Childhood can leave us with many fond memories, and set us up with tastes and preferences for the future. Of these good memories, a deep enjoyment of the warm, fuzzy and sightly clunky movement of the fantastic creatures found in 'Jason and the Argonauts', 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad', etc. have left me with a profound and lasting admiration for the works of their creator, Ray Harryhausen.
Ray Harryhausen's journey started in 1933, after watching 'King Kong' on the big screen. He was inspired by what he had seen, and wanted to be able to replicate the animated effects used in the film. Ray spent his youth experimenting with model dinosaurs and early stop motion effects, determined to be able to create a lifelike performance from his models. He practiced these techniques in his back garden and later in his parents garage, using very basic equipment, such as an old 16mm camera.
In 1951, Ray was given a
chance to work on his first feature film, a movie that would become
'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'. It was during the production
of his animated scenes for this film that Ray pioneered a new method
of split screen animation to combine his models and the live action
together. This process later became known as the famous Dynamotion.
The method basically sandwiched the model between two panes onto
which the live action was projected, giving the illusion that the
model was a part of the scene. During the rest of the decade, Ray
made animated effects for several films including 'Earth vs the
Flying Saucers' and '20 Million Miles to Earth'.
Rays work on 'The 7th
Voyage of Sinbad' is notable as it was Rays first foray into
using colour film with his special effects. The results are
beautiful, being able to see Ray's work in a blurred warmth, with
sequences such as the sword fight between Sinbad and the Magicians
Skeleton being one of Ray's best scenes.
Later in 1963 with 'Jason
and The Argonauts', Ray shot another scene with skeletons, this
time using seven of them. This is the famous battle in which Jason
and his men fight against the 'Children of the Hydra', a scene which
Ray choreographed and directed the live action for, in order to
achieve a more believable performance when it came to the stages of
animation. The animation for this sequence took four and a half
months to capture, and I believe it was worth it, as this is my
favourite moment from all of Rays sequences. It is so complex and
precise, with several different animated events all happening at once
on the screen.
Ray worked on many more
movies in the years following, including 'One Million Years BC',
'The Valley of Gwangi', and 'The Golden Voyage of Sinbad'
The last feature film
that Ray worked on was 'Clash of the Titans' in 1981. Once
again based on Greek legends, this film features the captivating
scene with the Medusa. This scene is worthy of note due to the
complexity of shooting it. Ray had to not only move the Medusa each
frame, he also needed to move each snake upon hear head
independently, as well as adjusting the lighting every frame, to
imitate torchlight. I really admire the effect Ray achieved with this
scene, and it is one I fondly remember from watching as a child.
Ray Harryhausen was a
pioneer in his field. He was a master at his craft, passionate about
what he did, a fact clearly visible in his work. His influence is a
large factor in today’s world of modern CGI effects. Ray was able
to produce all of his effects single-handedly, from concept to
finished effect. This is a far cry from today's effects workplace,
where teams of people will work together to build an effect or scene,
which in my opinion, rarely shows the character that Ray's work had.
Ray was also an
inspiration to many of today’s film-makers. Directors such as Tim
Burton, James Cameron, and Peter Jackson all have quoted Ray as
having been an inspirational figure through his work. The fact that
Ray has had such a large influence on others goes to show how much of
a landmark Rays work was in the field of visual effects, setting the
bar by creating a professional output on what was at the time a
minuscule budget.
Much as the
aforementioned people inspired by Ray, I myself have been inspired by
Ray Harryhausen. As a child I watched Ray's films with wonder, marveling over his fantasy creatures, and magical effects. Ray
Harryhausen is, in my opinion, one of, if not the - worlds best
animator. Ray's work was a massive influence on my decision to choose
animation as a field to study, and he will always remain a huge
inspiration to myself. His dedication to his field, his creative
vision and his quality of output is a standard by which I hope to
follow.
The
advancements that Ray brought during his time in the film industry
are many, and were pioneering and landmark at the time. His name, and
Dynamotion, have since
gained legendary status. Many of his films are now regarded as
classics, and are still as impressive as the day audiences first saw
them. Ray single-handedly brought with him a huge leap forward in
visual effects, one which still affects people to this day, and the
question is, will there ever be someone who will make as much of an
impression as Harryhausen? In today’s world of visual effects and
animation, where computers reign over the field, the chances of one
person making as much of a difference as Ray, making such a change to
the status quo, are quite unlikely.
(All
pictures used, are the copyright of the relevant owners. No copyright
infringement intended.)
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