Apollo Program Conspiracy fun! :)

[Wayne Morellini]

Boy, another thing to watch, still loading.

You know, there is a guy around here who's father did all the space tech sets for 2001. The video has stalled, so I don't know if it covers this, but I have heard in a CIA sanctioned documentary that a pretend moon landing was shoot just in case they never made it there successfully (crashed etc etc), presumably to wave at people and the Russians.

The interesting thing about the Russians, I read in New Scientist a little while back, that they got to Mars, with two robotic probes, a couple years before the Americans. But they lost both probes, it is thought they landed in a high speed dust storm, they opened up one bay door and drove out the rover never to be seen again. The Russians did this all in secret and just didn't tell anybody. This is the sort of relationship with the US and Russia.

As a funny side note: Another interesting thing is that I heard a national radio news report once that said that some Russian diplomat or other had saw an unidentified flying object when visiting The Vatican, and the Russians were accusing the Vatican of deliberately producing a miracle to try to covert them it something. Pretty interesting view point for "Atheists" to have, funnier than moon conspiracy theories.

 

[Vadim Bobkovsky]

Watching 2001 I totally believed humans were near the orbit of Jupiter, it looked so real. Moon is just a piece of cake... Must be Kubrick, right?

 

[Evan Starkey]

Boy, another thing to watch, still loading.

You know, there is a guy around here who's father did all the space tech sets for 2001. The video has stalled, so I don't know if it covers this, but I have heard in a CIA sanctioned documentary that a pretend moon landing was shoot just in case they never made it there successfully (crashed etc etc), presumably to wave at people and the Russians.

Harry lange......Legend.

Not seen Eric around here for a while
[h=1][/h]

 

[Eric Lange]

Harry lange......Legend.

Not seen Eric around here for a while
[h=1][/h]

That’s a super piece…

Hey Evan,

Thanks, Harry would have been really tickled with that.

[Apologies for length]

He was extremely modest, about as un-“filmsky” as you could ever find. You could know him for ten years and not even know that he had designed for many big movies of the time.

He started out at NASA for ten years and was eventually head of future projects at NASA but on the artistic/visualization side… He left NASA, bumped into Arthur Clarke on 5th avenue (was a friend of his from his NASA days at the Marshal Space flight Centre), was invited to meet Stanley Kubrick. Stanley said that illustrators like you are a dime a dozen in New York… so my father (allegedly packed up his artwork and headed for the door) When Stanley interrupted him and decided to hire him , essentially said that (paraphrase) ‘But… You know the real science and future of space travel…”.

Harry won a British academy award for production design for 2001, and had an Oscar nomination.. was beaten by “Oliver Twist” for production design… (go figure???). Harry was also nominated years later for art director on Empire Strikes Back.

It’s kind of interesting Harry studied fine art and engraving at an art school in Munich after the war.. emigrated to the US, drafted into the Korean war but was head of an illustration section, later transferred to ABMA (Army Ballistic Missile Agency) which later became NASA. He was friends with Von Braun (worked on many book projects also). After leaving NASA the very first film he designed was 2001… so that was quite an education from Stanley K. Many years later my father had a passion for archaeology and designed a lot of things for museums as well as many historical reconstructions and historical theme parks etc. Ironically I started out in archeology, conservation and materials science after having grown up in the film industry (my brother and I were virtually forbidden to go into the film industry) , and side stepped carriers for many years, culminating in my (Ph. D. studies) with high end digital 3d rendering and image capture techniques for recording complex historic sites in amazing detail in 3d (and various granted patents for related techniques) . So rather ironically I am currently designing and implementing a very high precision medium format 3d/stereo systems aimed specifically at the space/aerospace industry (as well as defense applications). I managed to get my good brother involved in the business as I said the cameras we are designing would not look out of place on the set of 2001… (he was sold).. (when we “launch” these cameras, they are very unique and super precise we may call them a “Lange Kamera” in honor of my father (as he loved all kinds of camera equipment). It seems my own life vector or trajectory seems to be the exact reverse of my fathers… it’s kind of weird. But with the Scarlets/Epics we are conducting tests of our “reality Capture” techniques for stereo cinematic/dynamic applications also.

To me this underscores the power and value of good design. A lot of people who are starting out in film and television are kind enough to share their work with me… but frequently I try to remind them that they have excellent skills that are more fundamental than just the film business. Recently I tried to impress upon a young production designer that remember you are first and foremost a great/super designer and with good design you can turn your hand to a lot of different things.
…

I think that is why RED/Jim Jannard really resonates with me as it was good design and willingness to solve difficult problems that enabled Jim’s team to break firmly into the film business… and push the boundaries of what is possible. So I really am a believer in good design can change the world for the better.

Good design is just good design (and can really stand the test of time).

Anyway…

Cheers,

Eric

BTW no-one from Stanley K’s art department was hired to fake the moon landings but they all went on to do super and important work later on other landmark movies… (at the time they really did not know what the moon’s surface looked like OR they really had no idea what the earth looked like from that greater distance.. in terms of colors and saturation, so it was a lot of guess work and “faith”... (like the posted video))

 

[Eric Lange]

I guess to add…

It’s good design that made 2001 look good/right (or almost too good)…

It’s good design that makes the Epic seem like an “instant” design classic and yet be ahead of the pack.

And It’s good design that solved the problems that really put man on the moon.

There is a fabulous set of documentaries called “Moon Machines” that spends a lot of time talking to the designers/design engineers involved in the Apollo program. My favorite one was the design problems that they solved to put a collapsible fold up lunar Rover into a spare recess in the LEM… (unbelievable) This documentary series explains some incredibly difficult design challenges that would have been absolute show stoppers had it not been for very particular individuals that HAD to think outside the box and bring their concepts to bear with absolute conviction to make it so….

However, I think it’s that willingness to solve difficult problems very quickly under pressure also characterizes the “Right Stuff” for film production too (I think).

Anyone interested in serious design MUST check out “Moon Machines” it’s an incredible set of stories.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akkiQHZxQyc

enjoy…

E

 

[Wayne Morellini]

I was going to say you are busy on your 3D capture a lot of the time. Might be interested in your camera Eric . We seem to think alike, again, been thinking of designs along this line and crime scene recording (somebody does it now, so no need for me to keep it to myself). I also have been busy coming up with new ways to design various camera components, radical designs that look like they come from an alien movie, but in an appealing way; set management, and ways to use a camera. But I need somebody to take them over to fruition. There are only a few people in the world I know of that I would trust to be able to take on my own designs. There is a lot left to do, only wish I had David Newman on team as well, but I don't know him to know his talent (Ambarella is another potential). Lots of distance between "great"ness, and "you wouldn't believe it". I think a few locals around the place are going feel like that one day, hopefully over and over.

Re-edit:

Just seen your "good design can change the world for the better" Eric, agreed.

 

[Dave Blackham]

At the very least, this was entertaining. Guy was great. I think his point about none of us were on the moon in 1969 is a valid point.

Really how does he know, I was 9 then, I met a Russian guy once who said he was watching from behind a boulder to the left of the LEM?

 

[Wayne Morellini]

My mother had a book, is somebody on our moon, or something like that, with photos, a sort of prequel to the story line of the second last Transformers movie.. I lent it to my science teacher never to be seen again. She was the real life daughter of the character Roger Moore played in Gold I think it was named. Seems that when faster than light like articles in the new scientist would appear the issues would disappear from the university Library. Put these things together with the fact that tea leaves in a stirred cup often rotate in the same direction, and somebody could make up a conspiracy theory out of random similar facts and potential connections.