Movie Magic

well, say what you will about the show, but I was inspired by it as a kid growing up in the mid 90s (the kind who built model airplanes and made short movies while his friends played sports), and its one of the reasons I am now studying 3D modeling for visual effects and animation.

I don't know if this show would have the same impact today, seeing as how movie audiences take visual effects for granted as part of the movie-going experience (which is exactly how its SUPPOSED to be) but it certainly sparked my interest.

apparently, to make a comment on this page, you need at least 10 lines of text. being the thrifty "say more with less words" guy that I am, feel free to read my line filler.

La-la-la...

blah blah blah...

you talking to ME?

Chewie, they're behind you! BBRRRAAAWWWW!!!!

Unfortunately, this series has very little new stuff to offer to real movie fans. The series consists of four parts, all dealing with different aspects of the special effects business. The premise sounds interesting enough, but the execution is very poorly done. The individual episodes are built up entirely of promotional footage, with the producers and directors constantly emphasizing how fabulous and groundbreaking their movies are. The only highlight of the series is the episode that tells the history of stop-motion animation and the making of the effects on Jurassic Park. That particular episode is quite fascinating, with comments by Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen and Rick Baker who manage to keep it continually interesting, even though they are constantly interrupted by commercials, that take some of the pace out of it. Watch the show for that episode alone (I think it was the second), the rest of the series is only of moderate interest.