“The Right Stuff” High tech = not real! The result of the efforts of the special effects staff who achieved overwhelming reality.

High-tech does not equal realism

When this film was released, I had just left my job as an optical compositing technician and had just started working as a director at Japan's first CG production company. That's why I firmly believed that high technology was the key to improving the quality of images. So I was truly surprised by the behind-the-scenes information, such as "Did they hang models from balloons on wires?", "Did they draw backgrounds on boards with chalk?", "Screen process these days?", "Did they fly plastic models with rubber bands?", etc. What's more, I was even more surprised when I saw how they managed to achieve a natural look that blended perfectly into the archive footage.

The idea that "high tech = real" still applies today, when CG has developed. In this article, miniature motion control photography is portrayed as the bad guy, but in Christopher Nolan's " Interstellar " (2014) and " First Man " (2018), which won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 91st Academy Awards in 2018, it brought a realism that was even greater than CG.

“First Man” preview

Furthermore, with the advancement of high-brightness digital projectors and large LED screens, screen processing is also being revived as a technology to replace green (blue) screen compositing. This solves the problems of "sets and costumes cannot be the same color as the background" and "shiny materials are no good because they pick up the color of the background." In addition, it has the advantage of expressing reflections and glare naturally, and above all, it makes it easier for directors and actors to imagine the finished screen on the set.

For example, Oblivion (2013), Interstellar , Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), First Man , Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), and The Mandalorian (2019).

The point is that it is important to think, "What is the most appropriate method to express that image?" without being bound by preconceptions. To do this, it is important to have a full range of knowledge, from old methods to the latest techniques. When I teach students the history of video technology, they often say things like, "Do we really need this kind of knowledge in this age where CG can do anything?" In those cases, "The Right Stuff" is a good example.

[References]

■Written by Tom Wolfe: “The Right Stuff - Seven Astronauts (Chukou Bunko)” Chuokoronsha (1983)

■Adam Eisenberg, "Low-Tech Effects - The Right Stuff" Cinefex No.14 (Oct. 1983)

■Written by John Noble Wilford: “'The Right Stuff': From Space to the Screen” The New York Times (Oct. 16, 1983)

■DVD "Jordan Belson: 5 Essential Films" CVM (2007)

■Michael Betancourt:The History of Motion Graphics: From Avant-Garde to American Industry" Sangensha (2019)

Text: Takayuki Oguchi

In 1982, he became the director of Japan's first CG production, JCGL. After working as the head designer for the IMAX Dome 3D video "Universe 2 ~Sound of the Sun~" at the Fujitsu Pavilion at EXPO'90, he became a freelance video creator. Won an Emmy Award for the NHK special ``Life: A 4 Billion Year Distant Journey'' (1994). His most recent work is the storyboard for the NHK special ``Space Spectacle'' (19). He is also a video journalist specializing in VFX, CG, 3D movies, art animation, exhibition videos, etc., and has contributed numerous articles to film magazines, theater pamphlets, the web, etc. In addition to being a visiting professor at Digital Hollywood University, he is also a part-time lecturer at Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School of Animation Department, Waseda University Faculty of Science and Engineering, Japan Electronics College, Joshibi University of Art and Design Junior College, etc.

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"The Right Stuff"

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(c)1983 The Ladd Company. All.rights reserved.