Mike Tucker

Mat Irvine

The BBC Visual Effects Department closed its doors in 2003. For almost fifty years it had been responsible for some of television’s most iconic images – from exploding newsreaders on Monty Python’s Flying Circus to Blake’s 7’s majestic Liberator sailing through outer space; from the Queen Vic being engulfed in flames in Eastenders to severed heads dripping blood in The Borgias. Using interviews with the effects designers themselves, together with hundreds of concept drawings, production photographs and stills from completed programmes, this book tells the story of the VFX Department and celebrates the work of a group of craftsmen who lived by the mantra, ‘If it can be imagined, it can be made…’ Working largely before the age of cgi, the Department was responsible for every kind of visual effect, from physical effects such as rain and explosions, to miniatures and models, to sculpture and animatronics. Following a preliminary chapter on effects techniques, the book features in-depth accounts of fifty key shows, representing every genre from sci-fi and drama to comedies and documentaries. In each we see how the designers worked, from receiving the original script to creating the finished effects. There are numerous anecdotes about their tricks of the trade. Find out how the Martian’s eyes in Quatermass and the Pit were animated using inflated condoms, and how Mrs Slocombe’s infamous pussy was manipulated by remote control. Filled with fascinating insights, wonderful stories and numerous photographs and artworks which have never been published, this is an essential book for FX fans and anyone who loves television

The Story of the BBC Visual Effects Department

BBC VFX

Foreword by Sir Arthur C Clarke. Space exploration began with model and toy rockets. History shows that the greatest Rocketeers began their careers flying model rockets. Now in this book the story of the space race is told in dazzling colour. From the birth of models to the present day the toy rockets have often inspired the real rockets of the future. In fact model manufacturers like Revell and Aurora were frequently in trouble with the defence department for revealing military secrets! This is the Story of the Space Age, and uses the models to illustrate the way history twisted and turned to put us where we are today -- and maybe how space travel will develop in the future.

The Story of the Space Age Told Through Models

Creating Space

Cars have always appealed as model subjects as - unlike aeroplanes or military subjects - the real thing is likely to be sitting outside the modeller's house. From the first car kits produced in the early 1950s, mainly dominated by American machinery, we now have a choice of automotive examples from around the world. The joint scale of 1:24/1:25 dominates car models, and it is these scales that will mostly be found in this book, from stock builds to race cars to wild customs. In addition, although injection styrene is the main material of choice, there are specialist builds using resin, white metal and photo-etched parts. The book includes detailed step-by-step guides for Building 'out of the box'; Customs and conversions; Applying decals; Dealing with resin; Wiring and engines; Salvaging old kits; A dented ride for 007; NASA's Hot Road; Dirtying a dirt track racer; An alien homage to Roth.

Mat Irvine

About

Books

Join the club