Episode 002 February 2014

In our second episode, we chat with passionate fan Rob Rhyne about The Empire Strikes Back, interview modelmaker, creature creator, and digital artist Howie Weed about his career and work on The Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition, and we quickly chat with Duncan Boszko to get a perspective on Greg Jein's physical miniature models in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1941, and The Hunt for Red October from someone who was born after the advent of CGI.

Also listen for your chance to win a free 1-year print subscription to Cinefex magazine!

Detailed show notes below…

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About The Optical

Host Mark Boszko takes you on a journey back through the annals of Cinefex magazine, talking about the movies and topics they covered 30+ years ago. We talk to people involved in the films, people who make movies, and people who love movies, and have a fun time doing it.

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Revisiting:
Cinefex 2

Special thanks to Cinefex for access to these out-of-print back issues.

Even though these are out of print, you can now download and read along with Issue 2 — and every other back issue of Cinefex — in the Cinefex iPad App. Download the free iPad app now!

Special Guest:
Howie Weed

Model maker, creature creator, digital artist, long-time ILM-er, and the guy inside the Wampa suit in The Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition.

• IMDb entry
• Facebook page, where he's been posting his "Monster-Sketch-a-Day" images.

Sponsor:
Cinefex

Cinefex — The journal of cinematic illusions.

Guests:
Duncan Boszko,

Duncan Boszko, writer, aspiring filmmaker, and with a play in the 2014 Young Playwright's Festival at the Young Playwrights Program at ACT.

Model maker, creature creator, digital artist, long-time ILM-er, and the guy inside the Wampa suit in The Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition.

• IMDb entry
• Facebook page, where he's been posting his "Monster-Sketch-a-Day" images.

Research Materials

• Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Making of Steven Spielberg's Classic Film by Ray Morton
• Revisiting Cinefex (2): Empire, Greg Jein and Star Trek by Graham Edwards
• The Making of 1941 by Glenn Erickson and Mary Ellen Trainor
• The Making of the Empire Strikes Back (Enhanced Edition) (iBooks) by J.W. Rinzler
• Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back by Alan Arnold
• Building Empire: A Filmumentary a fan documentary, where he edits behind-the-scenes, alternate footage, and trivia track information into the film itself.
• Revisiting Cinefex (3): Empire, Walter Murch and Phase IV by Graham Edwards

• Cinefex number 2 — August 1980
• Cinefex number 3 — December 1980 — article “Tauntauns, Walkers and Probots” by Paul Mandell
• Revisiting Cinefex (2): Empire, Greg Jein and Star Trek by Graham Edwards
• Revisiting Cinefex (3): Empire, Walter Murch and Phase IV by Graham Edwards
• The Making of The Empire Strikes Back (Enhanced Edition) by J.W. Rinzler
• Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back by Alan Arnold
• Building Empire: A Filmumentary by Jamie Benning — a fan documentary, where he edits behind-the-scenes, alternate footage, and trivia track information into the film itself.
• The Making of 1941 by Glenn Erickson & Mary Ellen Trainor
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Making of Steven Spielberg's Classic Film by Ray Morton

More Bits

• The Empire Strikes Back: Despecialized Edition — a fan edit that keeps as much of the HD releases as possible, but reverts the effects and cut to the original look, even going so far as to re-build the effects from available sources when necessary.
• Lucasfilm confirms that the original editions on the released DVDs are taken from the 1993 Laserdisc masters
• Dick Smith's Do It Yourself Monster Make-Up by Dick Smith, introduction by Rick Baker
• Stage Makeup: Fifth Edition (1975) by Richard Corson

• The Empire Strikes Back: Despecialized Edition — a fan edit that keeps as much of the HD releases as possible, but reverts the effects and cut to the original look, even going so far as to re-build the effects from available sources when necessary.
• Lucasfilm confirms that the original editions on the released DVDs are taken from the 1993 Laserdisc masters.
• Dick Smith's Do It Yourself Monster Make-Up by Dick Smith, introduction by Rick Baker
• Stage Makeup: Fifth Edition (1975) by Richard Corson
• The original wampa suit footage can be seen starting at about five minutes into Building Empire

Musical Guest:
Aaron Cherof

As Ever

• The Optical Theme Music by Digital Droo
• The Optical Aperture Logo by Mike Gower