An effects technician (possibly
Jon Sorensen) works on the otherworldly derelict miniature from
Ridley Scott's classic 1979 space horror flick,
Alien. As you may have noted by now, I'm a huge fan of practical effects work -
especially miniatures - and I find these kinds of behind-the-scenes shots fascinating.
Such a great film. I hope Ridley Scott never ruins the mystery of the derelict ship by making a prequel.
ReplyDeleteprometheus was a prequel. at least how it ended with the howling baby alien.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that Tim was being sarcastic.
DeleteChristopher, if you never have, you rally should check out the videos at this link...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zen171398.zen.co.uk/Alien.html
All put together by Dennis Lowe, extensive interview with those behind the scenes on Alien, the engineers, the model builders lighting guys, drivers (yes honestly) sound engineers... I think the tea lady might even get a look in at one point! It's an absolute goldmine! If you're an 'Alien' buff (like me) or just a fan of 'real' special effects, I can guarantee about 8 hours of getting no actual work done!
Is anybody thirty years from now going to look at a string of computer code from a modern CGI movie and say "WOW!"?
ReplyDeleteAlien is one of those films in which the behind the scenes shots look just as creepy and unnatural as the finished film.
ReplyDeleteTim...and to think there will be a sequel to Prometheus. The mind boggles...
ReplyDeleteI've actually heard Ridley has planned an entire trilogy. Maybe the writing will be better on the next one. Of course, I kept saying that about the Star Wars prequels...
DeleteI wasn't planning on it, but I did take in Prometheus. It wasn't too bad, but Alien (and Aliens) will always be my two favorite films.
ReplyDeleteCool picture! I remember Alien and still rate it as one of my favorite!
ReplyDeleteGreat pic, Chris. I too am a huge fan of practical effects. It really bothers me that most effect films feel obligated to use CGI just because it is and has been the industry standard. Somehow most CGI (even the high budget ones) don't seem to have the realism that models, landscaping supplies,etc. provide. The planet surface in this pic is awesome just to look at by itself let alone in the context of the film.
ReplyDeleteRIP H.R. Giger
ReplyDeleteAnd Carlo Rambaldi, belatedly.
DeleteThat was such a wonderfully designed set. It's a shame that it was trashed after this picture. James Cameron said that for Aliens they had to rebuild the entire set using only the original Alien movie as a reference. Unfortunately, the scene of the derelict ship was cut from Aliens. Thankfully, it was restored for the special edition.
ReplyDeleteAnd in response to Mark (from his question above)- probably not.
I presume that this model never survived. The Nostromo was saved and restored. If you are ever in the Los Angeles area, call up The Prop Store and ask to visit it. Their location is a bit out of the way, and they don't allow photographs, but you can get right up close to the very large model.
ReplyDelete