Sunday, May 8, 2022

Flash Gordon and The Mandalorian

 

The Mandalorian has been incredibly enjoyable to watch on Disney+ and I look forward to what's rumored to be its final upcoming season.  One of the coolest parts of the show is how it is created.  A new technology, based off of video game engines, allows the filmmakers to shoot in "The Dome" where visual backgrounds are projected on a giant curved surface that surrounds the performers.  I was amazed when I first learned that the entire series was filmed on a soundstage, and this is how they managed it.  It is a truly groundbreaking technique that I am betting will have a big effect on future movies.

19 comments:

Carycomic said...

Sounds more like the process is based as much on Cinerama technology as video game engineering. Anybody else here old enough to remember those "Cinema 180" domes they used to run at certain amusement parks back in the Seventies?

Carycomic said...

P.S.---wouldn't it be something if Jennifer Walters had to defend Flash Gordon against a trademark infringement suit by others with lightning bolt logos? ;-)

Rob Einhorn said...

Cary, I ran the film in one of those for the summer of 1988 at Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ.

Jay Johnson said...

Cary: I think I saw the same "behind the scenes" series on D+ that Ross did. Where the video game tricks come in is that they are able to shoot "preview" scenes with stand-in actors/fighters and merge them with backgrounds and foregrounds created in the game engine (which are now good enough to film instead of having to use a painting or traditional CGI), and tweak until they are happy with the scene. This gives them the set of camera angles they need and details on what props need to be build and how to dress the set to match the projected background. Then they film with the costumed feature actors against the Dome background, and while there is some more tweaking and improvisation done then, they need a lot less takes to get the scene finished.

Bob Greenwade said...

Indeed, Cary is at least partially right. Executive Producer Jon Favreau has said that one of the coolest things about The Dome is that it doesn't actually use any new technology, so anyone (who can afford it) can set one up. I think they also used it on the other Star Wars series as well.

As for today's cover, well done, particularly in the choice and integration of images. It does actually look like it was planned this way from the get-go, especially with Gordon (seemingly) regarding Mando over his shoulder.

And, of course, this isn't Gordon's first foray into that "galaxy far, far away." In fact, after checking through his tag, he's teamed up with just about everyone I can think of that he should! (My first thought was DC's Flash, but he's met both Barry in #825 and Jay in #1334.) Maybe he could meet Ahsoka Tano when her series is underway. Or... pair him up with Anti-Venom, better known as Flash Thompson.

@Cary: It would be great if Gordon could captain a team of heroes with such logos, but all the ones I can think of are DC: the Flash family, the Shazam family, and Lightning Lad.

Bob Greenwade said...

PS: I'm embarrassed to have forgotten Black Lightning in my list... though still, he's DC.

And of course there's Thunderbolt... also DC.

Well, Madman isn't DC, so there's that.

Ross said...

Sounds like The Lightning Bolts, a group that appeared in STF #957...

https://braveandboldlost.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-lightning-bolts.html

Green Luthor said...

Doc Samson in Marvel had a "lightning bolt" shirt.

Bob Greenwade said...

Ah, yes! Perhaps it's time for Mr. Gordon to join that team.

Carycomic said...

@Jay Johnson: thanks for the elaboration. :-)

@Rob Einhorn: you and your fellow projectionists are to be commended. My favorite Cinerama montage always ended with some big-budget street race (Grand Prix de Monte Carlo, I think). And when the winning car reached the hay bale with a stop sign tacked on to it, everybody in the audience, standing under the dome, would lurch to a stop, as well! What great summer fun, that was. :-)

@Bob Greenwade: I could be wrong. But, weren't you the one who previously requested more courtroom simulations with She-Hulk's legal-beagle alter-ego?*

*And, no, I will not repeat that three times fast!

Carycomic said...

P.S.---STF #957, it was! Thanks, Ross. :-)

@Bob: Zot from Eclipse Comics could also qualify for Lightning Bolt membership.

Anonymous said...

Dear Ross: As next month is June, the traditional time for weddings, how about a cover where Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon finally tie the knot? It'd be a great time for creating a whole new set of relatives in this universe!

In addition to the father of the bride, the Gordons could also be represented by the sci-fi stalwart aforementioned herein. Along with that khaki-wearing bush babe...Nyoka Meredith Gordon!

While on the groom's side, he could be reunited with his adoptive cousin Mark "Invincible" Grayson. Plus those super-cool siblings, John and Christine Grayson! Aka "Icestar" and "Icicle" of the League of Champions (respectively).

Bob Greenwade said...

@Cary: I am one such individual, yes, though I was hoping for criminal defense rather than civil lawsuits. (I'd especially love to see her across the aisle from Harvey Dent.)

Anonymous said...

@Bob & Cary: And I have the perfect defendant for them. Frank "The Punisher" Castle!

Carycomic said...

@Anonymous: Good idea! Ross could use the Punisher's image from the cover of Marvel Tales #222.

Bob Greenwade said...

I wouldn't be against Frank Castle as the defendant, nor even someone like Oswald Cobblepot, but I'd especially love to see a third-party defendant, like Hellboy, Number Five (Umbrella Academy), or even Adrian Monk. I think a case against Five would make for some especially interesting legal battles.

Anonymous said...

Why not have Penguin visit Umbrella Academy, directly?

Carycomic said...

I second Anon's motion. Sounds like a tailor-made match!

Anonymous said...

Cover of the month!

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