Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Space Race

For those interested in a blast from the past (late 80's?, early 90's?) a ShowScan simulator ride I directed and Supervised is posted on the web. (Click Space Race above and scroll halfway down the page)

Showscan was a 70mm process developed by Doug Trumbull to run at 60fps. It loses a bit in the translation to 320 pixel web video. We shot this all in VistaVision at ILM and there is no CGI despite what the notes say. We built a 2-3 foot wide track that covered a 1/2 lap. This was shot motion control and redressed for each segment. All space vehicles are motion control models. This was probably the last all optical composited projects at ILM. Ned Gorman was the VFX producer (and Writer). Ned also spotted this video. Ty Ellingson was the Art Director.

The film played in both normal ShowScan theaters and in their simulator ride theaters that had motorized/hydraulic seats.
It played around the world including Toronto, Las Vegas and L.A. This was one of the most successful ride films at that time.

2 comments:

  1. The miniatures are right outside my office! I always wondered what they were from. Thanks for the post!

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  2. Thanks for the post. Your link lead me to Showscan's "StormRider" which was a film I worked on from this link. Takes you back for sure. Thanks.

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