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Special effects that weren't so special


mulletpelini

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Sometimes even good movies miss on something.   I was always fascinated how a well done "Casino" movie had such a bad special effect.  You telling me in 1995, after Jurassic Park had come out, that this was the best you could do?  At least they spent a little money and got the Johnny Carson mannequin.

edit:  If you've ever wondered what my ex-wife would be like based on things I've written about her, just watch Sharon Stone in this movie.  Spot on.

Edited by mulletpelini
that's right, she's a whore
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Those of you interested in this stuff, there's a digital effects studio that puts out YouTube videos on why certain effects are good or bad.  Even though they are younger guys, they have a reverence for the old-school in-camera stuff, as well as things like Jackson's Lord of the Rings (which has a lot more practical sets than I thought).

Yeah, it's mostly a reaction channel, but they actually will go in and do new effects to show how it could have been done, and because they are effects artists themselves, they get really in-depth on behind-the-scenes stuff.   They also do deep fakes, and they have stuntmen come in and discuss their stunts and how they are actually done.

Warning:  Poorly-done CGI lips are like one of their biggest pet peeves.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpFnDQr88xCZ80N-X7t0nQ

They have a massive amount of videos:

https://www.youtube.com/user/samandniko/videos

 

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10 hours ago, Butch Had Not said:

I was never sure if flash Gordon had intentionally bad special effects or not.

That was intentional and they weren't that bad. Compared to the old tv show they were really good. In the tv show they had spaceship models clearly on wires with pyrotechnic rocket engines. Sparks would fall downward while smoke would rise upward. The campy look is part of the brand. I loved the multicolor cloud shots in the movie. 

Edited by WhatTheBuck
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No one particular film, but rather a recurring theme. Cars in a high speed chase going 30 mph and shifting 100 times. While Bullitt is the greatest car chase on film, the soundtrack is wack. Mustangs didn't have a 15 speed transmission.

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1 hour ago, RPM said:

No one particular film, but rather a recurring theme. Cars in a high speed chase going 30 mph and shifting 100 times. While Bullitt is the greatest car chase on film, the soundtrack is wack. Mustangs didn't have a 15 speed transmission.

Tangential- streets are always wet so cars can do neat slides and drifts, but no matter the surface tires will screech and squeal. Wet, even dirt or gravel. 

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On 1/11/2020 at 9:14 AM, Butch Had Not said:

I was never sure if flash Gordon had intentionally bad special effects or not.

We thought those sparklers shooting out & down behind Flash’s space sled were pretty cool when I first watched it at the Saturday matinee in 1948.

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2 hours ago, seven said:

When the death star blows up alldaran(?), it's the cheesiest crap ever. I don't know how they could have made it better in the 70's, but it's troma level bad. 

They really couldn't, due to gravity and how things blow up on earth, etc..   Those wireframe graphics you saw in the gunner sights were cutting edge back then.

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On 1/10/2020 at 6:31 AM, atomheartbevo said:

Those of you interested in this stuff, there's a digital effects studio that puts out YouTube videos on why certain effects are good or bad.  Even though they are younger guys, they have a reverence for the old-school in-camera stuff, as well as things like Jackson's Lord of the Rings (which has a lot more practical sets than I thought).

Yeah, it's mostly a reaction channel, but they actually will go in and do new effects to show how it could have been done, and because they are effects artists themselves, they get really in-depth on behind-the-scenes stuff.   They also do deep fakes, and they have stuntmen come in and discuss their stunts and how they are actually done.

Warning:  Poorly-done CGI lips are like one of their biggest pet peeves.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpFnDQr88xCZ80N-X7t0nQ

They have a massive amount of videos:

https://www.youtube.com/user/samandniko/videos

 

Scorpion King was the first movie that came to mind when I saw the thread title. I distinctly remember those effects being laughable.

On 1/10/2020 at 1:08 PM, BradInATX said:

The rubber weapons in the last scene of Braveheart. Once I noticed it, it completely ruined that scene permanently for me.

 

 

 

Not effects related, but I spotted another Braveheart flub years ago (probably when it came out on DVD).  During a battle, you can see an extra in the background giving minimal effort, lazily swinging his sword in what is supposed to be a fight. He's like "fuck this, I've been out here 15 hours and I'm tired."  I should go back  and try to find it.

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In Tango & Cash, there’s this truck driver with a caricature of a face, and he’s driving his big rig down the road and has to slam on the brakes, and the truck takes a while to come to a complete stop, and when it does, the driver goes flying out the windshield. I guess this is not a bad special effect, it’s just a bad scene.

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