Visual effects artists share how a balance between practical and digital techniques employed in a classic John Carpenter and Kurt Russell feature created visuals that would adjust to later technological developments. Carpenter is known for directing influential and genre-defining features including Halloween, They liveand The fog. He is a famous director because of his lasting impact on the horror genre. Carpenter and Russell began their working relationship with an unlikely project in the form of Elvisa 1979 TV movie where Russell portrayed the singer looking back on his life and career.
Carpenter and Russell's collaborations would continue throughout their careers, allowing the actor to play characters such as pilot and survivor RJ Macready in The thing and truck driver-turned-hero Jack Burton in Big problem in little China. While there were times when Russell wasn't always Carpenter's first choice, he formed a great bond with the artist. And while their collaborations often didn't receive the recognition they deserved upon release, many have become cult classics respected by cinephiles around the world.
Escape From New York's VFX was ahead of its time
The film captures surprising future technological advances
Runner Crew turned their attention to Carpenter and Russell's first theatrical collaboration, Escape from New Yorkin the last episode of his "Visual Effects Artists React to Great and Bad Visual Effects" series. The team focused on the film's radar screen sequence. Rather than relying purely on digital effects to create the wire-frame digital images of New York, Sam explained that the sequence was instead to film a miniature hands-on as the visuals scrolled through the digital city. As the image focused on a single rooftop, the sequence cut almost perfectly to a true digital wireframe.
They said, "Hey, we want a cute, futuristic HUD." But it's, you know, the mid-80s and they say, "Yeah, we could do a wireframe, but it won't be as detailed." So instead of rendering these '80s wire frames, they're like, "Screw it..."
Reflective paint was used to create the green glow, and the pattern was applied to the thumbnail, followed by further treatment in filming when crosshairs were added to the final look to achieve the final color. Ultimately, the team would praise the look for capturing the aesthetic that similar technological developments would bring, with Wren explaining:
Whatever the paint is, it's not actually like green paint, it just looks green under the camera lights. Unless it actually looks white on camera, and they treat it and change it to a greener color. Because they're still doing some effects, because notice how there's a little bit of a HUD on top of that. But they nailed the aesthetic of a kind of vectorized graphic line rendering.
Our Take on the New York Escape
The film was an inspiration to many
A definitive success both critically and financially upon release Escape from New York stands out as one of Carpenter and Russell's best collaborations. Along with the return of several other Carpenter collaborators, including Donald Pleasence, Nick Castle, and Adrienne Barbeau, the film also has an incredible legacy in pop culture. From inspiration to pioneering cyber-punk romance Neuromancerthe scope of the destruction seen in Cloverfieldand Hideo Kojima Solid Metal Gear video game series, the film left an incredible mark that continues to resonate to this day.
As such, it's fascinating to see how a surprisingly realistic visual is buried among other fantastic and remarkable images. While it may have been the product of a workaround, the marriage of practical and digital visual effects to create digital New York is a testament to Carpenter's visual effects expertise and filmmaking. Many may revisit Escape from New York with a new appreciation for your look.
Source: Runner Crew