Industrial Light and Magic (A Del Rey book)
The Best there is! - If you are a fan of any film with effects from ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), then you must own this book!The films which include their work are some of the highest earning films in history. To name a few:- STAR WARS (all 6 of em!) Star Trek (Movies) Indiana Jones trilogy, ET, Jurrasic Park (all 3 movies) Forrest Gump. The list is massive. But whenever you have seen a film with the best special effects, usually ILM are behind it. This book then is like a magic book, revealing all their secrets.Not simply to expose them, no no. Here you will learn to marvel at their ingenuety, skill and expertese which make ILM true pioneers of the Industry.They have invented and re-invented techniques that are used by all today.Even other special effects teams have staff in them which were once ILM,ers. But this book, Ahhhhhhh, I do not exagerate here, this is one of the most sumptious books you will ever hold in your hands. A huge Cloth bound tome with the best paper inside money can buy! Incredible gate-fold pages open up to reveal paintings on a grand scale.You will gasp at visual magic tricks you have unknowingly witnessed in the movies. This book teaches how the best did their stuff! But it is only the beginning of the story. This is old school (i.e pre-digital effects), Optical compositing, models, and matte paintings & animation.Then ILM went on to pioneer in the digital age. Again re-learning their old craft to make use of the latest tools...Computers.The final chapter in the book looks forward to when computers will be the way...Did ILM have a REAL crystal ball?The story continues in the next book...ILM Into The Digital Realm.
ILM - The Early Years - Published in 1986, Industrial Light and Magic: The Art of Special Effects (to give its full title) chronicles the rise of ILM from its formation (specifically to produce the groundbreaking effects of Star Wars in 1976) to its first foray into digital techniques (with Young Sherlock Holmes in 1985) by which time the name ILM was almost synonymous with special effects. The book s sequel - Into the Digital Realm - picks up from there and covers ILM s work in the digital field. But this book, I think, is the more interesting of the two, when effects were still mostly achieved with the right mix of artistry, engineering, craftsmanship and not a PC monitor in sight. But this is very much about ILM s way of doing things, rather than special effects in general, and other contributors to the field during this period (such as Douglas Trumbull s work on Close Encounters and Blade Runner) get less than a passing mention. The book is heavy and beautifully printed, with several large colour gatefolds. A joy to own.
A book to trasure! - This is an amazing book that you will want to treasure. It is packed with 1,000 s of behind-the-scenes photographs giving a detailed insight into the work of George Lucas Industrial Light & Magic workshop, from the early days of Star Wars , through the Star Trek films, Indianna Jones films and upto the end of the eighties. It gives a superb insight into the pain-staking processes of special effects, including model-making, miniature photography, matte painting and visual effects as well as going into the design process. The book covers in particular detail Star Wars , The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi films. An absolutely superb book that is worth every penny of its price.