Shindler's Site: The LF Bug

By Marty Shindler

I can remember when it first happened to me. I suspect that most of you will remember when it first happened to you. It is like remembering the first girl (or boy) you kissed.

What is it? It’s the LF bug, the "insect" that bites us and puts the passion for the LF medium into our bloodstream. It happens to filmmakers and audiences alike. For most of us in production it’s a chronic condition, there for the rest of our lives.

I was bitten in early 1990 when I was with Industrial Light & Magic. My boss wanted my help at a meeting with Showscan. While there, I had time to see a few Showscan films in their screening room. It was then, as I experienced those early simulator rides, that the bug did its dirty work.

It was good preparation, as it happened, because the meeting that followed was the first of several to scope out how ILM would use its mastery of visual effects to create an exhilarating film experience for Showscan. That project became Space Race, the first of two that we would create while I was at ILM. The second was Alien Encounter. Both were intended to develop new ways of producing simulator ride films.

Space Race used lots of traditional effects work, including models, miniatures and motion control photography. Alien Encounter began to explore the use of CGI along with traditional techniques. Closely watching the production of each gave me a clear picture of where the future for out-of-home entertainment lay. Our goal became to infect as many people as possible with the LF bug, since LF was, and still is, a major distinguishing factor between home and out-of-home entertainment.

That is still the goal. Infecting more of the audience with the bug is essential for the continued growth of the industry. Audiences want that immersive experience. LF can bring it to them.

How do we get that experience to them? I think that solid content is the key. Of course, within that category, I favor strong visuals and lots of digital effects. But I think that engrossing stories with interesting characters will drive growth. A quick look at the box office records shows that effects-driven films with well-crafted stories are the all-time leaders, from Star Wars to Titanic. These are the movies, after all, that are responsible for the current explosion of new theaters. It worked in the conventional market and it will work in LF.

As late as the early ’90s, only a few companies were involved in digital production in any significant way and even fewer really had the LF bug. ILM, Rhythm & Hues, Ex Machina and Computer Film Company were among the first to explore this growing field. But in those early days, use of digital technology was rare.

Today that has changed, although not quickly enough to satisfy my appetite. CGI is increasingly used in titles and logos and has made strong inroads into the films themselves. Ben Stassen and Charlotte Huggins at nWave Pictures have been among the heaviest users of CGI in LF and simulators.

Other players who will fuel the next round of growth include Digital Domain, Imagica USA, Kleiser - Walczak Construction Company, Simex Digital Studios and Xaos. And there is a strong buzz building for the effects work in T.rex: Back to the Cretaceous under the supervision of Blue Sky/VIFX.

I think that the strain that will dominate in the next few years is the 3D bug. Great CGI by many of the aforementioned creative organizations will bring that about. Some of their work will be seen in our local LF theaters, and much will appear in theme parks. Several effects houses are developing their own in-house film projects. Expect to see the first results at LFCA in 1999.

The profitable work that LF projects have brought these companies in recent years should ensure they become fully infected by the bug. Passing the infection along to audiences is their job. It is also yours and mine. LF bugs spread out!

MaxImage! would like to know when and how you were bitten by the LF bug. We’ll publish a selection of your brief stories in a future issue. E-mail, fax, or mail them to the addresses and numbers in the masthead at the left.