American Cinematographer - December 1997 - 103

A Rollercoaster Year

for Visual Effects
i

mmgmf I
S
■§*/**'
I^bHPwe

Jf ^
W
|

watershed period in the

most famous line: "It was the best of times, it was the
worst of times."
Over the

of the past 12 months, audisome of the most accomf plished visual effects work in history, in more effects^ laden films than have ever been released in a single
1 year. Taking into account the long-awaited unveiling

▼

1997 has been

X history of visual effects, one that recalls Dickens'

;

I 'he year

tBr '

ences

course

have experienced

f^PlP

i of the CG-enhanced Star Wars trilogy, 1997 became the
first year in which each of cinema's reigning "effects
| auteurs" - George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Robert

,T-

if *'i.

Zemeckis and James Cameron - all presented theaters with envelope-ripping work. The result was a

| parade of spectacular imagery that included The Lost
World's next generation of CG dinosaurs; a visit to the

■

From top:

The
Dynamic Duo surf

in from the upper
reaches of the

stratosphere in

furthest reaches of outer space in
descent to the oceanic depths.

Contact; and Titanic's
e

triumphal pageant has also had its ^
melancholy moments. Despite the fact that Boss Film |

Batman and Robin;

created effects for Turbulence and Air Force One, and

Edgar the CG bug

also contributed to

threatens Men in

Black's

intrepid

agents; astronomerturned-astronaut

Ellie

Arroway

travels to the far
side of the

in Contact.

galaxy

But this

.#pU

pect, given the arrival of such hotly

Star Wars

December 1997

-j* \
' "if

;;

NL/VjTp:-

„**

prequels. That series of |
§

year 2010. And by that time, so many
films will employ some kind of digi-

\
.

Godzilla and J

films alone should be enough to keep
the effects business juiced through the

.?
f

by 20th Century Fox.
u
* **
Considering the fact that audiences didn't flock to many of this
summer's sleight-of-hand spectaculars, prospects for the effects sector might
seem a bit
grim. Even the venerable Wall Street Journal has cited the facility
closings and box-office disappointments as evidence that the visual effects
industry is poised on the brink of collapse.
In our opinion, however, nothing could be further from the truth.
These closures are more likely the result of a phenomenon that occurs in
many high-growth industries: rapid expansion can lead to equally rapid
consolidation, but the field is essentially healthy.
Anyone who doubts this has only to look a very short distance into
the future. Even if every event picture bombs next year (an unlikely pros¬
anticipated projects

...

(The Relic) and Blue Sky Studios (Alien Resurrection) °
merged their respective teams, and were purchased |

Starship Troopers, Richard Edlund, J
ASC, was forced to close his firm's doors in August. I
Warner Digital, the in-house effects unit of Warner ^
Bros., was closed by its parent company, even $
though its artists had enriched the look of Batman =

and Robin. Meanwhile, amid all of this turmoil, VIFX

J
^

fjf'

*
*

W v

American

|fPF'

Cinematographer

Jfl

American Cinematographer - December 1997

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - December 1997