Plastic Reality: Special Effects, Technology, and the Emergence of 1970s Blockbuster Aesthetics

383 Pages·2015·3.09 MB·English

by  Julie A. Turnock

Special Effects, Technology, and the Emergence
of 1970s Blockbuster Aesthetics
JULIE A. TURNOCK
Plastic Reality
FILM AND CULTURE
John Belton, Editor
FILM AND CULTURE
A series of Columbia University Press
Edited by John Belton
For the list of titles in this series, see page 363.
Special Effects, Technology, and the Emergence
of 1970s Blockbuster Aesthetics
JULIE A. TURNOCK
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW YORK
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2015 Columbia University Press
cover photo: The Kobal Collection at Art Resource
cover design: Milenda Nan Ok Lee
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Turnock, Julie A.
Plastic reality : special effects, technology, and the emergence of 1970s blockbuster
aesthetics / Julie A. Turnock.
pages cm. — (Film and culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-16352-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-16353-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-231-53527-4 (ebook)
1. Blockbusters (Motion pictures). 2. Cinematography—Special effects. I. Title.
PN1995.9.B598T87 2014
791.43'75—dc23
2014026529
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs
that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
To my parents,
Ann and Jack Turnock

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
PART I
Before 1977 19
1 Optical Animation: Special Effects Compositing Up to 1977 21
2 Before Industrial Light and Magic: The Independent Hollywood
Special Effects Business, 1968–1975 63
PART II
Circa 1977: Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind 103
3 The Expanded Blockbuster: The Auteurist Aesthetics of 1970s Special
Effects–Driven Filmmaking 105
viii CONTENTS
4 “The Buck Stops at Opticals”: Special Effects Technology on Star
Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind 129
5 A More Plastic Reality: The Design and Conception of Star Wars and
West Coast Experimental Filmmaking 146
6 “More Philosopical Grey Matter”: The Production and Aesthetic of
Close Encounters of the Third Kind 179
PART III
The 1980s and Beyond 201
7 Optical Special Effects into the 1980s: A Well-Oiled Machine 203
8 “Not-too-Realistic” and Intensified Realistic Approaches in the 1980s:
Traditional Stop Motion and Showscan 239
Conclusion: World-Building and the Legacy of 1970s Special Effects in
Contemporary Cinema 263
Notes 275
Bibliography 329
Index 345
List of Illustrations
1.1 Georges Méliès, The One Man Band (L’Homme Orchestre)
(1900) 32
1.2 The principles of traveling mattes 34
1.3 Rear-projection diagram 35
1.4 A single-head optical printer 41
1.5 A multiplane animation stand 46
1.6 Rotoscoping diagram 47
1.7 A motion-control rig setup 59
2.1 The New Hollywood style: Harold and Maude
(Ashby, 1971) 66
2.2 Contact printing 73
2.3 Linwood Dunn’s climactic effects in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad,
Mad World (Kramer, 1963) 84
2.4 Robert Abel’s 7UP ad, “Bubbles” 91
2.5 Anti-illusionistic composite shot from Saugus Series
(O’Neill, 1974) 98
3.1 and 3.2 Laser fight strobes in Star Wars (Lucas, 1977) 119
3.3 Faux point-of-view shots in The Empire Strikes Back
(Kershner, 1980) 120