You too can fly in the sky! The special effects of ``Superman'' incorporate various technologies.

"Superman" synopsis

A baby is forced to escape to Earth alone from the planet Krypton, which is on the brink of extinction. Named Clark Kent, he eventually grows up, learns the secret of his birth, his abilities and his mission, and joins the Daily Planet newspaper in Metropolis. In order to protect justice and The Truth, he transforms into Superman and solves cases one after another. However, his nemesis Lex Luthor stands in his way!

The fate of a movie changes depending on when it is released. In the summer of 1979, two blockbuster movies that made full use of SFX were released one after another in Japan. ``Superman'' was released on June 23rd, followed by `` Alien '' on July 21st.

In the United States, ``Superman'' was released on December 15, 1978, and ``Alien'' was released on May 25, 1979. Due to this nearly six-month lag, ``Superman'' won the Academy Award for Special Achievement (Visual Effects) in 1978, and ``Alien'' won the Visual Effects Award the following year. Even if ``Superman'' had been released a year earlier, `` Star Wars '' and `` Close Encounters of the Third Kind '' were nominated for Best Visual Effects in 1977, and the former won. Faced with the two great towers that will become epoch-making in SFX, it's hard to see whether ``Superman'' had a chance of winning.

In fact, compared to ``Star Wars,'' ``Close Encounters of the Third Kind Kind,'' and ``Alien,'' the SFX of ``Superman,'' which was created at the same time, is now less talked about, despite the use of various technologies. It's unlikely to happen. So, what exactly was the technology used?

Index

• Special effects of "Superman" - unreality and reality
• Trial and error flight techniques
• Utilized front projection

Special effects of "Superman" - unreality and reality

``Superman,'' which opens on the planet Krypton, is set in an unrealistic world from the beginning, and the initial impression of the movie is determined by the image it creates of a planet with an advanced extraterrestrial civilization. I end up. This is not only influenced by the special effects, but also by the main story of Krypton, where Marlon Brando appears. Cinematographer Jeffrey Unsworth is a master cameraman who has worked on films such as ` `2001: A Space Odyssey '' (1968) and `` Murder on the Orient Express '' (1974), but he made the planet Krypton look excessively Smoke. The diffusion filter used to create space and suppress highlights creates a fantastic image. In this scene, the brands are wearing unique luminous costumes, which are made from reflective materials for front projection, which will be described later, and the lighting is set using a dimmer connected to the camera. This allows you to surround your entire body with a unique light.

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Apart from these special effects in the main part, a miniature special effects team also plays an important role. However, director Richard Donner did not have a good impression of special effects until now. But when I saw the rush of a certain special effects scene in this movie, I completely changed my mind. It was a scene in which San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge experienced strong shaking due to an earthquake, and a school bus on the bridge was in danger of falling. In fact, even looking at it now, the detail and weight are so high that it's hard to believe it's special effects. Derek Meddings was the special effects director who focused on this miniature. He worked on Gerry Anderson-produced films such as `` Thunderbirds '' and ``The Mysterious Saucer, '' and became known for his special effects for the 007 series in the 1970s. This miniature Golden Gate Bridge is huge, measuring 18 meters in length, and the cars on the bridge are faithfully scaled from the real thing, and the city of San Francisco that can be seen in the distance is also included. It's so detailed that it doesn't look like a miniature at first glance.

The production of these large miniatures was even more effective in the scene where the Hoover Dam burst. In the scene where a gigantic 12-meter-high dam set is built and the stored water gushes out, the water in the tank loses its momentum, so six water pumps keep replenishing the tank with water. It creates a powerful dam collapse, and the special effects spectacle perfectly supports the difficulties Superman faces.

Trial and error flight techniques