Cinefex number 9 July 1982

After more than a year of intensive labor, the visual effects craftsmen at Entertainment Effects Group have produced the definitive urban future for Blade Runner — Ridley Scott’s stylish homage to film noir. A polluted overpopulated megalopolis, the Blade Runner city was created largely with miniatures and matte paintings — and effects supervisors Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich and David Dryer detail the arduous process by which it was generated and captured on film. On a broader scale, director Ridley Scott and design consultant Syd Mead discuss the evolution of the project and the philosophy behind its distinctive ambience. Adding further dimension are director of miniature photography Dave Stewart and cameraman Don Baker, matte painters Matthew Yuricich and Rocco Gioffre, designer Tom Cranham, model shop supervisors Mark Stetson and Wayne Smith and modelmaker Bill George, animation supervisor John Wash and cameraman Glenn Campbell. Compsy tech director Richard Hollander, optical supervisor Robert Hall, matte cameraman Robert Bailey, still photographer Virgil Mirano, lab liaison Jack Hinkle and effects auditor Diana Gold. Together, they present one of the most thorough accounts ever of a major special effects project — covering the design, construction and photography of the massive Tyrell pyramids, the vast Hades wasteland, the extended cityscapes and the wondrous flying vehicles. Article by Don Shay.