Roger Christian and the Making of Luke’s Lightsaber

Roger Christian, the Academy Award-winning set decorator of Star Wars, began his journey to a galaxy far, far away while working with production designer John Barry in Mexico on Lucky Lady, building rum-running sets based in 1930s America. “George Lucas arrived on one of the sets I was dressing – an old salt factory – … Continue reading Roger Christian and the Making of Luke’s Lightsaber

The Visual Effects of Ex Machina

In 2015, I had the pleasure of interviewing visual effects supervisor Andrew Whitehurst about Ex Machina, Alex Garland’s iconic film about a startlingly human robot and the quest for artificial intelligence. The resulting Q&A appeared on the Cinefex blog and, when the film went on to win that year’s Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, … Continue reading The Visual Effects of Ex Machina

Artemis Fowl — The Cinefex Article That Got Away

The secret subterranean realm of Haven in Artemis Fowl. Image courtesy of Framestore. Through February and March 2020, I conducted a series of interviews for an in-depth article on the Disney adaptation of Artemis Fowl, for publication in Cinefex 171, due out in June of that year. By the end of April the article was … Continue reading Artemis Fowl — The Cinefex Article That Got Away

The Hybrid World of The Boxtrolls

The Boxtrolls was the third feature to come out of Oregon-based animation studio LAIKA, both of whose previous productions Coraline and Paranorman were Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Feature Film. I covered the film’s innovative blend of stop-motion animation and visual effects in 2014 on the Cinefex blog, and I’m pleased to republish the … Continue reading The Hybrid World of The Boxtrolls

The Animated Wonders of the Industrial Mechanigraph

Mechanigraph of the Grass Hopper Steam Carriage by Harry Levey. When faced with the need to demonstrate the inner workings of the latest consumer must-have – from the inhalatory heart of a vortex-driven vacuum cleaner to the gas-flattening wonders of your favourite antacid – television advertisers have invariably turned to that old faithful: the animated … Continue reading The Animated Wonders of the Industrial Mechanigraph

Godzilla — Conceptualizing the Monsters with ADI and Legacy Effects

Amalgamated Dynamics sculptor Tim Martin created this clay maquette of Rodan as part of the concept design process for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. In 2019, I covered Godzilla: King of the Monsters for Cinefex. The film’s battling behemoths reached the screen thanks to the digital artistry of the visual effects team at MPC, supported … Continue reading Godzilla — Conceptualizing the Monsters with ADI and Legacy Effects

The Making of ATROPA

In March 2015, I conducted a interview for Cinefex with filmmaker Eli Sasich, discussing his sci-fi short film ATROPA. Three years later, we came together again – joined this time by visual effects supervisor Ryan Wieber – to talk about ATROPA: The Series, a seven-episode expansion of the original proof-of-concept backed by Vimeo and released … Continue reading The Making of ATROPA

Phil Tippett Talks Mad God

Ask any visual effects fan who Phil Tippett is, and they’ll probably answer: “He’s the guy who did all the animation in the original Star Wars trilogy.” Or you might get: “Didn’t he do Dragonslayer and RoboCop?” They might tell you he’s the Oscar-winning stop motion expert who entered the digital age when he became … Continue reading Phil Tippett Talks Mad God

The History of the Optical Printer

Ken Smith at the controls of ILM’s “Workhorse” optical printer. Photograph courtesy of ILM. What is an optical printer? Simply put, it’s a piece of equipment designed to copy motion picture film. A typical optical printer has a projector at one end and a camera at the other. By running film through the projector, and rephotographing it … Continue reading The History of the Optical Printer

How King Kong Was Filmed (Or Not)

These days, it's pretty easy to find out how a film was made. There's a plethora of websites, podcasts, books, you name it. Chances are you'll even find your favourite filmmakers sharing their secrets personally on social media. "'King Kong' - How Did They Make It?" - Movie Classic, May 1933. Back in the 1930s, … Continue reading How King Kong Was Filmed (Or Not)