Movie Magic
January 10th, 2011

Just stumbled upon this cache of episodes of the show Movie Magic. A behind the scenes look at various aspects of movie production and special effects from a few years ago. Check out episode 9 "From micro-processor to the big screen!!!" Very high tech, if only they knew we would be watching them on the information super-highway.

Check out all 12 episodes! via SlashFilm

Andrew Kramer
POSTED:
14 years ago
70 Comments
LGFN
14 years ago
Nice! That goo.gl link got as of now 7141 clicks!

Have a look: http://goo.gl/info/KwJdm
D3FO3
14 years ago
This saved me from drinking my ass off tonight.
Thanks man.
14 years ago
amazing!!! thanks Andrew
Dan
14 years ago
Oh, man awesome video.
Remember how badly my dream was to make VFX during teen years after seeing Jurassic Park.
Went into Computer Games art instead, but wake some old dreams when seeing that video. Robert Legato was my hero;o)

Just stumpled upon your site Andrew, absolutely Freakin awesome!
Gotta start learning AE!

Cheers.
Dan
14 years ago
I used to LOVE that show.!
14 years ago
I often wonder what would happen if we could advanced as quickly in politics and human relations as we have in technology. Seriously, this is mind blowing stuff and it's from the 90s! I am amazed by the amount of detail they put into crafting that cats head; to build an entire model and then trace it with a magnetic pen. Who thinks of these things? And those computers? Is that a 486? Memories...
14 years ago
Inspiring stuff, people actually did 3d scanning, motion capture, cloth simulation, match-moving, fur render, face rigging and God knows what else back those days, and methods haven't really changed. To say more, this shot with basketball backboard and one with bath (not to mention some can scenes) are close to photo real, and those polar bears are pretty impressive too. Those who say they laughing looking at that and those who think they can do all this stuff easy at home, obviously don't know what they're talking about.
14 years ago
I remember watching this when I was a kid. I never thought I'd be doing anything like this, but well I started my own graphic design company and there was a need for cinematography and motion graphics work in my area. So we expanded. The tutorials I've watched here added to other tutorials and my brief time on a couple low budget movie sets have helped me immensely. It's good to look back and see when the technology has evolved from. Plus even though the tech is somewhat outdated, you can still learn some tricks if you pay close attention. Thank you for posting this.
Sudipto
14 years ago
Gr8!!it's so useful
mike
14 years ago
Anyone knows where we could find all episodes
14 years ago
That was pretty fun to watch! We have come a loooong way. I remember watching Hocus Pocus as a youngin. Thanks for sharing!
Filip [Poland]
14 years ago
1993 - my Birth Day... I'm sooo old ;]
Steven
14 years ago
I was sad when they stopped airing this. lol.
14 years ago
It's amazing how far things have come in such a short time. It makes me wonder where we'll be in 10 - 20 years.
14 years ago
Andrew this is by far one of the best article ever posted on videcopilot. Not only you teach but you also share knowledge.

Good lookin out!
Chi
14 years ago
Anyone else played Mass Effect 1 or 2?? The announcer's voice is the same from the Codex in it!
Tim K
14 years ago
BINGO! Yep, he has that "announcery" voice (I know that's not a word). Good catch Miguel! I love the Codex, it pulls you that much more into the game. Mass Effect (1 or 2) is one of the best games to come out in a long time.

Thanks for posting this A.K., brings back a lot of memories .. and some cringes as to what they/we had to go through "back in the day". A LOT of patience.
14 years ago
I know Tim, The Codex makes the game feel so much real!! I have great memories of watching Movie Magic back when I was in elementary school!
Chris
14 years ago
I loved this show!!!! Thanks dude!
Sonicondor
14 years ago
John Lasseter looks way young.
Dwayne Riner
14 years ago
I remember this exact episode. I used to love watching this series. They need to bring this back.
Nikolas
14 years ago
Advanced technology that I don't even know! WOW!
Niall Carlin
14 years ago
I loved this show! it got me into visual effects! Its the best job ever... Thanks andrew
14 years ago
Awesome stuff, thanks for sharing.
Chris
14 years ago
To bad that shot @ 2:53 is not from Deep Space Nine, but in The Next Generation.
14 years ago
And to think I am commenting about all this on my mobile phone. Things have sure come a long way since optical printing.
14 years ago
Great find, Andrew! Thanks so much. I loved these shows so much and it's wonderful to see young, thin John Lasseter again.
Craig
14 years ago
Interesting to see how far we have come. Take a look at these movie greenscreen comps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a21_WMiTAVE&feature=related
14 years ago
Thanks 4 the tip.
14 years ago
its protected by magic
14 years ago
What a great find. I remember these. As I was watching the life-casting process I started wondering about the 3D printers now. Are they scanning faces now and printing them out? Sure would be more comfortable than having to sit through that process.
David
14 years ago
Andrew Kramer: CGI Wizard!
JP
14 years ago
EPIC find. Loved this show back in the day!
Hope you had a happy new year Andrew!
14 years ago
LOL I used to record this show religiously every Saturday on my vcr. This was one of the only ways to see behind the scenes a long time ago. Before DVD there weren't many ways to see this stuff. I think I still have all of these buried away somewhere. I feel old now... I think I'm going to hang myself in a cgi closet.
Ale
14 years ago
it´s protected by magic!
Dman
14 years ago
Hah. I used to watch this show religiously when I was a kid!

In some ways, I feel like computers have ruined a lot the ingenuity these guys had to have by solely relying on virtual methods nowadays. Alas.
Shawn
14 years ago
Great bit of history you've shared with us, Andrew. Thanks. I like the "The we remove the cat's head - digitally, OF COURSE!"

Thanks again.
14 years ago
it is so much easier today for us because of people like them. see how he has to put in commands on the keyboard just to switch betwenn windows or views. incredible. those guys were amazing.
DraygonZero
14 years ago
Funny, around the time Hocus Pocus was being made, way better movies such as Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park were being made. Too bad they didnt get to cover those movies.
Luigi
14 years ago
Gente che si e' fatta le ossa ! Veterani e Maestri
redrum
14 years ago
Gotta love it. The intro was creepy and great at the same time
opcsi
14 years ago
Woooooooooooooooow!
I have this series on VHS I was able to record about 30 episodes in 1997. The best series about special effects!
Kris
14 years ago
Does anyone know where I could find the rest of these?
14 years ago
In few years we'll be in tears watching current "Science of Movies" from DiscoverySc about all this "so retro" zBrush/iMax/AE etc Thanks for posting !
14 years ago
its o retro. Love it. Great find. I think i can remeber this.
14 years ago
hey Kramer,many thanks for posting
14 years ago
Awesome Mr. Kramer
Nelson
14 years ago
Interesting to notice that the commercial "Sexy Robot" was out in 1982 (10:17), and the images of the robots in production lines (12:25) about the same time, might have been important influences to James Cameron's that -interesting- had the idea for the "Terminator" franchise in the same year. One just might wonder...
TomK
14 years ago
I recall calling the shows exec producer (gary benz) and interviewing him for my college newspaper. Must have been a small office, because I didn't ask for HIM, I just asked the receptionist for someone to speak to for an interview of a production company.
14 years ago
wow! awesome
14 years ago
Thank you Andrew. I need some more inspiration like yourself.
amalan
14 years ago
WOW! thanks for posting
David
14 years ago
Little did Rhythm and Hues (and Chris Bailey) realize that one day they'd be doing the same thing with chipmunks. Same stuff, better quality. (CGI)
Fawaz
14 years ago
Hey Andrew I think you have a type you have a typo "Just stumbled upon this cache of episodes of the show Move Magic." Move needs to be changed to movie.
bwoogie
14 years ago
I remember this show! always fun to watch! thanks for posting
viznoman
14 years ago
This makes me wonder what those guys did when they saw Avatar the first time. That would be priceless.
James
14 years ago
These videos are what got me into visual and special effects.
Oz
14 years ago
haha 4:54 he clicks it at the cat. "we dont want the paw" classic
14 years ago
Very nice. awesome that there happened so much in the film-industry. what will there be in 10 years?!? ^^
Tim
14 years ago
This is AWESOME haha
14 years ago
I totally remember staying up too late to watch re-runs of Movie Magic!

My best memories include the episode that explored the effects of Jason and the Argonauts "Skeleton Fight" as well as Terminator 2 and Phil Tippett with Jurassic Park. Amazing inspiration that actually is probably the #1 influence in my interest in film and visual effects production.
14 years ago
Cutting edge advanced motion graphics, eh? Super main frame advanced state of the art stuff.
14 years ago
I remember monsters. Godzilla, Ray Harryhausen, Phil Tippet, ILM. Puppets, armatures, foam rubber, endless hours w/ a camera or hand painting mattes. There have been advances, but there have been some losses too. The tactile input. Physical models. maquettes. There were always prelim sculpts done for creature dev. Always thought that was cool. I had some internships early on and got to experience a lot of that. We shouldn't lose that w/ the advent of Zbrush & the push towards digital. Just one Grunts' opinion.
Shawn
14 years ago
Harryhausen = my hero. I was 5 or 6 when I saw his stuff, learned his name, and dreamed of making special effects. So cool.

timmy
14 years ago
oh mannnnn!

i used to watch this at my parents spring home ...brings back a lot of memories!
Max
14 years ago
THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS!!! Wow this is the very show i watched that got me into film making. Ahh good memories.
Armando Rivera
14 years ago
This is great. Creative people doing what they do best.
14 years ago
Hahaha oh this is classic! I remember watching these films! Now things are so much better! I can do all that old stuff almost!

Mostly..

-Sam
14 years ago
Haha oh has John Lassiter changed!
AxelW
14 years ago
Well, this is something to watch!
Love CGI!!!!
David Duvall
14 years ago
I love watching star wars when i was little and couldn't for the life of me figure out why there were semi-transparent boxes around the star ships. when i asked my friends, they didn't notice or cared, then i knew i was destined to work on special effects. Motion Controlled cameras really got to me, the fact a 3 foot model could be made to look 100's of feet longer struck a chord.
Arnold
14 years ago
I love Movie Magic! Some of the behind-the-scenes plays back in my head EVERY TIME I watch certain movies (i.e., Hocus Pocus, Independence Day, etc)
14 years ago
I love the pre-CGI era.
People got so creative
Saleem
14 years ago
1st gud vid keep it up
14 years ago
WOW! I remember watching this when i was about 12 or 13. Now that i work with post production brings me tears.