This 35-Year-Old Effect CHANGED MOVIES... How hard could it be?

Massive props to Corridor for bringing Spaz on the channel, he was the guy who started cg animation in movies.

“A water weenie that will satisfy the masses” got me 😂

Very nice, fellahs. I'm 64 and I first delved into 3D modeling and animation in 1993 with Lightwave 3D software. The computer we had at the college I was going to was an Amiga 2000 with no space to store thousands of frames of animation. The only way I could render an animation was to videotape, one frame at a time. I built an animated a haunted house exterior which to took several days at about 4 hours a day. To make an 8 second animation, it took me 6 hours to render each frame (about 10 minutes per frame) and capture each frame on 3/4 inch videotape using an Abner A/B-roll edit controller. It was the only frame-accurate piece of equipment we had at the time.

We gotta get Spaz on the couch. We wouldn’t have the Rex without him, dude is the punk rock godfather of CGI.

My parents worked on this movie when I was a kid in South Carolina. They did practical effects, so they were not involved with the scene you guys are talking about, but when Steve showed his jacket it brought back major memories of this production. They both had that jacket and I bet my stepdad still has his.

I love when the channel comes back to this effect.

Did not know the Photoshop connection to this scene! That is amazing!

Love the V.O. @10:44 "...proprietary laser scanning apparatus" when I'm looking at two or three C-stands holding scratch-built plywood forms to stabilize the head. This is where a grip crew really comes in clutch and why all the on-set departments rely on each other to be competent, efficient and clever. The high buck effects worked because a grip knew how to set his stands and had a jigsaw on his truck.

this blew my mind watching this is the early 2000’s with my dad as a child. i couldn’t believe that someone could liquify themselves, slide through a bar, and solidify again. oh how i miss not doubting the big screens lol

The fact that this water effect and the mimetic poly alloy in T2 still stand up today is amazing and a testament to the visual effects artists that worked on those films. Their work from 30+ years ago is better than a lot of effects in modern films.

Personally I think the original ripple effects looked way more realistic. They behaved like actual ripples going out in a very symmetrical pattern, unlike the random noise maps you threw in.

This is incredible content. Please make more. I love gaining an appreciation for these older ground breaking techniques. Esp the comparison on how they could be done today.

I always love these videos where they try to recreate an effect from an older movie. Always gives me such an appreciation for the people who actually created these moments.

Best one of these yet, imo! Not only does the finished product look great, but the care and respect given to the original clearly shone throughout everything.

I listen to talk radio while I'm at work, and most of the guys who worked in radio during the 90s said when they'd make commercials for the station they'd record from one magnetic tape to a spare, then physically mark and cut together the segments to make an radio spot. I know that's nothing compared to this, but it shows that even just 25 or 30 years ago the technology we had access to was wildly different than today.

As a VFX Artist, It would be great to know more about the digital compositing software that they used in T2. Great video as always!

I am 49 and i remember seeing this movie for the first time way back when. Floored. That water weenie has stuck with me ever since and is a core memory that helped shape my love of movies. Thank you for doing this video!

The absolute LEAPS that these guys made, from scene to scene, to film to film, is incredible. Absolutely shocking how fast VFX evolved.

This was freaking amazing! I’ve watched so many videos regarding the making of the movie itself and all of the dangers/hazards that happened during filming. There are also some behind the scenes videos I’ve watched on how the water weenie was created…but nothing this in depth. The stuff you guys do to bring us viewers into these different worlds does not go unnoticed. I, for one, am highly appreciative of every video this channel has put out.

Brilliant job guys, the end result looked great and the twist was hilarious! I remember seeing The Abyss in the cinema when it came out and loving it, then watching the special edition countless times on LaserDisc - in 4:3 for the extra height! At the time I was an obsessive ILM fan and went to see anything they were involved in, and you're right, I'd never seen anything like that before - it genuinely felt like something really new, and a big step forward from the morphing in Willow a year or so earlier. PS - bonus points for the stack of Cinefex magazines! Your channel helped fill the gap they left when they stopped publishing.