Now playing at the East Van VODVILLE
Models Week
Holy moly, it’s already been 12 months since we first installed the Vodville in the wall of The Vancouver Hackspace, and what a journey it’s been so far!
Dozens of shows, hundreds of movie clips, over 19,000 in-person views, a series of fabulous collaborators, andso
much
love from the community.
Thank you for all your support, for suggesting shows, showing your own work, for surprising your friends, for hitting the button (especially in the wee hours to let a nocturnal hackspacer know they aren’t alone), or just admiring it from afar if it’s a sensory day. You’re a wonderful audience, keep being the best version of yourselves you can.
And most importantly,
Spread love, not fear.
We’re going to take a bit of a summer staycation this July and keep this show going a little longer than usual, but check back weekly, because we’ll be adding a handful of new shows each week.
If you have ideas/requests for model shots, email them to us
It’s only a model.
This week, to celebrate our one year anniversary we would like to present a subject near and dear to our hearts. Scale Models (ours is 1:55).
Here are a collection of movie miniatures, starting at the early spectacle films such as Le voyage dans la lune, moving forward through early hollywood throwing everything at the wall, the rise of the studios (and consummate loss of insanity and innuendo), the 60’s experimental phase, and finally, spurred by the success of space operas like Star Trek and Wars, miniatures took over until CG largely replaced them in the mid 1990’s.
They are experiencing a modern renaissance with marquee directors like Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, and Canada’s own Denis Villeneuve making extensive use of practical miniatures to augment their effects.
Here at the vaudeville, we are big fans of small scale wonders, hope you enjoy the show.
-
NEW THIS WEEK “It’s only a model!” The inspiration for this show, iconic Camelot scene from 1974’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail features a brief fourth wall catapulting appearance by (probably) a model castle… we could not find hard confirmation that it was a model shot, but we also couldn’t find a filming location for the castle exterior, and such an absence of information about a key scene in a core nerd movie is as close as it’s possible to come to proving a negative, ergo model it is, until proven otherwise. [1:28]**
-
George Meile’s 1902 masterpiece Trip to the Moon, is considered one of the first science fiction films. Its heavily stylized effects were influential on filmmakers like Karel Zeman. Here we present a highlight reel of the film, condensed to fit into a theatre. In keeping with the early film tradition of the music and sound being the responsibility of the exhibitors (which used live bands, or narrators filling in the story), we have selected some music that we felt was appropriate. [3:49]
-
The Czech director and animator Karel Zeman was cited as an inspiration to Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton, and Ray Harryhausen. Here we look at a submarine scene from his 1958 masterpiece Invention for Destruction. Watch out for some exquisite glass paintings, use of miniature and cardboard sets, all art directed to a perfect Doré-esque glory. [2:07]
-
Another clip from our very first Vodville Show! The Mysterious Island 1929, featuring huge miniatures and an amazing performance by a cephalopod, whose name we were not able to confirm before press time. [3:19]
-
Forbidden Planet, it’s the Tempest, in SPAAAAACE! This pioneering film was the first with a fully electronic score, and in addition to the stunning model work features a bitching robot (no tin man here), who has no problem correcting people when they get misgendered. Did we mention this came out in 1956? Oh, and surely you’ll recognize Canada’s own Leslie Neilson in his serious era. [3:41]
-
After 9pm only! - 1989’s The Abyss by James Cameron features an insane collection of underwater shots, miniatures and puppets all choreographed to perfection, here we check out the storm sequence. God it’s so good. [3:51]
For more information on the miniatures https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceoCbo3yiyU -
NEW THIS WEEK The Towering Inferno. Mr. Salad Dressing returns to the Vodville in the classic 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno, and the only thing higher than the flames is the camp. Truly, what problem can’t be solved with several pounds of plastic explosives? [2:54]
-
Swan Lake in SPAAAAACE! Its the docking sequence from 2001 A Space Odyssey, featuring Pan Am Airways (remember them?) featuring Pan Am Airways (remember them?) Shot with large models and motion control cameras, it’s bananas. The standout feature is a masterclass on maintaining optical clarity. Most effects shots need some degree of compositing of different elements. Often this results in a grainy/fuzziness that increases the more elements are added on. But not here, through meticulous attention to every detail of the filming process and the use of motion controlled camera rigs Kuprick was able to maintain a sharpness in 1968’s that still holds up to this day. [2:46]
The American Society of Cinematographers | Filming 2001: A Space… -
Ahh the wonderful pairing of Mel Brooks, and special effects legend John Dykstra (responsible for the ships in Star Wars). It’s 1987’s Spaceballs, with the Mega Maid sequence. Incidentally the Eagle 5 winnebago with wings is still one of my favorite ships, I think it’s the fact that it still has the air conditioners up top. [3:56]
-
Thunderbirds - End of the road, 1965 We love every bit of this show, beautiful effects, beautiful models. Here we find out the many ways a rocket plane is useful for search and rescue and rockfall mitigation. [3:38] The American Society of Cinematographers | Behind the Scenes…
-
This model train scene from Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) is pure gothic Mood. [1:54]
Last seen on our Train Week autism special, it’s the train dream sequence in 1936’s Ub Works delirium fest, Play Safe. Featuring some absolutely beautiful shots combining animation and life action miniatures. [3:10] -
NEW THIS WEEK The titular Labyrinth of Jim Henson’s 1986 fantasy epic and Muppet-driven David Bowie vehicle is a clever mix of foreground model and background matte painting. [1:46]
-
Set in Burquitlam and shot in White Rock and Steveston by a couple former SFU students, 1982’s Big Meat Eater punches way above its budget. It opened to rave reviews, and had line ups around the block in England, as well as locally at the now closed Vancouver East Cinema. Not bad for a movie featuring effects that were mostly made of things purchased from the local thrift store. We look forward to showing more of this movie in future shows. [2:30] Big Meat Eater brings high-grade balonium to the Cinematheque
-
Tim Burton’s 1988 film Beetlejuice is packed full of amazing miniatures, here we check out the eponymous ghoul in his natural setting. [2:30]
-
We go to 1982’s Blade Runner, for Decker’s arrest scene. The jaw dropping cityscapes that continue to influence the style and feel of every cyberpunk film since, were shot in camera, by doing multiple passes with a motion controlled camera. Each element, ie: lights, buildings, billboards was shot separately on the same roll of film. To achieve this, the film was carefully rolled back to the exact start frame for each take and the camera motion was exactly repeated, the result? Beautifully composited effects that still look stunning 43 years on. [3:46]
-
Break out your Corgis, it’s none other than QEII’s favorite movie! We are proud to present the camp masterpiece with psychedelic visuals, 1980’s Flash Gordon. Here we watch the hawkmen scene. The whole rest of the movie is equally as insane and well worth a watch. Oh and the soundtrack is by Queen. [3:42]
-
From the 1976, Space Warp episode of Space 1999, we bring you some absolutely glorious miniature destruction courtesy of British effects legend Brian Johnson, and model maker Martin Bower. [3:20]
-
NEW THIS WEEK There were so many excellent miniatures and bigatures to choose from in 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts, but we couldn’t resist the epic mixed frame rate + actual dude in a merman costume effect in the Clashing Rocks scene. There’s no mystery about how it was done, but man, you have to appreciate how hard they went for it. [2:35]
-
You can also scale models upward. In this clip from 1936’s Everything is Rhythm, filmed a mere 3 years after the invention of Acrylic plastic, we check out a clearly awesome band. Watch out for the solo number by the tiny pianist. [3:24]
-
Back to Spaceballs, here we show off the 17 foot long Spaceball one, which just keeps going. Eat your heart out George Lucas. [2:17] Spaceball One Large Size Original Model | ScienceFictionArchives.com
-
Ahh Metropolis the 1927, German expressionist sci-fi masterpiece. They invented a new technique for this film, the Schüfftan process, that used mirrors with holes cut out to superimpose live actors into miniature models. In this way the whole effect was captured in camera, and there was no quality loss from multiple exposures or optical printing. [1:26]
-
Jumping back to Space 1999, this time the Breakaway episode it turns out that using the moon as a nuclear waste dump comes with consequences. Mostly they involve the FX department getting to blow up a lot of stuff. [3:18]
-
Independence Day released in 1996, right at the cusp of the digital dark ages, this movie featured some of the largest miniatures ever exploded. The highlight, the explosion of a 15’ wide and 5’ high model of the whitehouse was performed live in front of an invited press corps. As is tradition, The Special Effects Department only found out about the press on the shoot day, when the bleachers were being set up. Also, the exploding city filmed while tilted at an angle. Neat trick! [1:12]
'Independence Day' Visual Effects Supervisor on Making the Original
Visit us today!
- We are located in the fourth window from the alley, on the Woodland Drive side of the Vancouver Hack Space.
1601 Venables Street
East Van VODVILLE -Google maps link
littlefreecinema.org
More information about the East Van Vodville and its construction in this thread.