How was the space station fly-through in 2001: A Space Odyssey filmed?
In the sequence set to the Blue Danube Waltz, we see a Pan Am orbital shuttle docking with a partially-completed space station. Here is a clip from that sequence on YouTube. There are good views of the space station at 0:02-0:28 and 1:28-1:46 in that clip that keep the camera at a respectful distance, as would be expected given late 1960s technology: models (since no CGI yet) and large cameras guided on rails (no motion control, either). But the final shot (1:56-2:17) has the camera viewpoint go through the structure of the space station! How was this accomplished? Was the model the size of a house, or did Kubrick have something else up his sleeve?
Best Answer
At first I thought it might have been a breakaway model, used by the likes of Orsen Welles to make a camera appear to pass through a neon sign or window in Citizen Kane, but then I watched the clip and realized this could not be the case.
I have had some experience with motion control cameras, and this certainly seems to have been produced using a track system and large model. Some further digging revealed that the studio model was approximately 8 feet in diameter, which accounts for the astonishing level of detail and the fact that a camera can pass right through it.
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How did they film the space scenes in 2001: A Space Odyssey?
The prehistoric Africa scenes were actually filmed in the Borehamwood studio, with second unit photography projected onto a screen behind the actors measuring 40 feet by 90 feet to provide the illusion of an outdoor scene. Front projection was also used for some of the film's outer space effects scenes.Was 2001: A Space Odyssey filmed in space?
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick....2001: A Space Odyssey (film)2001: A Space OdysseyCinematographyGeoffrey UnsworthEdited byRay LovejoyProduction companyStanley Kubrick ProductionsDistributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer11 more rowsHow did they do zero gravity in 2001 Space Odyssey?
Kubrick promoted Alcott to lighting cameraman in 1968 while working on 2001: A Space Odyssey and from there the two created an inseparable collaboration, in which they worked together on more than one occasion. In 1971, Kubrick then elevated Alcott to director of photography on A Clockwork Orange.4 Ways 2001: A Space Odyssey Was a Visual-Effects Pioneer
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