My StateSide friend
Marc J. Frattasio
webPublished a number of insightful articles on SuperM and published these on his web site. He has since, however, found other uses for his webspace. Luckily, I managed to mirror his efforts before they disappeared completely. So, what we offer here is a complete Mirror
of Marc's late Supermarionation sfx WebSite. Here's Marc's welcoming words:
welcome aboard the Supermarionation Special Effects Web Site. Are you ready to learn the technical secrets behind the miniature effects work done for the Supermarionation programs of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson? If so, then you've found the right place! The Supermarionation Special Effects Web Site is the world's only web site 100% devoted to revealing how Derek Meddings. and his talented associates made and animated all those wonderful miniature vehicles in the Andersons' Supermarionation television programs and films.
I'm assuming that you have a basic familiarity with Supermarionation at this point. However, if you have no idea what Supermarionation is, you can read the excellent Supermarionation primer that my friend J. Lester Novros II has on his web site and then come back here later on.
What's the best thing about Supermarionation? Why, the models and the miniature effects of course! The Supermarionation Special Effects Web Site is intended to be a celebration of the technical aspects of Supermarionation. Over time, at this site, we shall examine the various tricks and techniques of Supermarionation. All shall be revealed!
The husband and wife team of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, along with a genius named Derek Meddings, pioneered the use of realistic miniature models in television and film special effects. They essentially invented the practice of using plastic model kits and kit parts to build realistic studio miniatures. This technique may have been made famous by Stanley Kubrick in 2001 A Space Odyssey and George Lucas in Star Wars but I swear to you that model kit based studio miniatures were a by-product of Supermarionation. In fact, Stanley Kubrick actually approached the Andersons to do all the miniature effects work for 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Andersons were quite busy with Thunderbirds at the time and had to turn Kubrick down. Kubrick wanted to produce the best science fiction film in history and he was determined not to be denied the talents of the world's best miniature effects technicians. Thus, he 'stole' a few model makers away from the Andersons anyhow! Consequently, if you know just what to look for (and we will tell you in the future), you can see the classic Supermarionation touch in many of the miniature spaceships that were built for 2001: A Space Odyssey by former Thunderbirds hands like Brian Johnson.
The Supermarionation Special Effects Web Site will present informative studies on various technical aspects of Supermarionation. I intend to profile a variety of model kit based Supermarionation miniatures that you can easily duplicate using store-bought model kits, just like the apf/Century 21 people did them in the 1960s over in England. Be sure to check back at this site from time to time as this site is constantly in a state of flux. I will continue to add material as time, interest, and server space permits. I will also post relevant new items whenever such things come to my attention.
This is a graphics-rich web site.
I hope your monitor and modem can handle the strain!
And now, without further ado, here's the index to the mirrored pages from Marc's site:
