Blue Screen technique used in Aliens
Lars Josephsen
I have a question, which I did not find in the FAQ:
Someone told me that only one scene in Aliens was made, using
the Blue Screen technique. Which scene is that?
Sincerely,
Lars Josephsen
--
Do not reply to this address!
To find my real address try a search for my name on AltaVista.
kdawg
Blue Screen footage in Aliens, they did use it extensively with the
alien creature in Alien 3.
Dermich
>the Blue Screen technique. Which scene is that?
Not sure it's the only one, but it's very, VERY obvious in the scene when
Ripley first uses the power loader to move cargo on the Sulaco. Quite badly
done, actually.
D
This is Dominion Day
Brian Pesti
Lars Josephsen wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a question, which I did not find in the FAQ:
>
> Someone told me that only one scene in Aliens was made, using
> the Blue Screen technique. Which scene is that?
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Lars Josephsen
Felix or Wvrrmm can probably give you a definitive answer. I can give a
partial one because I haven't had time to read the entire FX article in
Cinefex.
I do know for a fact, one of the captions says:
'For a subsequent up-angle of the Queen tumbling away from the Sulaco, a
cable-controlled puppet was photographed in front of a bluescreen at
Arkadon, then composited with the minature ship and starfield.'
The processor station was a rear process plate for the venting scene.
The steam coming out of it was a twelve-foot burst reflected into the
scene via a beam-splitter.
For the crash scene, the AP station was a twelve foot painted cut-out
with small 3-D set pieces in front of it.
The drop ship was a twelth-scale minature photographed against painted
clouds and a smoke machine.
The facehuggers were puppets. Most of the Warriors were stunt men in
suits.
The Queen was also a giant puppet with two stuntmen inside working the
arms and others outside off-camera working cables concealed by the smoky
scenes.Wires were also connected to her ankles and placed at strategis
points so she could step down firmly into a dynamic position.
These are all partial quotes and summaries.from captions.
=================================
Brian Pesti
Graphic Design Communications
bpe...@earthlink.net
-and-
bpesti alien film site
1979 'Alien' film pre-production artwork etc.
http://home.earthlink.net/~bpesti/alien/index.html
Mercerton
>From what I know, "Someone" is full of shit, cause I don't
>remember any Blue Screen footage in Aliens...
Then "what you know" doesn't really amount to a hill of Alien goo.
There were SEVERAL blue screen shots in the film:
1. Opening shot of Narcissus approaching.
2. Narcissus approaching salvage ship docking clamp.
3. ALL Sulaco travelling shots.
4. Ripley using power loader (with miniature second power loader
seen in the background plate)
5. Dropship approaching LV-426.
6. Dropship approaching atmospheric reactor (or whatever the hell
it is.)
7. Dropship escaping from blast.
8. Queen Alien flying through space.
I'm sure there's a lot more. If I were an Aliens fan, more might be
coming to mind, but I haven't seen it in years. Check out the
Cinefex on Aliens -- if you can find it.
Al
>>Someone told me that only one scene in Aliens was made, using
>>the Blue Screen technique. Which scene is that?
>
>Not sure it's the only one, but it's very, VERY obvious in the scene when
>Ripley first uses the power loader to move cargo on the Sulaco. Quite badly
>done, actually.
>
>D
>
>This is Dominion Day
That scene was done using advanced mechanical Puppets. Its not that
badly done at all except if you look at Ripley Herself it is quite
obviuosly a model. The Scene which used blue Screen would have been
when the refinery is exploding and the Dropship Rises behind Ripley.
There is an obvious Blue outline around her. Also Blue screen would
have been used for compisiting all the elements in certain special
effects sequences such as the Dropship entering the cloud cover over
lv426.
- -
Does it matter? Even if it does matter.
Does it matter that it matters?
A L I E N
ripley shows off that she can drive a power loader.. if you look in the
background there is a "stop-motion" powerloader walking by.. i think
ripley was added to this scene useing either blue screen or rear
projection,,,,
the scene where you can see the dropship crashing as people scramble for
cover is most likely rear projection
*************************************
http://fly.to/alien.interactive.story
This is Ripley.. last survivor of the Nostromo.. signing off...........
Riv
<nob...@nowhere.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a question, which I did not find in the FAQ:
>
> Someone told me that only one scene in Aliens was made, using
> the Blue Screen technique. Which scene is that?
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Lars Josephsen
> --
> Do not reply to this address!
> To find my real address try a search for my name on AltaVista.
I'm pretty sure all the effects shots were shot using bluescreens- that's
pretty much the standard for that part of filmmaking. The difference you
may be alluding to is the fact that directors have a second option to
bluescreening when filming the actors on a set- and that is rear screen
projection (where filmed sfx background and footage are projected behind
the actors real-time on the set). For all his other attention to detail
and use of advanced sfx, Cameron is bizarrely enamoured of using rear
screen projection, which is possibly the hokiest looking technique
available- and I don't think anyone who can afford something better still
uses it. Even when he could have afforded something better, he stil used
it (see T2).
Riv
--
to reply, replace "spamkiller" with "mindspring"
Brian Pesti
Riv wrote:
> In article <35C84841...@nowhere.com>, Lars Josephsen
> <nob...@nowhere.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > I have a question, which I did not find in the FAQ:
> >
> > Someone told me that only one scene in Aliens was made, using
> > the Blue Screen technique. Which scene is that?
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > Lars Josephsen
> > --
> > Do not reply to this address!
> > To find my real address try a search for my name on AltaVista.
>
> I'm pretty sure all the effects shots were shot using bluescreens- that's
> pretty much the standard for that part of filmmaking.
No, very little in fact were shot using a blue screen. King of the World
used beam splitters extensively and paintings and 12th scale minatures and
puppets and the like. Really, they used just about every trick in the book
this side of CGI.
You can read specifically how they did the FX in ALiens if you can track
down Don Shay's Cinefex magazine articles.
> [...] For all his other attention to detail
> and use of advanced sfx, Cameron is bizarrely enamoured of using rear
> screen projection, which is possibly the hokiest looking technique
> available- and I don't think anyone who can afford something better still
> uses it.
It's because of his cheesy 'I did it all' Roger Corman days is all I can
figure out. The challenge of taking less and making more under the guise of
being 'resourceful'. " yeah I'll take some popcicle sticks and build a space
staiton". I'm sure there's some truth to that.
He also loves Super 35. He just likes doing it his own way. I'm not sure if
it's because he wants to be different or because he thinks about it too much
in light of him thinking he knows too much technically apparently without
being an expert at any of it. No fear I guess.
Brian Pesti
kdawg wrote:
> From what I know, "Someone" is full of shit, cause I don't remember any
> Blue Screen footage in Aliens, they did use it extensively with the
> alien creature in Alien 3.
You need to grab a copy of Don Shay's Cinefex articles or the 'Aliens
Special Effects' book that reproduced all of the articles. See my post
below that quotes the book.
It shows them with the Alien Queen puppet against a bluescreen when she
falls out of the Sulaco at the end of the film.
Brian Pesti
Brian Pesti wrote:
> [...]
>
> It shows them with the Alien Queen puppet against a bluescreen when she
> falls out of the Sulaco at the end of the film.
I'll post a jpg this weekend when I get a chance. It's a black+white photo.
Brian Pesti
It shows the Alien queen puppet and the bluescreen. It was a black and white
photo.
http://home.earthlink.net/~bpesti/dev/CinefexBluescreenQueen.jpg
Here's the caption that explains it.
http://home.earthlink.net/~bpesti/dev/CinefexBluescreenCaption.gif
The book it comes from is 'Alien: The Special Effects' by Don Shay and Bill
Norton. Titan Books UK ©1997. "This collection comprises three articles
originally published in 'Cinefex' magazine."
Unknown
>In article <35C84841...@nowhere.com>, Lars Josephsen
><nob...@nowhere.com> wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I have a question, which I did not find in the FAQ:
>>
>> Someone told me that only one scene in Aliens was made, using
>> the Blue Screen technique. Which scene is that?
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Lars Josephsen
>> --
>> Do not reply to this address!
>> To find my real address try a search for my name on AltaVista.
>I'm pretty sure all the effects shots were shot using bluescreens- that's
>pretty much the standard for that part of filmmaking. The difference you
>may be alluding to is the fact that directors have a second option to
>bluescreening when filming the actors on a set- and that is rear screen
>projection (where filmed sfx background and footage are projected behind
>the actors real-time on the set). For all his other attention to detail
>and use of advanced sfx, Cameron is bizarrely enamoured of using rear
>screen projection, which is possibly the hokiest looking technique
>available- and I don't think anyone who can afford something better still
>uses it. Even when he could have afforded something better, he stil used
>it (see T2).
>Riv
>--
>to reply, replace "spamkiller" with "mindspring"
How about when the dropship chashes into the APC? When they are running as the
wreckage crashes and rolls towards them, it sure looked to me like rear-screen
projection.
===================================================
C H :) P P E R The Midnight Surfer
===================================================
cho...@bogo.co.uk
Riv
>
> How about when the dropship chashes into the APC? When they are running as the
> wreckage crashes and rolls towards them, it sure looked to me like rear-screen
> projection.
> ===================================================
> C H :) P P E R The Midnight Surfer
> ===================================================
> cho...@bogo.co.uk
Yes, that would be an example of what I'm describing. As I said: directors
have a second option to bluescreening when filming the actors on a set-
and that is rear screen projection ***where filmed sfx background and
footage are projected behind the actors real-time on the set***
Exactly like the dropship crash.
bauha...@gmail.com
> I do know for a fact, one of the captions says:
> 'For a subsequent up-angle of the Queen tumbling away from the Sulaco, a
> cable-controlled puppet was photographed in front of a bluescreen at
> Arkadon, then composited with the minature ship and starfield.'