Yes, We're Open

Yes, We're Open!  I'm sorry that it has been so long since I've posted anything new.  But many thanks to the thousands (yes, it has been thousands) of visitors that have come to see what I have to offer.  

My blog has helped to lead me to a new theme park project.  Like all theme park projects it is top secret and I can't report on it until there are official public announcements, or the park opens to the public, whichever comes first.  The project is keeping me unusually busy so my postings will not be daily, but I will make them as often as I can.

My last posting was a SketchUp drawing of a shop from the film, "Pleasantville."  Well this is the same shop now open for business.  And what a wonderful business this is -- it's filled with my most popular work.  Leading the way by a long shot is the map from Neverland that I created for the Paris Disneyland version of the Peter Pan attraction.  "The Munsters" house is another popular favorite, along with a plastic house of a very different sort -- the Monsanto House of the Future.  And for some reason the Tomorrowland signpost seems to attract a lot of attention.  

Please keep checking back, there will be more to see.

Gone Fishing

Vacations are a time to take a break from the routine for some new, diverting, enjoyment.  Well it's that time for me.  Of course, for me enjoyment is my work.  I'm starting a new project and for a time I won't be able to make my usual postings.  As soon as I'm back online I'll have more to share.  (No, I won't be able to share anything from my new project.  They are always secret until they open.)

In the meantime, please don't be shy.  Take a look around the blog.  There are 139 postings here and I'll bet that you haven't seen them all.  Choose a topic that you like from the labels on the right.  Or, better yet, head down (on the lower right) to the Blog Archive.  Start at the bottom and check out an entry a day.  I'll be back before you know it.

The attached image is from my Pleasantville model.  Like so much of my work this SketchUp model allows me to explore it from any angle.  I've chosen a storefront and added a sign in the window.  Then I did have to add some blinds to make sure that the place looks closed.  But the sign certainly indicates the promise of return -- probably with big fish and big fish stories.

Kettle Bedroom

Modern innovations were everywhere in the Kettle home, from the Universal feature-film The Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle.  Even the master bedroom had its share of improvements.  Most notable was the “Murphy bed.”  This type of bed folds up and away when not in use; but for the Kettles that happened at the flip of a switch, always with someone still in the bed.

Once the bed was folded away, sliding doors would automatically hide it, giving the room a clean, modern look.

Like the other Kettle, SketchUp, interiors, this one still needs a good number of props and furnishings to be complete.  I had originally drawn this home to get a 3-dimensional feel for the space, and I hadn’t intended to furnish it out.  There are still seven more furniture items left for this room.  Additionally, there are four pictures, a mirror, four lamps and a number of smaller table props.

If readers are interested in seeing the Kettle interiors finished out, please post a comment, or drop me a line.  After all, making dreams come true is what I do.

Kettle Kitchen

The Kettle kitchen, from the Universal feature-film The Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle, had all of the most up-to-date appliances that any home of the future needed in 1948.  An island, in the kitchen, housed much of the modern equipment.  Dishwashers did not become standard appliances until the mid to late 60s; but the Kettles had one.  Unfortunately, lazy Pa Kettle (Percy Kilbride ) let all of the appliances fall into disrepair and Ma Kettle (Marjorie Main ) ended up using the dishwasher to wash clothes by hand on a washboard.  The Kettle kitchen also contained a deep freezer that had ice cream frozen so solid that Ma needed an axe to break it apart.  Foot pedals operated the hands free sink, but Pa still managed to get himself splashed.

The most innovative appliance was the Infra-ray oven, probably intended to be some sort of an early microwave oven, it was supposed to cook food in seconds; and it incinerated Ma’s suckling pig roast.

This SketchUp model is still in development.  The period electric stove and a number of props are still needed to complete the picture.  

Kettle Entertainment Center

What house of the future would be complete without a state-of-the-art entertainment center?  The 1948 Kettle house, from the Universal feature-film The Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle, was filled with gadgets.  The entertainment center featured a built-in record player; hi-fi and big screen TV, all going to work at the push of a button (for those younger readers, a record player is an old-fashioned CD player, and a hi-fi is a radio).  The components were hidden behind sliding panels when not in use. 

These weren’t the only futuristic improvements in this model home.  There was a master control panel near the front door that controlled just about everything in the house.  According to the film:

“All of the lights, as well as many other features in the house, are worked by electronics.  The slightest pressure on this switch, and the lights go on… and off again.”

What will they think of next?  Pa had a silent-butler (ashtray that empties automatically) right in the arm of his armchair; only this one used a vacuum to clear away Pa’s mess.  There was even an electric-eye door leading into the kitchen.

This SketchUp model is still in progress.  I’ve added a few random props onto the entertainment center, just to add some life to it.  But I need to research, and add props that match the film, along with all of the other household furnishings.

Ma and Pa Kettle

In 1948, this house of the future was designed for the Universal feature-film The Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle.  Pa Kettle won this prefabricated, international style home in a slogan contest.  The Kettles (Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride) and their 15 children became the fish-out-of-water, country bumpkins living in a home of luxury, much like “The Beverly Hillbillies” would years later.  The Kettles would go on to make a series of seven films while living in this house.  Two more, less successful films, would be made without the house, or Percy Kilbride.

The house was originally built on Universal’s Stage 12, with a complete interior and exterior.  It underwent a number of changes for the first two films until settling on this basic design for the rest.  All but one of the films kept the house set on a stage.  In Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki the house was set up on the backlot of Universal Studios in front of another house. 

Although the dialog claims that the house was prefabricated, little in its design would lend to factory construction.  In fact, the extensive use of squeezed brick strongly supports a “stick-built” construction.

Pleasantville

With my enthusiasm for mid-century design, it was a forgone conclusion that I would enjoy the art direction from the feature film, Pleasantville.  The entire Main Street area was constructed new for this film, in the parking lot of a California State Park.  After the film was completed the entire street was struck (removed) along with any evidence that it was ever there.

Despite the theme of the film, I’ve chosen to render Pleasantville in full color, rather than just black and white.

I have no drawings from this film and I had nothing to work from except for my knowledge of how big things are.  If one knows the size of a brick one may count bricks and determine the size of a building.  I created the entire street, in SketchUp, from study and speculation.  I found lampposts in Google 3D Warehouse, but I wasn’t happy with them so I built my own.  The only thing borrowed is the 50s car.

Garfield

The Twentieth Century-Fox, 2004, feature film, Garfield, was actually filmed on the Universal Studios backlot.  Elm Street had been created specifically for the Universal, 2003, feature film Hulk.  Five houses were built just for the film, with a sixth house left standing from the film, To Kill A Mockingbird.

This house, although built for the Hulk, never even made it to the screen.  Like many of the houses on the new street, it is a craftsman bungalow.  It was brightly painted to fit into the comic world of Garfield.

This SketchUp model took me three days to complete.  This is just one view among the endless views available from a 3-dimensional model.

The 'burbs

In 1989, the Maxim house, at Universal, got a major renovation for the Tom Hanks feature film the ‘burbs.  The renovation was intended to alter the house just enough so that it would not be instantly recognized as the Munsters house.  Also, a long porch was required, for the character of Ricky (played by Corey Feldman), to watch over the goings-on in the neighborhood. 

Unfortunately, with the change came an unusual architectural anomaly at the tower.  In the original design there were tall windows midway up the tower, suggesting that it might have housed a stairway to the second floor (most of the interior of the house was not seen in the first feature, So Goes My Love).  But with the redesign, including a porch, the second floor windows are too low.  There is not enough head clearance between the first and third floor to accommodate a room.

For the television series “Desperate Housewives,” the house was completely rebuilt in a new design, on the old foundation, but the window problem remained.

For this rendering I have modified the Maxim house SketchUp model, and changed the color.  The house would be painted gray after The 'burbs feature and remain that way through the first season of “Desperate Housewives.”

Someday, I will make the latest modification into the “Desperate Housewives” version, although, there is no ornamentation from this version of the house that will be saved.  The new model would simply start over.

Dragnet

After “The Munsters” moved out of the Maxim home the house had to be cleaned up to act as a respectable background house on Colonial Street.  Gone were the bat-vane weathervane, the foreboding fence, and finally even the iconic front door.  In 1979, the short-lived sit-com “Shirley,” starring Shirley Jones, used the cleaned-up version of the house as their Lake Tahoe home. 

In 1981, Colonial Street at Universal Studios was moved from a spot nearby the Los Angeles River, to its current location in the hills above Universal’s Denver Street, and Elm Street.  When the houses were first moved a few changes were made.  In the case of the Maxim House (better known as the Munsters house), the screened porch and back porch never made the move.  The location chosen for this house was too small and these wings would have gone off the edge of the cliff.

The house continued much as it appeared in “The Munsters” although in this cleaned-up version.  It was mostly used as a background house and it appeared in “The New Leave it to Beaver,” also known as “Still the Beaver.”

In 1987, the house was featured in the film Dragnet, as the home of Granny Mundy.

For this SketchUp drawing I have removed the iconic Munsters elements and created a new lot for the house to sit upon.  A corner of the garage can be seen in its new location.  Behind the fence is the edge of the cliff and a spectacular view of the San Fernando Valley (not depicted in this rendering).

The Brass Bottle

In 1950, a new Universal backlot street was created near the Los Angeles River.  The street was called Colonial Street and the Maxim house, slightly redesigned, became one of four homes hiding the river’s edge.  It appeared in a number of films and television series.  The last film that it appeared in, without major change, was The Brass Bottle. 

In the 1964, film Tony Randall discovers genie, Burl Ives, in the title bottle.  Barbara Eden plays Tony’s girlfriend (not a genie).  The film is available on DVD only at Amazon.  For this film the back porch and a 4-camel garage were added to the house.

So Goes My Love

The Maxim Home was originally constructed at Universal Studios on Stage 12, in 1946, for the feature So Goes My Love, starring Don Ameche and Myrna Loy.  In the film Don Ameche’s character, Hiram Maxim, lives next door to Myrna Loy.  The façade is therefore referred to as the Maxim home.

In this SketchUp drawing the front yard is a re-creation of what was built on the stage.  The back of the house and the unseen far side were not built for the film.  This house would later become one of the most recognized homes in television.

Gotham City Plaza

The Gotham City Plaza was originally constructed on the 20th Century-Fox studio lot in the mid 60s. These façades stood in front of existing studio facilities and created a modern Century City like area referred to on drawings as New York Street, although this area was very unlike New York City at the time.

Gotham City Plaza was featured in the “Batman” television series; the Batman movie released in 1966; and in “The Green Hornet” television series. In “The Green Hornet” the entrance to the Daily Sentinel newspaper office and television studio was through the door shown at the rear of the Batmobile. Britt Reid (a.k.a. The Green Hornet) was the publisher and owner of the Daily Sentinel and DSTV.

This SketchUp drawing was created using original studio drawings for dimensions. Color comes from limited reference photos. To add additional life to the image a Batmobile was found in Google’s 3D Warehouse. The Batmobile, or Batmovel was created by Marcelo Negrão and it appears to be quite accurate. The highlights on the car were added in Photoshop along with the logo.

Hanging Miniature Continued

The last two posts showed how a hanging miniature effect is achieved in filmmaking. The hanging miniature effect makes small objects appear to be part of the full-scale scene when photographed from the proper angle. These drawings were created in SketchUp to illustrate the effect.

The first image shows the miniature space rocket landed, with its miniature command module taking off for a trip back to Earth. The foreground space rocket and flying command module are actually one-quarter the size of the US Moon Station cluster. But from this perspective all modules appear to be the same scale.

The second image leaves the camera in the same position, but this time the hanging miniature and its platform have been removed. Apparently, in its place, is a full-sized space module with a door. In the 20th Century-Fox comedy, Way… Way Out, this is the space rocket that Jerry Lewis and his new bride Connie Stevens arrived in. The crew that they replaced left in the command module.

The third image shows the stage layout for creating such an effect. The US Moon Station always remained in place. The full-scale module was moved into position only after the miniature work was complete. The hanging miniature and its platform were positioned at the far end of the stage and twenty-feet above the stage floor, along with the camera. The hanging miniature was placed 60-feet away from what would appear to be its full-scale position.

These images illustrate a cinematic way to make dreams come true.

Hanging Miniature

A hanging miniature is the term used for in-camera photo effects, where a miniature is carefully placed to give the illusion that it is a full-sized part of the scene. These effects have been used almost since the beginning of filmmaking. Today, the same illusion is usually achieved with computer graphics. But even today computer graphics can be more expensive than simple model building. This is a film effect worth knowing.

This first image shows a space rocket coming in for a landing. The cluster of modules in the background is the US Moon Station from the 20th Century-Fox, Jerry Lewis comedy, Way... Way Out. The rocket coming in for a landing is actually a miniature (even in this SketchUp model).The single lens of the camera has no depth perception so, in proper focus, both objects appear to be on the same plane.

The second image shows the miniature landed on the hanging miniature base. This base is actually on the other side of the stage, far in the foreground, 60-feet away from the US Moon Station. Our weathernaut is leaving a station that appears to be about the same size as the space rocket. But the space rocket in the foreground is only one-quarter scale.

Way... Way Out!

The Moon Station was designed for a 20th Century-Fox Jerry Lewis comedy co-starring Connie Stevens. In the film the newlywed couple is sent to the moon to watch the Earth’s weather and get to know each other all at the same time. Soon after production ended Irwin Allen found use for the various parts of the station in his television series Lost in Space.

The SketchUp illustration was created using studio drawings for the details. Sadly, drawings were not available illustrating the exact positioning of the various modules. In SketchUp the modules were overlaid onto photographs at various angles in order to estimate the module orientation.

This second view shows the US Moon Station with the space rocket, that brought the couple to the moon, landed.

This SketchUp model was updated to include an illustration of the hanging miniature, in-camera effect, used in the film. Various view of the hanging miniature process will follow.