Technically, this article belongs over in Coax because it's about a TV show. But, this TV show isn't really a TV show in the traditional sense. It's on TV, but it's devoted to nearly anything and everything about the film making process - and is imbued with Geeky pandering paralleling only AICN. As such, this piece seemed more appropriate for AICN's main movies section - cause I think folks who regularly read the site will not only appreciate this show, and find its tone agreeably familiar.
How Geeky is SCIENCE OF THE MOVIES? The best way I can think of to describe it is that...if AICN were to make a TV show about creating movies...this is the show I'd want us to make (not that anyone would listen to me about such matters). Every episode plunges headlong into discussions of the intricacies and minutiae of the film making process, via reports pushed along by the perpetually energized Nar Williams (whose film history and pop culture references regularly rival the most stalwart Talkbackers). What kind of minutiae does Nar talk about? The same stuff most of us freqeunting this site talks about with our compatriots, even if we're ashamed to admit it.
Past episodes have featured discussions about:
** motion control technologies...
** digital manipulation like aging/de-aging...
** IMAX technologies...
** Henson's revolutionary motion capture tech which, essentially, enables performers to act out their characters and be animated into sequences in real-time...
** gnarly make-up effects for shows like DEXTER (this was much more complicated than it sounds, invlving accurately recreating the trajectory of blood splatters at a crime scene & whatnot)...
** frequent segments on how to create your own camera rigs, make-up effects, and practical effects on a highly limited budget (we're even taken along on a shopping trip to gather the materials needed & shown how to put them together).
** the sculpting of an action figure (feature the laser mapping of Nar, the physical creation of an action figure sculpted around said map, etc.)
** the list goes on and on.
SOTM has been on a break for a few months, but it returns tonight with fresh material . A press release describes the impending batch of episodes thusly:
Science of the Movies Returns with All-New Episodes
Science Channel turns its microscope once again on Hollywood with all-new episodes of SCIENCE OF THE MOVIES beginning Thursday, November 12 at 8 PM (ET/PT). Host Nar Williams is back every Thursday at 8 PM (ET/PT) revealing the tricks behind some of our favorite costumes, stunts and scenes from the big screen and the small screen. Williams gets hands-on experience, acting as the guinea pig to demonstrate the science and technological genius of movie making. SCIENCE OF THE MOVIES celebrates the world of movie magic by highlighting the equipment used in creating the latest visual effects and computer graphics, as well as interviewing the award-winning artists, stunt men and technicians responsible for making movies and television come to life.
In the premiere episode "Zombies! Science of the Undead," Williams meets Garrett Brown, the Oscar-winning inventor of the cutting-edge Steadicam and Skycam, which were used in the movies "Rocky," "The Shining" and "Star Wars: Episode VI." Nar also gets a zombie make-over from Quantum Creation FX, Inc., the people behind creating the make-up for "Star Trek," "Watchmen" and "G.I. Joe," and unveils the future of entertainment at Obscura Digital, Inc. by using effects right out of the Tom Cruise film "Minority Report."
Future episodes find Williams entering the incredible world of award-winning filmmaker George Lucas; reconstructing a 20-foot replica of Bumblebee from the summer blockbuster film "Transformers"; riding a computer generated horse from "The Chronicles of Narnia" at Creature FX; getting a crash course in the special effects from the hit television series "24"; and much more.
All of this is conveyed with high levels of dorked-out enthusiasm and humor, but it's always reverent and invariably thorough.
As noted above, new episodes of SCIENCE OF THE MOVIES begin airing tonight on The Science Channel & Science Channel HD (website HERE). The show's official website is HERE.
I thought I knew quite a bit about the film making process before discovering this series (God bless American Cinematographer, CineFex, and the ever-expnaidng pile of "Making of..." titles on my bookshelf), but I've learned something new from every episode thus far. Even Merrick's woman... who usually holds such technical yammering in disdain and disinterst...watches, enjoys, and anticipates this show.
And if she can get into it, so should we all. Check it out!
Here's a behind-the-scenes preview of tonight's episode generated by Nar himself:
And here's some clipage from the actual show installmenmts, giving you a decent sense of what to expect...
