New York Dollhouse
Glenn Erickson of DVDSavant sent me the above image, showing how the New York of DELUGE (1933) was prepared for destruction. Glenn has considerable experience with miniature work himself, having worked on Spielberg’s CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and 1941, so I believe him when he suggests that the doll-like docks were probably built out of doors, benefitting from natural sunlight. I guess the weather must’ve been mild, so they were confident no breeze would topple the Empire State…
I always like these kind of behind-the-scenes images, with Godzilla-sized effects men looming over the concrete canyons: see also METROPOLIS, with its cast of studious technicians manipulating tiny autocars (my memory says the men wear white lab coats and wield tweezers, but I may be romancing).
shadowplay 
March 3, 2011 at 9:28 am
Wonderful.
This is quite apposite as, here in Aus, Douglas Trumbull is making a rare appearance at the Adelaide Film Festival. In interviews he tells tales of an age of special effects where miniatures were king (can CGI match the magic of models and matte paintings?). Did you know that he briefly worked on Zabriskie Point? Have a look at this fascinating clip of how the opening cityscape sequence of Blade Runner was made. On trestle tables.
http://douglastrumbull.com/key-fx-sequences-blade-runner-hades-landscape
March 3, 2011 at 11:59 am
Great link, thanks! That sounds like an exciting event. I kind of wish Trumbull had directed more, Silent Running is lovely and even Brainstorm, messed about as it was by offscreen tragedy, had promise. I believe he spent a lot of time promoting a system that projected film at 60fps for greater intensity. Never caught on.
March 6, 2011 at 8:18 am
David, I’ve just come across this gem which may also interest you
http://screenrant.com/douglas-trumbull-2001-space-odyssey-documentary-mikee-78202/
a trailer for a proposed definitive documentary on the making of 2001 by Douglas Trumbull that may now never be made. The smudge on the screen here is the mark of my tears, weeping in breathless disappointment.
March 6, 2011 at 11:32 am
Damn. The time to have released this would have been with the BluRay, or in 2010. Both of which were last year.
The 2001: The Making of a Myth doc is very good, but I still want to see the 1968 doc made to promote the film.