Did you miss the Encore channel’s Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible? Well, you have several more chances starting tonight at 8 pm EST, with additional showings on November 18, 19, and 23.
Meanwhile, Vanity Fair online has some photos shared by visual effects artist Dennis Muren. You probably know him from some little-known movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, and Terminator 2.
The melting of the Nazi villain Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark is a particular favorite of mine. The scene is chilling, even compared to today’s CGI technology. Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) has been on the cutting edge of technology since the days of Star Wars: A New Hope. Even when technology began moving away from models and matte paintings to computer screens, they managed to remain pioneers in the field.
The pictures at the site are only a hint of what ILM is capable of, but chances are you’ve seen their work in a ton of films. You may not even know that what you were seeing was a special effect; they are just that good.