THE PRODUCTION - SPECIAL EFFECTS

Written by Ahem
Photos by Diseased Mainiac

After the tedious visual effects improvisation and reshoot hell that was Superman 2, Superman 3 fell technically back onto the right tracks. With a brand new optical effects facility grounded in the UK, there was no reason to go to the USA for the travelling mattes and animation. The days of having to liase with lab technicians on another continent were happily gone for Roy Field. His newly created visual effects community complete with younger more flexible technicians meant that the highest quality could be consistent throughout. It showed on screen. Gone was the satanic scheduling of late 1979 and the deadline fighting use of flying miniature dolls, crude animation and variable travelling matte work. As Variety magazine correctly pointed out:
"Technical credits, as usual, are first-rate, with flying sequences (now taken for granted), miniatures and matte-work all A-calibre."

Derek Meddings and Paul Wilson were absent for this Superman entry, however they did reshoot a disastrous attempt at a miniature computer explosion. Miniature photography was headed by Harry Oakes (who had worked on Superman part one), while Colin Chilvers supervised the model unit.

BREAKDOWN

OPENING TITLES:
Richard Lester's quirky title sequence required no optical trickery apart from the deliberate smearing of the titles. The image softeningis used to emphasise Lorelei Ambrosia, a visual parody of the 'smearing Vaseline across the lens' photographing beauty tradition. Camera Effects returned to the series once more.

THE CHEMICAL PLANT FIRE:

Miniatures were used for extreme long shots of the exploding factory. Cinematographer, Robert Paynter also managed to disguise Superman's support wires in-camera. Jimmy has an X-ray through cell animation.
Superman flies to a lake via travelling mattes with closer shots using front projection. Ice breath is created through animation while the freezing and frozen lake were achieved using a painted glass matte. Matte painting extensions were used for aerial shots of the chemical plant to add scope. The frozen lake was a piece of candy glass that was shattered frame by frame to appear to disintegrate. steam was printed over the top of the candy glass composite. Split screen composites were also made to show the buildings, overlaying fire and the ice all in one shot. The final shot in this sequence is a travelling matte of Superman flying over a miniature of the chemical complex.

BOWLING ALLEY:
The destructive bowling ball was animated. Colin Chilvers provided the interactive skittles.

SAVING RICKY:
A subtle and original optical effect is used to suggest Clark hearing a high pitch frequency. He gets up, dashes across the grass changing behind a fence. A subtle dissolve was made for the transition and both pieces of film were married in the optical printer. Wire removal was used for the stunning live-action take off and mid air flight shots. Dialogue with Superman and Ricky was filmed using Zoptic. Another seamless take off follows.

TRAFFIC:
Animated fighting red/green man. Simple animation.

THE VULCAN SATELLITE:
A miniature was filmed against a space backing with effects animation laser.

ROSS WEBSTERS PENTHOUSE:

The entire set was built in-doors at Pinewood. Robert Paynter's lighting made the translight sky appear convincing. For the long shot revealing the skyline piste, a high angle shot of the set was taken in the studio. A still of New York City was then taken by Cervin Robinson. The still was blown up with a rooftop physically cut off of the photo (so that the live action could be inserted in later) and the entire picture was mounted in a glass casing. A rear projector was aligned behind the cut-out area and the studio footage was inserted in-camera. A simple zoom was performed to reveal the penthouse ski slope.

TORNADO/SUPERMAN SAVES COLUMBIA:
A travelling matte superman is seen flying toColumbia- the cloud is a dry ice composite. Effects animation heat vision and matte painted mountains over a background plate filmed in Italy were married with cloudy water tank footage shot by Roy Field that was double printed onto the plate to create a tornado long shot.

VULCAN SATELLITE #2:
Satellite miniature again

SMALLVILLE BRIDGE DISASTER:

Superman flies in as a travelling matte at the beginning of the sequence. Incredible rotoscope wire removal enables a slow and graceful landing to be totally taken for granted.

STRAIGHTENING THE TOWER OF PISA:
Evil Superman flies to the tower of Pisa using Zoptic and travelling mattes. The Pisa vendors below are in front of a process
screen. The tower itself is a waist-high miniature.

SUPERMAN & LORELEI ATOP THE STATUE OF LIBERTY:

Pamela Stephenson (Lorelei) was filmed on a mock up of the Statue's crown in front of a process screen at Pinewood. Superman flies to her using Zoptic. Perhaps the most well integrated, totally taken for granted effects piece here is the animated searchlight shown against the Statue of Liberty.

OIL TANKER SLICK:
Ronald Goodman's aerial unit filmed the oil tanker plates, Zoptic was used to show close ups, travelling mattes for long distant shots asthe camera flies around the ship. For the locked off shot of Superman ramming into the ship, the live action was filmed on a partially complete mock-up at Pinewood, a matte painting was used to enhance the scene. The extreme aerial long shot features a seamless animated oil slick and a backlit, travelling matte Superman.

DRUNKEN SUPERMAN DESTROYS MIRROR:
Superman destroys the mirror using his heat vision. All of the scene was filmed live with a melted mirror while animation was used to achieve the glowing red. Superman then takes off to fly (filmed in Calgary), New York City plates were used for the aerial footage with travelling matte reduced in size. Superman spins in mid-air courtesy of double zoom Zoptic, lands without wires in the Pinewood backlot Junkyard set.

THE FIGHT:

The fight was performed by Christopher Reeve and his double/stand in Mark Stewart. Effects animation was used for the twinkling effect, the separation of Clark from Evil Superman was achieved using two locked off vista vision shots of Christopher Reeve, both of which were dissolved and married in an optical printer. Wire paint outs enabled Superman to fly into Clark, a travelling matte of Clark then flies past the camera.

A dry ice pipe was used to show acid being blown onto Clark, the foreground left smoke was composited on afterwards due to the breezy weather that prevented smoke showing up in-camera. Evil Superman grabs Clark in a process shot that has both of them in frame.

Evil Superman uses effects animated heat vision on a chain hoisting a weight, Christopher Reeve disappears under the weight using courtesy of a garbage matte. Clark strangles evil Superman in a final process shot.

VICTORY:
Take off filmed from a high angle with wire paint outs, plate of New York City with a travelling matte Superman flying in a mid-air U-turn. Following this is a Zoptic shot of Superman flying over the ocean and a long shot of the boat with a mixture of live action shadow-play and painted mattes creating the oil slick, Superman uses his superbreath with Reeve filmed Zoptic. Over the shoulder shots were filmed with travelling mattes and innovative shadow play against rippled water (filmed in the Pinewood paddock tank) was used to create oil slick An extreme long shot of the event uses plate footage with animated oil slick.

The live action of Superman 'super-breathing' the oil back into the boat had Reeve filmed with a camera tilted on it's side while effects technicians poured the oil back in using a pump. These long shots with Reeve show a matte painting of the tanker's rear in the background. Cell animated heat vision matched precisely to live action flame created the welding illusion, even for the delicate close ups required. Reeve flies off with three travelling mattes followed by a landing back at the penthouse set at Pinewood.

GRAND CANYON BALLOONING:
While long shot action was filmed at Glen Canyon, Utah, USA, using stand ins, a base section of the canyons top was constructed on the Pinewood backlot. A forced perspective pylon was also erected to match the USA footage. The balloon stunts were achieved by hanging stuntmen in the balloons from a frame connected to a helicopter that was lowered into the canyon.

SUPERMAN FLIES TO THE RESCUE:
Two crude travelling matte shots are briefly intercut to show Superman flying across a city and a desert plain. Obvious experimentation of perspective is evident here, thankfully the shots only last a few seconds.

THE SUPER-COMPUTER:
Although realised for the most part by Peter Murton's stunning set built at the 007 stage at Pinewood, a tilt up shot showing the above spires of the machine were filmed using miniatures.

FLYING INTO THE CANYON/VIDEO GAME CHASE:
The sequence begins with a breathtaking shot of Superman flying into the Grand Canyon. All of these flying shots were accomplished using the Zoptic system. Miniatures were used to show missile launchers appearing from the ground. Colin Chilvers model unit also photographed miniature action of the missiles being launched. Travelling mattes were used to show Superman head-on energetically dodging the missiles.
The MX missile was built as a 1/4 scale miniature. To emphasise it's red hood light for it's initial appearance, Harry Oakes BSC photographed the model using a dimmer to gradually bring up the fill light. For each take, the dimmer was operated very quickly to compensate for the high speed photography. While flying in mid-air, Superman kicks the pursuing missiles and causes a chain reaction of explosions. As this was a long shot, Reeve was shot as a travelling matte while the missiles are cel animation.
For the resulting explosions, Roy Field photographed scaled miniature pyrotechnics and smoke clouds against a black backing which were then printed onto a Canyon background plate. The MX missile was filmed using Zoptic The computer controlled movement mixed with Ronald Goodman's incredibly smooth Wescam plates make the shots seamless.
We then see a travelling matte Superman superimposed onto miniature footage of the Canyon follow. The following shots of Superman colliding with the missile were all produced via Zoptic.
The multi-composite long shot of Superman somersaulting away from the missile used a background plate of the Canyon, blue screen footage of Reeve performing acrobatic wirework and a matted in miniature explosion. Superman crashes into a boulder with debris falling before the camera.
Superman, the rock and the debris were all filmed before a blue screen with a canyon skyline added on afterwards.

Atari provided the actual video game and computer imagery. Loren Carpenter supervised all of the computer graphics. Carpenter had worked on the Genesis sequence of 'Star Trek II' and is currently a computer graphics artist at Pixar. She has worked on 'Tin Toy' and 'Toy Story' among other projects.

SUPERMAN VERSUS THE MACHINE:
Superman is trapped inside of a live action plastic force field . The creationand disappearance of the trap were realised using cel animation. The heat vision and blue lens flare were also cel animated.
Superman is hit by a draining bolt of cel animated Kryptonite.

SUPERCOMPUTER FEEDS ITSELF POWER:
The computer begins to spark and take control. The blue flares and sparks were also cel animated, as was the strobing illumination of the Super-Computerspower tubes. The backlot portion of the Canyon is shown for a shot where a bolt of lightning blasts out of the cave. The blackout footage of a Metropolis street was filmed in downtown Calgary.
Extreme aerial long shots of the black out were cel animated lights composited onto a matte painting of the North American continent.

VERA BECOMES A ROBOT:
Gus Gorman is thrown into the air by a bolt of lightning. This sequence showcases some of the most accurate lightning animation ever committed to celluloid. The subtle streaking and attention to detail of the lightning really allows the audience to concentrate on the action as opposed to the effects. The boundary of what is live action lighting trickery and cel animation is well and truly blurred; the blue sparking and flaring at the control console surrounding Lorelei and Vera for instance was all composited onto the live action afterwards using cel animation. Vera is pulled into the machine by a pole arm. She is then decorated with more seamless animated lightning and Robert Paynter's blue reactive lighting. Pieces of machinery are collected on her face using various physical and camera trickery.
Stuart Freeborn created the Robot prosthetic pieces for Annie Ross playing Vera, while the blue bolts she fires are all matched with Robert Paynter's reactive lighting.

SUPERMAN CONFRONTS VERA & THE COMPUTER:
After flying back to the Chemical plant via a travelling matte, Superman re-enters the cave with a computer generated video image courtesy of the Atari team. Superman intercepts a beam of lightning and bends it back at Vera, a shot magnificently matched with Robert Paynter's reactive lightning. It is impossible to tell the special effects lighting from the effects animation. Superman is then dragged into the computer by animated bolts. This sequence was all filmed live action and decorated with animation in post-production. When the wires wrap around our hero's face, part of the illusion goes totally unrecognised. white dots were painted onto the individual frames as to make the wires appear to be glowing and sparking. Without these little subtle touches, the wires would seem less dangerous and the action would not seem as spectacular.

COMPUTER DESTRUCTION:
Derek Meddings supervised this explosive finale, intercut with live action destruction of the computer's base. Paul Wilson BSC lit it. The verisimilitude is flawless, the live-action gels with the models to perfection.

TAKING GUS HOME:
Standard Zoptic flying shows Superman and Gus flying above country land. The Coal mine they land in is actually Battersea Power Station, London. The following take-off features more subtle wire paint outs.

LEANING THE TOWER BACK:
Superman flies to the tower using Zoptic. He flies in as a travelling matte, his close up interaction with a chunk of the wall is front projected. The Pisa Vendors were again matted against a blue screen.

Special & Visual Effects Credits

Colin CHILVERS Special effects & miniatures director
Roy FIELD, B.S.C. Supervisor of Optical and Visual effects
Martin GUTTERIDGE Special Effects
Brian WARNER Special Effects
Bob HARMAN Flying effects technician
Ronald GOODMAN Wesscam photography
Marc WOLFF Helicopter Pilot
Bob BAILIN Process backgrounds photography
John HARRIS Process photography
Lightflex System Special lighting effects
John PALMER Camera operator (process unit)
Ian KELLY Video supervisor (process unit)
Zoran PERISIC Zoptic system front projection consultant
David WYNN-JONES Zoptic system front projection supervisor
Harry OAKES , B.S.C. Model photography
Ginger GEMMELL Camera operator (model unit)
Charles BISHOP Art director (model unit)
Optical Film Effects Optical effects
Dick DIMBLEBY Optical printer
David DOCWRA Optical printer
Peter HARMAN Optical & matte camera
Martin BODY Optical & matte camera
Dennis BARTLETT Travelling matte supervisor
Peter MELROSE Matte Artist
Charles STONEHAM Matte Artist
Atari Video game computer animation
Camera Effects Main titles design