett Plant was unstarred
    Image of salthegeek salthegeek
    12/11/09

    @Emmett Plant: Ah sweet after school memoirs hope you guys keep up with the vid-casts.
     Reply
    salthegeek was starred salthegeek was unstarred
    Image of reddingofish reddingofish
    12/11/09

    In reply to The Binary Snowjob - A History Of Cinematic Computers That Never Were
    I liked the computers on Time Tunnel. They had thousands of blinking lights and people who walked around looking at them and flipping switches.
     Reply
    reddingofish was starred reddingofish was unstarred
    Image of ♥AntiSocialSocialite♥ ♥AntiSocialSocialite♥
    12/11/09

    In reply to The Binary Snowjob - A History Of Cinematic Computers That Never Were
    Who can forget Lawnmower man's birthcry being the sound of every phone in the world ringing in unison after projecting himself into the mainframe computer and becoming pure energy.

    WHHHAAAAA????

    I love fake technology. And though this isn't exactly in the same vein, every time I heard about cells being bombarded with "slightly greasy solar atoms" while rewatching The Fifth Element, I can't help but laugh a little.
     Reply
    ♥AntiSocialSocialite♥ was starred ♥AntiSocialSocialite♥ was unstarred
    Image of AmishJohn AmishJohn
    12/11/09

    In reply to The Binary Snowjob - A History Of Cinematic Computers That Never Were
    Shouldn't an 'AE 35 Repair Tech' wear a red suit?
     Reply
    AmishJohn was starred AmishJohn was unstarred
    Image of lightninglouie lightninglouie
    12/11/09

    In reply to The Binary Snowjob - A History Of Cinematic Computers That Never Were
    One of the things that always pissed me off about Hyams' 2010 (there are many) was that he used clunky Reagan era VDTs for the displays, instead of the elegant cel animation Kubrick utilized in 2001. (The characters are using friggin' flatscreens and tablet computers in that movie!) It only adds injury to insult that the graphics in 2010 look as if they were designed by a fifth grade computer science class as part of a lesson in BASIC.

    This, on the other hand, is just plain cool (and just the thing to add deep space anomie to your desktop):

    [www.halproject.com]
     Reply
    lightninglouie was starred lightninglouie was unstarred
    Image of Emmett Plant Emmett Plant
    12/11/09

    @lightninglouie: I think that all things considered, I'm annoyed most by the idea that Dr. Chandrasegarampillai should be played by a white guy from Chicago.

    My wife has that HAL thing going on with her iMac downstairs; Her monitor is pretty much the only light there after bedtime. Walking past it to get something from the fridge is a harrowing experience.
     Reply
    Emmett Plant was starred Emmett Plant was unstarred
    Image of Lassus Lassus
    12/11/09

    @lightninglouie: "...a fifth grade computer science class as part of a lesson in BASIC."

    Me and my school's PET computer resemble this remark.
     Reply
    Lassus was starred Lassus was unstarred
    Image of lightninglouie lightninglouie
    12/11/09

    @Emmett Plant: Try that with Khatchurian's Adagio cued up on the speakers, and you'll feel like you're on a 28 month expedition to Jupiter...
     Reply
    lightninglouie was starred lightninglouie was unstarred
    Image of Emmett Plant Emmett Plant
    12/11/09

    @lightninglouie: "What's in the fridge?" "Something wonderful."
     Reply
    Emmett Plant was starred Emmett Plant was unstarred
    Image of goldfarb goldfarb
    12/11/09

    @lightninglouie: I think it was more that the designs were heavily influenced by Alien, Blade Runner etc
     Reply
    goldfarb was starred goldfarb was unstarred
    Image of joetato joetato
    12/11/09

    @lightninglouie: In Russia software uses YOU! ;-D Probably a nod to the rugged simplicity that the Soviet era was known for. They favored utility and strength over looks for a lot of tech. Maybe/maybe not. I could be way off. Just my two cents.
     Reply
    joetato was starred joetato was unstarred
    Image of lightninglouie lightninglouie
    12/11/09

    @joetato: Uh, no, even the monitors on the Discovery are suddenly supersized (though they're running a video feed of the animations done for 2001, versus clunky PC graphics). Again, Hyams probably felt that having real monitors on the sets would look more realistic, though the effect dates the movie horribly, while 2001's graphics, while simpler, resemble modern day hi-def screens.
     Reply
    lightninglouie was starred lightninglouie was unstarred
    Image of reddingofish reddingofish
    12/11/09

    @lightninglouie: I don't think the guys that made the 2010 movie ever watched the first movie or read any of the books. They just wanted to make a space movie with Roy Scheider.
     Reply
    reddingofish was starred reddingofish was unstarred
    Image of lightninglouie lightninglouie
    12/13/09

    @reddingofish: Who doesn't?
     Reply
    lightninglouie was starred lightninglouie was unstarred
    Image of Anekanta - Go Play! Anekanta - Go Play!
    12/11/09

    In reply to The Binary Snowjob - A History Of Cinematic Computers That Never Were
    Max Headroom always confused me... How did a cyberpunk icon speaking out against the evils of big corporations end up becoming the spokesperson for Coca-Cola?
     Reply
    Anekanta - Go Play! was starred Anekanta - Go Play! was unstarred
    Image of reddingofish reddingofish
    12/11/09

    @Anekanta - Go Play!: You have to see Max's show on HBO. Forget about the futuristic TV show. His talk show was a hoot.
     Reply
    reddingofish was starred reddingofish was unstarred
    Image of Anekanta - Go Play! Anekanta - Go Play!
    12/11/09

    @reddingofish: I didn't even know about that--how long ago was it?
     Reply
    Anekanta - Go Play! was starred Anekanta - Go Play! was unstarred
    Image of reddingofish reddingofish
    12/11/09

    @Anekanta - Go Play!: It was in the eighties. I didn't have cable at the time but I would go watch it at a friend's house. It was nothing like the later show. We were very disappointed when they made him a guy that got sucked into a computer. The talk show said that he was created in a car crash involving a cell phone or something. I can't remember parts of the eighties that well.
    Here is a link to the IMDB site.
    [www.imdb.com]
     Reply
    Edited by reddingofish at 12/11/09 12:27 PM reddingofish was starred reddingofish was unstarred
    Image of Anekanta - Go Play! Anekanta - Go Play!
    12/11/09

    @reddingofish: Cool--thanks for this! I managed to find "20 minutes into the future," maybe if I can look hard enough I can find the talk show too!
     Reply
    Anekanta - Go Play! was starred Anekanta - Go Play! was unstarred
    Image of Roklimber Roklimber
    12/11/09

    In reply to The Binary Snowjob - A History Of Cinematic Computers That Never Were
    Riiiiiight.... Next, you'll be telling me that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Invisible Pink Unicorn don't exist. Nice try, smart pants, but I don't buy into any of that. Do you think I'm a fool?
     Reply
    Roklimber was starred Roklimber was unstarred
    Image of braak: You are, as usual, completely correct. braak: You are, as usual, completely correct.
    12/11/09

    In reply to The Binary Snowjob - A History Of Cinematic Computers That Never Were
    "...wearing a suit made of fiberglass." Yes. That is true.
     Reply
    braak: You are, as usual, completely correct. was starred braak: You are, as usual, completely correct. was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    12/11/09

    In reply to Who Is The Greatest CGI Character Of Them All?
    I voted Jar Jar. I totally believed he was there, even if he was annoying.
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of Roklimber Roklimber
    12/11/09

    Bionic eyes!

    Artificial retina gives woman limited vision after decades of darkness
    [edition.cnn.com]

    #tips #madscience #technology
     Reply
    Roklimber was starred Roklimber was unstarred
    Image of Purple Dave Purple Dave
    12/11/09

    In reply to Who Is The Greatest CGI Character Of Them All?
    Gollum? Are you freaking kidding me? He sucked donkey balls, and went back for seconds! Jar Jar was better than Gollum, and less annoying to boot.

    Anyways, if LotR counts, then there's a whole lotta Shrek characters missing, and even if the rest of the Toy Story cast doesn't count, Buzz Lightyear did have his own TV show that was set in space and all that. And don't forget all the skeletons from PotC and the fishy sorts from PotC 2 & 3.

    Mostly, though, I think I'll have to hold my vote for whenever you add Yoda to the list. Between the TPM shot where they proved that they could recreate the look of Frank Oz' puppetry, and the Senate chamber lightsaber duel, he should be getting all the votes.
     Reply
    Purple Dave was starred Purple Dave was unstarred
    Image of DrLocrian DrLocrian
    12/11/09

    @Purple Dave: Jar Jar less annoying than Gollum? Please tell me you're trolling.
     Reply
    Purple Dave promoted this comment DrLocrian was starred DrLocrian was unstarred
    Image of Purple Dave Purple Dave
    12/11/09

    @DrLocrian:
    No. Can't stand the crappy voice, can't stand the cheesy hack-ting, can't stand the way the CGI work slides around on the screen so badly. With Jar Jar, all the technical stuff worked fine. It's just the character that people hate. They hated him so much that Gollum got praised for being the first "realistic" CGI character when Jar Jar was done so much better, and earlier. I've never been drawn out of the movie by how fake Jar Jar looks, but I think I'd have to watch LotR on my iPod before Gollum could pass for real.
     Reply
    Purple Dave was starred Purple Dave was unstarred
    Image of DrLocrian DrLocrian
    12/11/09

    @Purple Dave: I see. You're not trolling, you're just nuts. ;)
     Reply
    DrLocrian was starred DrLocrian was unstarred
    Image of Purple Dave Purple Dave
    12/13/09

    @DrLocrian:
    No, I just have the apparently rare ability to differentiate between the characters and the CGI work that went into them. And the even more rare ability to realize that Gollum's portrayal sucks donkey balls, no matter how interesting the character might have seemed in the original books (which badly needed an editor who wasn't afraid to demand changes).
     Reply
    Purple Dave was starred Purple Dave was unstarred
    Image of ToonX5 ToonX5
    12/14/09

    @Purple Dave: yeah, jarjar did look more real than Gollum. Some parts, Gollum looked oozy and sloppy but JarJar looked like he was there, even down to the wavy walk he had.
     Reply
    Purple Dave promoted this comment ToonX5 was starred ToonX5 was unstarred
    Image of Purple Dave Purple Dave
    12/14/09

    @ToonX5:
    That's probably partly because Jar-Jar was always matched to Best's on-set movements where the parts of the set that they actually interacted with were always real, and partly due to the fact that Lucas was smart enough to not have him constantly physically interacting with human characters. Gollum was shot in a green-screen environment for much of the movie, and was regularly supposed to be in physical contact with various characters. Probably the worst shot in the entire trilogy is the fight scene in Mt. Doom, because it looks so obviously mismatched in slo-mo.
     Reply
    Purple Dave was starred Purple Dave was unstarred
    Image of SJ_Edwards SJ_Edwards
    12/10/09

    In reply to Who Is The Greatest CGI Character Of Them All?
    re-300: Queen Gorgo was CGI? Say it ain't so! :)
     Reply
    SJ_Edwards was starred SJ_Edwards was unstarred
    Image of Dresan Dresan
    12/10/09

    In reply to Who Is The Greatest CGI Character Of Them All?
    Wall-e here. The dance in space is just an incredible experience to take in.
    Also the whole beginning where he tries to approach Eve... who here didn't identify at least a bit with the whole sequence?
     Reply
    Dresan was starred Dresan was unstarred
    Image of Illogic Illogic
    12/10/09

    In reply to Who Is The Greatest CGI Character Of Them All?
    I voted Max Headroom, but if I had to be serious I'd go with Wall-E
     Reply
    Illogic was starred Illogic was unstarred
    Image of The Curse of Millhaven The Curse of Millhaven
    12/10/09

    @Illogic: I seriously prefer Max Headroom. Wall-E couldn't interview his way out of a paper bag.
     Reply
    The Curse of Millhaven was starred The Curse of Millhaven was unstarred
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