Plastic Reality - Special Effects, Technology, Emergence of 1970s Blockbuster

Julie A. Turnock tracks the use and evolution of special effects in 1970s filmmaking, a development as revolutionary to film as the form's transition to sound in the 1920s.

List of contents

List of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: Before 1977 1. Optical Animation: Special Effects Compositing Up to 19772. Before Industrial Light and Magic: The Independent Hollywood Special Effects Business, 1968--1975Part II: Circa 1977: Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind3. The Expanded Blockbuster: The Auteurist Aesthetics of 1970s Special Effects--Driven Filmmaking 4. "The Buck Stops at Opticals": Special Effects Technology on Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind5. A More Plastic Reality: The Design and Conception of Star Wars and West Coast Experimental Filmmaking6. "More Philosopical Grey Matter": The Production and Aesthetic of Close Encounters of the Third KindPart III: The 1980s and Beyond7. Optical Special Effects into the 1980s: A Well-Oiled Machine8. "Not-too-Realistic" and Intensified Realistic Approaches in the 1980s: Traditional Stop Motion and ShowscanConclusion: World-Building and the Legacy of 1970s Special Effects in Contemporary CinemaNotesBibliographyIndex

About the author

Julie A. Turnock is assistant professor of media and cinema studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana--Champaign.

Summary

Julie A. Turnock tracks the use and evolution of special effects in 1970s filmmaking, a development as revolutionary to film as the form’s transition to sound in the 1920s.

Product details

• Authors: Julie A. Turnock, Turnock Julie A.
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 03.02.2015
• EAN: 9780231163538
• ISBN: 978-0-231-16353-8
• No. of pages: 384
• Series: Film and Culture Series; Film and Culture Series
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Photography, film, video, TV; TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Electronics / Digital, ART / Film & Video, Film, TV & radio, PERFORMING ARTS / Film / History & Criticism, c 1970 to c 1979, PERFORMING ARTS / Film / Direction & Production, PERFORMING ARTS / Film / Guides & Reviews, Filmmaking and production: technical and background skills