Comments on: 1927 Magazine Looks at Metropolis, “A Movie Based On Science” http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/2012/07/1927-magazine-looks-at-metropolis-a-movie-based-on-science/ A history of the future that never was Fri, 17 May 2013 21:40:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 By: Roger Holden http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/2012/07/1927-magazine-looks-at-metropolis-a-movie-based-on-science/#comment-683 Roger Holden Thu, 02 Aug 2012 04:56:47 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/?p=3510#comment-683 Great article and vintage pixs! I think a live reflective matte process for some of the superimpositions of crowds and model buildings was also used. Its called The Shufftian process or similar name. I did it one time decades back for a video experiment using an arrangement of 2 or 3 flat mirrors, a subject, rear projected slide painting, one black camera mask cutout and the corresponding inverse black cutout mask inverse. Everything was positioned to let the mask cutouts achieve the controlled area of superimpostion of the painting and the persons face through reflections. Looking through the camera viewer one saw the combined scene. Great article and vintage pixs! I think a live reflective matte process for some of the superimpositions of crowds and model buildings was also used. Its called The Shufftian process or similar name. I did it one time decades back for a video experiment using an arrangement of 2 or 3 flat mirrors, a subject, rear projected slide painting, one black camera mask cutout and the corresponding inverse black cutout mask inverse. Everything was positioned to let the mask cutouts achieve the controlled area of superimpostion of the painting and the persons face through reflections. Looking through the camera viewer one saw the combined scene.

]]> By: Michael Ward http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/2012/07/1927-magazine-looks-at-metropolis-a-movie-based-on-science/#comment-673 Michael Ward Mon, 30 Jul 2012 01:18:33 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/?p=3510#comment-673 This particular issue of S&I didn't mention the "Metropolis" article on its cover, but the covers of the magazine were almost always in the futuristic mode. You can see them online at http://www.magazineart.org/main.php/v/technical/scienceinvention/ Along with these are a <i>lot</i> other covers from the magazines published by Hugo Gernsback in that era, almost without exception futuristic in concept. Long before he started the science-fiction magazine "Amazing Stories," he was proselytizing for the fabulous futures that would be ours. This particular issue of S&I didn’t mention the “Metropolis” article on its cover, but the covers of the magazine were almost always in the futuristic mode.

You can see them online at http://www.magazineart.org/main.php/v/technical/scienceinvention/

Along with these are a lot other covers from the magazines published by Hugo Gernsback in that era, almost without exception futuristic in concept. Long before he started the science-fiction magazine “Amazing Stories,” he was proselytizing for the fabulous futures that would be ours.

]]> By: Patrick R http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/2012/07/1927-magazine-looks-at-metropolis-a-movie-based-on-science/#comment-659 Patrick R Mon, 23 Jul 2012 09:44:55 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture/?p=3510#comment-659 Some of the techniques described in the magazine were pure speculation. The cars in the city views were animated by stop-motion, there are stills showing the stage hands moving each car with a small wooden rod. The circles of light around the robot were made using brightly illuminated paper circles, this is confirmed by Erich Kettelhut. All effects were done in camera, filming the robot first, then using a matte, the film was rewound and exposed again to the moving lightcircles filmed through a greased glass plate. The spark effects were also filmed in a similar fashion. Please refer to Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Belleville, ISBN 978-3-923646-210 and the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maschinenmensch Some of the techniques described in the magazine were pure speculation. The cars in the city views were animated by stop-motion, there are stills showing the stage hands moving each car with a small wooden rod.

The circles of light around the robot were made using brightly illuminated paper circles, this is confirmed by Erich Kettelhut. All effects were done in camera, filming the robot first, then using a matte, the film was rewound and exposed again to the moving lightcircles filmed through a greased glass plate. The spark effects were also filmed in a similar fashion.

Please refer to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, Belleville, ISBN 978-3-923646-210 and the Wikipedia article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maschinenmensch

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