Movie Magic

Chinatown sketch, Courtesy of the Richard Sylbert Estate

NPR hosted a segment this morning reminiscing about the old days of Hollywood, long before computer-aided graphics created the scenes and stories that we enjoy now.  Their article is absorbing, divulging the secrets behind the ice castle of Dr. Zhivago (melted wax), the Wizard of Oz's yellow brick road (yellow industrial paint), and Gone with the Wind's burning Atlanta (a fiery King Kong movie set). What fascinates me the most are the preliminary sketches featured at the top of the article, like the one above from Chinatown. They are quality work on their own, made even more special by coming to life on the big screen. Who doesn't want to re-watch Cleopatra after looking at the barge sketch? We tend to celebrate the final product of a movie without being privy to the very creative, problem-solving, detailed work that goes into it. Key moments captured by an artist's hand set the stage and the emotion of the entire production. I wonder if contemporary films, especially computer-generated ones, still use hand-sketches. If so, I'd really love to see them. - l.o.d.