Podcast - Adam Savage Project

Practical Special Effects – 8/6/2013

This week, Adam, Will, and Norm discuss the legacy of practical special effects in film, their resurgence, and talk about the magazine Cinefex’s place in the history of special effects (both practical and digital). We also discuss the Kickstarter for the digital version of Cinefex (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/newscribbler/cinefex-classic-collection).

Comments (17)

17 thoughts on “Practical Special Effects – 8/6/2013

  1. In Mallrats, Jason Lee, (Brodie) ran around the mall with a thimble sized cup asking food court restaurants to fill it up with oj.

  2. If there’s going to be a xenomorph Adam, he needs to get someone to do a Yautja / Predator and a small group of Marines and just go all-out.

  3. So crazy to hear “Bear in the big blue house” mentioned . I was a puppet builder for the Jim Henson co from 1998-2002 , I built bears head for season 2 -3 , and the multiple heads used for the live stage show and the play house Disney shows and the traveling “Pr” bear , I do recall them trying out cooling packs for the bear in the stage and arena shows .. He also had multiple fans installed to keep the sir flowing , and the fur was not just a piece of favor , but was smaller pieces stitched to a loose net fabric to slow for freer movement and to lease the weight on Noel MacNeal , and the other performers at the various parks / travel shows .. He is one of the most beautiful full body puppets ever built ,

  4. Here’s your segue from upsizing to practical effects: The now-common option to upsize a value meal at fast-food restaurants had its origin with McDonald’s during a promotion for the movie “Jurassic Park” – you could “Dino-size” your meal with an extra large drink and fries for 25 cents. That promotion turned into a huge hit, and when it expired, McDonald’s continued the “upsize” option by calling it “Super Sizing” instead. Other fast food chains followed suit with similarly named options in the years following. So, the upsizing trend began with a movie known for its spectacular effects, practical and otherwise.

  5. alot of people dont like the 1998 Godzilla movie , but its truly one of my favorite movies , and i hope the new one is going to be awesome too.

    but i dont get why so many people is giving it bad cred?

  6. the late Kevin Peter Hall who played harry in the hendersons also played the roll as predator in the two first movies.

    and the werewolfs in the Underworld movies are also costumes that look really nice

  7. The “only for ipad” nature of the cinefex kickstarter is what’s keeping me out of it. I don’t have an ipad and I don’t know if one’s in my future. And to be honest, something of this nature I’d like to have a bit more permanence than an app.

  8. I went to school with Phil Tippet’s daughter without even knowing who her dad was, until she made a documentary on him this past spring for her thesis. It’s a fantastic doc and it’s good to see Phil return to creature animation with his new feature Mad God.

  9. Not to mention, as technology is moving at breakneck speed, something like this I’d imagine you would want something more future-proof than a format for a device which may or may not be around in its current form five to ten years from now.

    For comparison, the intel macbooks was released less than 10 years ago, effectively obsoleting all PPC applications.

  10. Two things –

    1. This falls under the “corrections’ category mentioned at the end of the podcast. For (at least) the second time, Adam has said that “Batman” and “Brazil” came out at about the same time. However, this is incorrect. “Batman” was released in 1989. “Brazil” was released in 1985. On the time scale of the existence of cinema, that is “about the same time”, but, considering the advances in effects in the ’80s, 4 years is a long time.

    2. The Cinefex Kickstarter has reached its goal, but unfortunately it has had to do it without me since it only works on iPad2 or better and I have found my original iPad otherwise sufficient for my needs. Very disappointed.

  11. TL;DR – Help amateur filmmakers get the best from their models makers/ F/X people

    Hey there, New Godzilla Teaser this week! Led me to watch “MONSTERS” on netflix, by director Gareth Edwards – which made me think about how to make a low-budget movie! Which led me to wonder… FROM your point of view (The special effects guy) – what are some tips and tricks for young amateur movie makers (Think Abrams/Spielbergs Super 8) to get the best from their special effects people? Are storyboards most important? Should Director ‘paint the picture’ for the F/X person? Or give broad general ideas, and let the F/X person run with it? WOuld be great to hear Adam Stories ‘from the set’ but thinking more about $ZERO budget amateur filmmaking – Tie in your previous how to scrounge – how to replicate – into practical use story of collaboration. Thanks!

  12. Sorry I’m late to the podcast. Wanted to share another correction-“Monster Week” was part of WABC’s “Four-Thirty Movie” in NY and not on WOR. WOR would show King Kong, Godzilla, etc around Thanksgiving.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

One Day Builds

Adam Savage’s One Day Builds: Life-Size Velocirapt…

Adam embarks on one of his most ambitious builds yet: fulfil…

Show And Tell

Adam Savage’s King George Costume!

Adam recently completed a build of the royal St. Edwards cro…

Making

Adam Savage in Real Time: God of War Leviathan Axe…

Viewers often ask to see Adam working in real-time, so this …

One Day Builds

Mandalorian Blaster Prop Replica Kit Assembly!

Adam and Norm assemble a beautifully machined replica prop k…

One Day Builds

Adam Savage’s One Day Builds: Royal Crown of Engla…

One of the ways Adam has been getting through lockdown has b…

Making

Adam Savage Tests the AIR Active Filtration Helmet…

Adam unboxes and performs a quick test of this novel new hel…

Making

Weta Workshop’s 3D-Printed Giant Eyeballs!

When Adam visited Weta Workshop early last year, he stopped …

One Day Builds

Adam Savage’s One Day Builds: Wire Storage Solutio…

Adam tackles a shop shelf build that he's been putting off f…

Show And Tell

Mechanical Dragonfly Automata Kit Build and Review

Time for a model kit build! This steampunk-inspired mechanic…

One Day Builds

Adam Savage’s One Day Builds: Custom End Tables!

Adam reveals his surprise Christmas present for his wife--a …