Yeah, James Cameron is so much more than just a really good filmmaker. It’s bananas.
Speaking of which, you know the part where the rat breathes the oxygenated water? They did that by having an actual rat breathe actual oxygenated water. For the humans, they just used water with a slightly pink tint, but the rat was actually doing it.
Yeah, I remember that documentary. As I recall they totally could have done it on humans as well, it would have worked. Except that when you remove the helmet and cough up all the liquid oxygen, it basically washes away the protective coating of your lungs, leaving you highly susceptible to infection.
That reminds me of the monkey dying in The Andromeda Strain. Saw that movie last year for the first time and afterwards had to see if they actually killed the monkey.
To simulate the death of the monkey in the Andromeda Strain, an airtight set was used; the bottom of it was filled with carbon dioxide, so that when the monkey’s cage was opened, he had to breathe the carbon dioxide. When he was just about to pass out, a waiting veteranarian immediately treated him with oxygen. Of course, no animals were harmed in the making of this film
Since this was the only thread I could find specifically about special effects (practical or otherwise), this video was pretty wonderful to watch. It tickles the film history nerd part of my brain as well as the science and tech nerd hemisphere.
And as an added bonus, I’ve just watched Mary Poppins about six months ago (been re-watching the Disney films that got theatrical re-releases during my lifetime that I saw as a toddler but have almost zero memory of these days.)
Anyway, I loved this video, with none other than modern video effects genius Paul Debevec involved, quite a bit.
Yeah I watched that video too, and if Paul isn’t hired by a major studio by tomorrow, they’re nuts.
Someone should find a way to incorporate this, still has a ton of application.
That was a cool vid. Never knew about Sodium Vapour. Sadly I don’t think it will make a return because AI can now solve all the problems of greenscreen! Probably…better spend a few billion on it to try, rather than go back to a 30+ year old tech.