Thursday, January 19, 2012
Hugo
Prop Agenda: I saw the film Hugo last month. Have you seen it yet? A large portion of the plot revolved around an old automaton shaped like a metal man. When the characters managed to repair the automaton, it drew a picture on its own. While that was cool, it became even cooler when I later found out that this automaton was created without CGI or visual effects. The prop makers actually built an automaton that could draw an entire picture with a pen and ink.
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3 comments:
I find this concept absolutely fascinating. I hadn't heard of the movie until my aunt and uncle raved about it- and after that I couldn't escape the all praising reviews of the film. And I hadn't even realized that this very movie was based on an original, fully illustrated book I had previously seen in Vermont, one that truly fascinated me and I had ALMOST forced myself to buy, just because of how beautiful it was. But I am so intrigued by the actual illustration machine featured in the movie itself-- my burning question.. how on earth was this created?? Did someone create an original hand-drawn illustration and how did they program such a machine to carry out such a task? how long did it take? My curiosities are endless.. not JUST about the process but the movie itself!
I am amazed by this. When I originally read the little blurb, I was expecting more of a robot, something which was more obviously computerized. I want to know how this automaton was created. Reading the fact that they didn't use CGI reminds me of how I was reading something about Jurassic Park, and how people feared the choice to use CGI over animatronics would destroy the animatronics industry. Something like this proves why this didn't happen, where the automaton looks more realistic than something that could have been created by computer.
I find this very exciting. I saw this movie over the break and I thought for sure that the automaton did not actually draw the picture that it was supposed to have produced. The automaton becomes more fascinating knowing that it is able to draw such a picture. I would love to see one of these props in person. I was also excited to learn that the movie Hugo was based off of a book. I now feel on a mission to find a copy of this book. I would like to learn more about the interworking’s of the automaton and how it was built.
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