DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '05 I => Topic started by: FireRose on June 15, 2005, 11:00:05 PM
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My favorite special effect done on DS is the mirror at Nicholas Blair' s that he used to spy on everyone with.
That was a really cool effect.
I wonder how difficult that was to pull off for the special effects people?
FireRose
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I can't think of a single special effect DS offered that made me look twice at it......still trying to think of one......
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I can't think of a single special effect DS offered that made me look twice at it......still trying to think of one......
Well this question has to be looked at in the time DS was filmed. The technology and budget for the show back then isn't what it would be if it were being filmed today.
So you have to kind of forget about what can be done today with the special effects.
Which is hard to do I know.
But when you think about it DS was a pioneer in creating techniques to do effects that seemed impossible to do back then.
I read somewhere that some of the techniques used on DS is still in use today. Which is fasinating in of itself.
FireRose
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I read somewhere that some of the techniques used on DS is still in use today. Which is fasinating in of itself.
FireRose
Really? I can't imagine what techniques they could be talking about.
The difference between video production then and now is akin to the difference between Viking ships and space shuttles. Back then they had to be creative (or at least try..... ::). Today they just sit at a keyboard and get the computer to do it for them.
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My favorite special effect done on DS is the mirror at Nicholas Blair' s that he used to spy on everyone with.
That was a really cool effect.
That mirror was so magical, in fact, that it could even allow vampires to cast reflections (Angelique)! ;)
One of my favorite effects on DS was a really early one - Josette's ghost stepping out of the portrait and moving around the pillars outside the Old House. That was an eerie scene, and the effects were well done, especially for an early episode.
~Penny Dreadful~
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I also agree on Josette's ghost stepping out of the portrait. The black and white just added to the atmosphere.
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My favorite special effect was the doppelganger of Angelique and Barnabas. watching as one Barnabas looked upon his double in the coffin with the stake in his chest was eerie...
I would have loved to had seen a storyline where Barnabas had a twin or a look alike cousin.
the Collins' did seem to resemble an ancestor from their past didn't they... why not have a modern Collins that resembled Barnabas? [blackbat] [blackbat]
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Another vote for Josette stepping out of her portrait in the Old House.
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Im not sure what my favorite effect was, but the fire burning effect is probably the most used / easy to remember.
It was a bit cheesy, but it did the trick. Sometimes it worked very well. Other times it didn't.
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I always enjoyed the groovy kaleidoscope effect when someone was starting to have the Dream Curse. But once the dreamer started opening the doors (a la "Let's Make A Deal") it got a bit cheesey - especially that overused skull with the bulging eyes.
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here's another vote for josette stepping out of her portait at the old house.that was when things really started to take-off on the show.
i also liked during the laura collins story when she was putting whatever it was that her spell was on people there was a sort of three layer affect going on:laura's eyes,flames and the person being put under the spell.plus the great music that went with it.
but i found the affects during the dream curse to be the most breath-takingly cheesy so far!
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but i found the affects during the dream curse to be the most breath-takingly cheesy so far!
I think that award goes to Bat-On-A-String, hands down..... ::)
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I think Amanda Harris taking a dirt nap was pretty spectacular. >:D
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I think Amanda Harris taking a dirt nap was pretty spectacular.
Yes, there's nothing like peat moss and styrofoam bolders to rachet up the excitement. [b003]
But seriously, all the blue screen effects DS used were ahead of their time.
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here's another vote for josette stepping out of her portait at the old house.that was when things really started to take-off on the show.
This is the only special effect I would have liked to have seen but never saw. Maybe I'll get the tape. Sounds pretty cool. I also think DS should get lots of credit for achieving some very beautiful atmosphere without the aid of special effects and I liked that they use their creative noggins to work around this weakness.
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My fave special effect on DS is the window in the Blue Whale - the wave shadows. Man, it doesn't get much better than that.
Janet
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Add another vote for Josette's ghost walking out of the portrait. Also, close for me in how it was executed, the scene in which [spoiler]Alexis touches Angeliquie's dead body in the coffin, bringing it to life, and the two have their momentary nice, little chat - both characters visible in rather well done split screen.[/spoiler]
Gerard
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I agree Gerald. I was going to write that it, but, you beat me to it. [b054]
Oh well, it got across.
The first time I saw it I was 13, and it sorta scared me.
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Josette stepping from the portrait was outstanding. I also liked the witch "burning". I believe this happened more than once. I was amazed to see the fire in her eyes, mouth, etc. Today's special effects are indeed awesome. I've also found that in many movies now there are breathtaking special effects and little storyline. At least DS had a reasonably interesting story (mostly!) accompanying the effects.
Misty ::)
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I don't think this would qualify as the best special effect on DS, but I consider my most memorable effect. At the conclusion of the episode where Jerimiah dies from the duel with Barnabas, his ghost appears in Josette's room. She turns and begins to call to him, only to have him turn and disappear right in front of her. Even after all these years I still get goose pimples when thinking of it.
Jeff
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Some of my favorite effects were among the most simple. The show made good use of people simply fading away, such as Barnabas escaping Trask or Tom Jennings ghost evaporating into the sunrise. Basically just phasing on the bluescreen. Actually, one of my favorite bits, they did a couple pf times with Angelique as well as with Beth's ghost [ghost] was simply having someone fade in without the bluescreen by just having them in a blacked out area then soft green lspotlight bringing the character in. It feels supernatural.
One other cool and creepy use of blue/split screen was the Romeo and Juliet like corpses in the 1841 PT story.
One of the worst effects was having Audrey's presence sort of disappear when Barnabas wakes from his Leviathan induced dream and Marsha Mason's arm is still sticking out from behind the Old House curtains!
Michael
"Son, one day all this will be yours!" King of Swamp Castle
"Wot, the curtains?" Prince 'Erbert
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
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I really like Jeremiah's ghost as well, especially in that scene in which Barnabas has left the master bedroom at the Old House, and Angelique is screaming after him only to be surprised and horrified when the doors suddenly slam open and the ghost appears. My favourite special effect, though, is the Shadow Angelique casts on Jeb.
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Glad this post is back up, I was going to look for it. During the 4th of July good movies/marathons, I thought of this topic.
First, a specific ep of Twilight Zone (but of course, I can't now remember which one!!), which is approx. 5 yrs before DS; then, watching Jaws, which is approx. 4-5 yrs after DS.
I think that they were both close, with the noticeable exception:
DS was a daily....grind/grind/grind, where as TZ was weekly (and had what about 12-20 wks off between seasons); Jaws was a large budget flick.
Interesting though, I always think special effects BEFORE CAD are soooo much better.
Patti
[Edited by Midnite]
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While "Twilight Zone" frequently used masks and make-up to create the sense of other-worldly experiences, they rarely resorted to anything that could be called a "special effect". Stopping the camera while someone walked into or out of the shot, to create the effect of appearing or disappearing, hardly constitutes a "special effect", does it?
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Blue-screen wasn't groundbreaking then-- it was the one effect everybody used.
Sometimes make-up and props are counted as "effects", so I'll point out that Barnabas's old-age mask was the best old-age make-up or mask I've ever seen, ever. I also loved Petofi's hand. That gruesome bone sticking out the end was pretty daring, and left a lifelong impression on me as a kid. I waited 30 years to see that again.
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I also loved the "Hand of Count Petofi", and I thought that the "Old" makeup and appliances they use to make Barnabas old were great on the show, they were better on the show than what they used on the movie.
Misa
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artist07, I love the picture you have as your avatar. Did you draw it?
Misa :)
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The "Hand of Count Petofi" was an excellent special effect.....very creepy and weird.
On the other hand (no pun intended) Angelique's "claw" was among the funniest things ever on DS. My daughter stills howls with laughter at the mere mention of it.
Now watch....someone will inform me that they're actually the same appendage.... ::)
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My favorite SE was when Barnabas changed from bat to human before attacking Suki Forbes.
My favorite regular SE was the ever changing PT room.
My favorite SE prop was (I agree) the Boxed Hand of Count Petofi; but, I didn't like when it "floated" around the room and grew bigger. I didn't like the "hopping" Ghost of Trask, either.
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Hopping Ghost? I missed this. Was this in the 1968 period when Trask's ghost excersizes Angelique? Please give me a detailed picture of what this looked like, as it sounds really funny.
Misa
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Hopping Ghost? I missed this. Was this in the 1968 period when Trask's ghost excersizes Angelique? Please give me a detailed picture of what this looked like, as it sounds really funny.
Yes, I think it was in 1968. It was one of the chromokey/blue screen things. I believe the camera off-set bounced up-and-down...
I think to try to get Trask in position... to SI onto the regular set... the image of Trask bounced up-and-down as the camera positioned Trask in the other set... and, he BOUNCED up and down. It was really funny... maybe even funnier than me trying to explain it!
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This does sound really funny. ;D I have to get some money saved up so I can buy some more of the DVDs.
I have only seen sporadic episodes from 1968. So, I don't have an opinion about the Adam and Eve, Cassandra Dream Curse, or Vicki and Jeff storylines. Although I did catch some of the 2nd Vicki stuff and Eww, was that icky.
Misa