Cardboard magic "Terminator"

The fact that the fifth "Terminator" have become well known. All fans of the nearly 30-year-old franchise is most concerned with the question, whether the return to the system of the T-800, who is also the ex-governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, aka. Judging by the latest hints, "Iron Arnie" still walked away from the scandalous divorce and take part in the revival for ten years drooping series about the struggle of humanity and robots.

We decided to recall the first part of the "Terminator" - one of the most iconic films of the 1980s. How complex scenes were shot on that it was capable of Computer Graphics 20-30 years ago and why we repeatedly went to the cinema and video salon for one of the most memorable bands of the last century.

The first "Terminator" - a wonderful example of how you can make a good sci-fi movie for little money by Hollywood standards. Imagine that one of the most exciting fighters of that time was spent only $ 6, 4 million. Adjusted for inflation, it would be today, "pathetic" $ 14 million, for which none of the venerable director will undertake to remove such an ambitious project. Subsequently, James Cameron joked that the film was made for the cost of the camper in which he lived, Arnold Schwarzenegger during work on "Terminator 2".

But almost 30 years ago it was possible to do without expensive computer graphics. Rescue crew James Cameron came to the time-tested techniques, as well as some new tricks.

Save had from the beginning, ie at the stage of implementation of the idea into a script. Originally it was planned that the humanoid robot in Terminator's face will be created out of "liquid metal" and will be able to take an image of any people. Familiar? It is because of lack of computer technology from the idea had to be abandoned, but it flowed smoothly in the screens released after seven years of "Terminator 2". Because of the modest budget in the trash gone most of the script, which describes events in the future. It is said that in the first version of the script cinematic alter ego Arnold Schwarzenegger was there to maintain the normal form of his human "shell". Unfortunately or fortunately, but in the final version of the film Terminator not slurp soup and eats dumplings. It is unlikely that the rejection of this idea is somehow connected with a low budget.

The initial outline of the image of the Terminator

name for the title of the first part of the franchise, which later became one of the most recognizable, surprisingly well with just one word conveys the mood and meaning of the film. "Terminator" - is a kind of one-man, one-man show sinister cyborg killer. Not surprisingly, the lion's share of the budget went to tape the embodiment of fear pessimistic futurist.

James Cameron lucky with the cast. Powerful, menacing, with a poor mimicry of Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as possible approached for the role of "humanized" Terminator. But what about the way the robot without organic "clothes", with a metal skeleton and unkind light red-eye sensors? Technology has helped lapse puppet animation, invented almost at the dawn of the "dream factory".

make-up had a few hours

Mannequins also carefully prepared to shoot

In most scenes with skeletal Terminator involved doll height not exceeding 50 cm Shooting techniques similar to puppet animation:... Any change of leg movement, hands, skull, etc. is recorded frame by frame, and then all of the frames are glued and turns badsome for the 1980 video's with cheerfully walking robot. All these episodes were less than a dozen, one of the most common - a passage at the end of the movie to get out from under the truck in flames robot.

This doll is old enough only for the general plans. Scenes in which the viewer sees only a torso, head, arms or legs of T-800, the film crew came up to make a few dolls, but this time in full size.

There was, for example, the dummy Terminator in full growth. However, it is almost not used in this way, because he could only move his hands and head, but go no one could get. In the film, no wonder so many close-ups of individual parts of the cyborg: to remove a movement upper torso, arm or leg is much easier than to make a realistic move the entire two-meter edifice.

Take the same scene with the truck exploded. First, we show the full-length mini doll animated frame by frame. Then turn the viewer's attention is focused on the "face", then the torso, then the robot legs. The easiest way to remove legs: Know yourself rearrange a piece of iron and records all the camera. But with the body I had to tinker. The torso had to carry it on a special trolley, then on the shoulders of "puppeteer". At the same time several other people were synchronously control arms, back and skull hunter Sarah Connor. Scene lasting a few seconds, literally flashed on the screen, and its shooting took dozens of takes.

A still from the movie: the background Sarah Connor runs into the factory building in the foreground - perched on the shoulders of "puppeteer" torso Terminator

Top "working" Terminator half of the body can be seen completely and without cheating in the final episode, in which a cyborg pursues its prey under the press (art simply dragged the robot body under the floor). Shortly before that, if you remember, it blew up dynamite sticks: beautiful parts flown apart were actually made of plastic, because the metal in the explosion of a relatively small capacity would be behaved not as effectively and also can hurt people.

Terminator crawling toward their own destruction

The hallmark of the tape has become the face of the "Iron Arnie" red robotic eye. Without dummies has not been here. In the middle of the film there are disgusting in their naturalistic scene with cutting out the damaged organic Terminator eye. Doll's face was made of silicone, and to make the "liveliness" wetted with water. "Face" of Schwarzenegger, who periodically in the same episode appears instead of the artificial head, too, was sprayed with water, causing makeup unnaturally blue. They say that during the preview of the material the actor himself could not figure out where on the screen it, and where - it Silicone understudy. Perhaps this is true, but to be honest, today the difference between a real person and a doll actor in the film visible to the naked eye.

Puppet Arnie

This Arnie

View from behind the scenes

Another artificial head is shown in the last quarter of the tape, shortly after Terminator falls off the bike, and it knocks the truck. Shabby robot then flaunts bare metal on the left half of the face and drooping skin lumps. In some scenes we are shown a close-up of the corresponding type of mannequin, and some - in the face of Schwarzenegger's makeup. The latter option is more realistic, but only as long as the actor does not begin to say, then notice that "metal" moves like a skin. According to Arnie, one day during a break between filming he was in make-up with bare jaw and a red eye went to dine at one of the restaurants. What is the effect on the audience made its way, the actor for some reason did not tell.

This dummy showed a couple of times

Instead of the manikin in the frame frequently flashed a very good makeup Last movie plan, in which we see the Terminator - crushed under the pressure of the robot skull, slowly fading red eyes and haze. For accurate shooting of the episode would take thousands of dollars. The film crew has managed painted under the metal foam (also known as "news"), foil (crushed skull), ordinary red light and cigarette smoke, which did hit the shot by accident.

remained on Terminator foil, light and cigarette smoke

We have already recalled one of the most spectacular episodes of "The Terminator" - chasing the truck and its explosion. With the pursuit of all honest: the car is going at high speed crashes fell under the wheels and hood cars, etc. With regard to the explosion, then again had to resort to literally little tricks... Blow on the streets of Los Angeles real truck city administration is not allowed - close to the place of action was the warehouse of ammunition. Then it went a smaller copy of the radio-controlled tanker. The first plastic model exploded not very good, so we had to make an urgent second. The effect of reality achieved by flash photography.

The coolest special effects: keying and explosion toy fuel tanker in one bottle

Who played Sarah Connor actress Linda Hamilton from any machine did not run away. She just ran background on a huge screen on which is projected a video series with a moving fuel tankers.

Toy sets were employed in full during the filming of a post-apocalyptic future. Everything that we see at the same time on the screen is made of plastic, cardboard and foil. Seemingly huge robotic tanks are actually similar in size with a pram. Flying under the tracks of a grenade - 4-inch piece of plastic. It was not easy to get them to the right place, so I had to do 26 takes, before everything turned out as planned James Cameron. With conventional cameras had to remove tiny objects so that the viewer has the feeling of scale. Again reality effect is achieved due to rapid shooting and subsequent deceleration.

is littered with land tormented skull the size of a walnut, cardboard city ruins occupy an area of ​​several square meters, and the background the crew hid by a fog. Actual depth distance of such scenes was only 5-6 meters, and the smoke created the illusion of vast spaces. Mainly used artificial smoke, though sometimes let the natural coal. For colorful explosions is to thank the backlight lamps, stained with the white flash of the exploding squib orange and peanut dust that provided the effect of settling the dust of the earth.

So it was on the set

And so - in the film

On the elaboration of aircraft it had neither the time nor the means. Therefore, experts have made quite a rough model, hanging it on the ropes in the pavilion. To flight device it looked smoothly and naturally, had to build a whole system of ropes, without which the implausibility of "aircraft" issued rocking motion. Frames with the simultaneous presence of people and military equipment - keying result, as in the case of runaway truck Sarah Connor.

In reality, the flying contraption looked very clumsy

In the film, it looks alarmingly realistic

The total savings of all touched not only pyrotechnic effects. Rather than buy or rent expensive dolly, the operator of the "Terminator" was forced to look for less expensive ways to shoot some scenes. So, he, along with hand-held camera climbed into a wheelchair, which is a high speed thrust helpers.

The first "Terminator" was made almost at the knee and the first film was positioned as "B", aimed at teenagers. But in the end, the screens out a real cultural phenomenon, one of the "kinostolpov" the second half of the XX century, revered in all parts of the world. Experiencing the collapse of the USSR spectators thronged in semi-underground video salons, repeatedly reviewing a bleak future, as shown in the "Terminator". Many will remember the inimitable dubbing "with a clothespin on his nose." The "author" of the tuning version of the transfer belt for some reason called "Cyborg Killer", which, however, did not stop to tickle nerves in the smoky basement clubs with dusty TV.

And then, in the early 1990s, he was released "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." One of the few exceptions, when the sequel turned out not worse than the original. It was the feast of the latest computer advances with a huge in comparison with the first part of the budget.