Blade Runner

[rrische]

A couple years ago, I had heard that Ridley Scott was interested
in doing a big special edition DVD release of "Blade Runner". I knew
that he wanted to go in and digitally clean up certain things that
were artifacts of the frenzied editing process, things like lip sync
problems, the "blue sky" shot at the end etc. I was interested to
know if he was also into updating some of the effects. I wound up
doing a proof-of-concept sketch for one of the matte shots in the
movie.
I wanted to make sure that I stayed very close to Syd Mead's
original designs, just kind of give the shot a facelift. I played
around with this sketch for about a week. But it turns out that
Ridley wants to leave the visual effects alone.

Hope you like it.
http://www.mattepainting.org/vb/picture.php?albumid=3&pictureid=325

[ecsdesign]

Looks great. Nice work.
Bladerunner is really one of those films that stands the test of time. Even though it would have been cool, i respect Ridley for the decision he made. He and Tony are two of the best visionaries/film makers in the industry. And from what i hear, great guys to work with.
________
Marijuana vaporizer (http://weedvaporizers.org/)

[cserbuj]

Great work, indeed. I like the mood, very integrated in the scene and in the feeling of the film. Congrats! :wink:

[cameo]

Nice work Rick, just gives it that little bit extra believability. Having said that though
I'm glad that Ridley Scott decided to stay with the original, it's an exceptional film as
it is and I remember a few years back when Lucas played around with the original
star wars' - the results werent that great. It's that knack of knowing when to stop
and say 'thats it'. I agree it's always nice to play around and say 'what if' 20 years
on though :)

[lightwell]

Noooooooooo!!!

Its not broke, doesn't need fixing.

That said, nice work and who wouldn't leap at the chance to work on a movie like Bladerunner.

JM

[smooth]

I like it.
They should make a new movie of blade runner with the same look and feel. but chances are they would swamp it with saturated color and cheesy effects. So let's leave it as it is :)

+smooth+

[P.Nagle]

Awsome Rick!

This would have been cool to see in Blade Runner, but i am even more glad to know that they are not going to mess with the VFX, because they really don't need to mess with them!

-P.Nagle

[B. Kachel]

Yes the paintings in the original are classic, I just wish they looked like this originaly. The originals are sweet, but I would have no problem looking at Blade Runner like this.

Amazing work as usual Rick.
-Brandon Kachel

[renderman24]

I had the pleasure of seeing Syd Mead's work in a downtown San Francisco Art art museum back in 1996. They displayed all of his gouche originals as well as a blade runnner matte painting(a look-down shot of a building ledge if I recall).

His work blew me away-especially seeing it in painted form.

Your facelift is excellent but I am glad they are keeping all of the original effects as they belong rightfully to that time period. All of the imperfections and limitations of effects help give older films a "personality" outside of the story I think.

I would hate for my professional work to be improved upon/redone in later years although a lot of it needs it! :)

great job none-the-less you rock!

[rrische]

"Blade Runner" is one of the most famous unfinished movies
in history.
There are several different versions, documented in the book
"Future Noir". I've seen 4 different versions, including the original,
studio-tampered theatrical release. The planned DVD special edition
is supposed to include a few of these versions, as well as Ridley
Scott's "final word" version that fixes a lot of things in his edit that
were only messily worked out at the time of it's release.
My all-time favorite version is the infamous 70mm rough cut that
was mistakenly screened, and later led the studio to release the
1993 "director's cut" that you can see now on DVD. I saw it when
it was screened for two weeks at the Nuart Theater in Los Angeles.
Actually, they showed a 35mm reduction print made from the 70mm
positive (as there was no negative of this version available).
Having been struck from a positive, this version was a generation
away from the regular theatrical and the director's cut. The film was
a lot more contrasty, and the visual effects (ESPECIALLY the matte
paintings) popped and sparkled in a way they didn't before. And the
edit with it's temp sound mix and score was overwhelming. It's this
version I hope they include on the DVD more than any other. It
throbs with a kind of dangerous eroticism that the more "finished"
versions don't have IMO.
Anyway, it's that contrasty look, where the painted lights really pop
and look like lights, that inspired me when I did this sketch.

In 1981, I had a chance meeting with matte artist Rocco Gioffre
and matte photographer Robert Bailey. They invited me to come
to Entertainment Effects Group to look at the work they were currently
doing. The project turned out to be "Blade Runner". I got to see
several matte paintings (these were the first matte paintings I had
ever seen for real) as well as Syd Mead's 16x20 gouache paintings
of all the matte designs. This was a HUGE thrill, and remains one
of my coolest and fondest memories.

[smooth]

I'd really like to see this version you speak of. Sounds good. I hope they release it on a new dvd.
At that time that movie really had a huge effect on artists. Started seeing it in music videos etc. Really had an influence. Thats when you know you've done something significant.
I would love to see a film similar if not better down the road with that same "dangerous eroticism" look to it. Just more pronounced than blade runner. Not to mention an amazing score. I love Vangelis! Greek! wooot!

It would be awesome to see up close some old matte paintings created like it used to be especially Syd Mead's my god. I'm envious! What sucks though is most of this kind of creative work is owned by big studios and won't be shared with the public. While reading The art of John Berkey I found myself to be displeased to read that most of his work belongs to other people and didn't have the rights to display it for himself. Thats how it is I guess.

+smooth+

[Boof]

Great story, Rick! Its those cool happenstance stories that never tire of hearing. To see the original Bladerunner matte paintings is thrilling!
There is still something electrifing seeing a real painting than looking at one on someone's monitor at a digital one. I was able to get a tour of Illusion Arts and was lucky enough for Bill to show me some of Al Whitlock's paintings that hey had. That was a priceless moment for me.

Cheers,
-Eric