What Scares
You?
Monster Movies Today
and Yesterday(Part 2)
Making monsters Review
• What do you remember from last class?
Myth
• A mythical monster with snakes for hair
was named:
– A: Cyclops
– B: Scylla
– C: Medusa
– D: Charybis
• Medusa
Folklore
• Oriental Dragons are associated with:
– A: Caves & Treasure
– B: Water and Wisdom
– C: Knights and Damsels
– D: Evil and Death
• Water and Wisdom
Folklore
• Vampires in folklore could be stopped by
all but one method:
– A: Stake through heart.
– B: Wolfsbane.
– C: Beheading
– D: Brick in mouth.
• Wolfsbane.
Folklore
• True or False: Werewolf stories were very
common in England.
• False
Folklore
• According to traditional folklore a
werewolf does not change because
of a full moon. What will cause him
to change:
– A: Drinking a magic potion.
– B: Being cursed by a witch
– C: Eating bad cheese
– D: Rubbing a salve (lotion) on his body.
• Rubbing salve on body
Folklore
• Zombie’s are associated with what
traditional belief system?
– A: Vodou
– B: Catholicism
– C: Protestantism
– D: Buddhism
• Vodou (Voodoo)
Science Fiction
• The author of the early science fiction
book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was:
– A: H.G. Wells
– B: Johannes Kepler
– C: Jules Verne
– D: Bram Stoker
• Jules Verne
Science Fiction
• Mary Shelly wrote what wellknown early science fiction
book?
– A: The War of the Worlds
– B: Frankenstein
– C: Journey to the Center of the
Earth
– D: The Terminator
• Frankenstein
History and Technology
1900 – 195o’s
Monster Movie History
• The first commercial motion
picture was produced in 1898.
• By 1910 the first monster
movie was made: a 15
minute silent film produced by
the Edison Studios based on
the Mary Shelly story
Frankenstein. The film was
thought lost for many years
but has recently been found.
Edison’s Frankenstein
Nosferatu
• First vampire film
(Germany 1922).
Based on Dracula book,
but character names
were changed because
producers could not
afford to by the rights.
• Movie introduced the
idea the vampire’s
would die if exposed to
sunlight.
Universal Monsters
• Universal Studios produced a series of
horror/monster films starting in 1923 with The
Hunchback of Notre Dame and included Dracula,
The Mummy, The Wolf Man, Creature from the Black
Lagoon and Frankenstein.
Frankenstein (1931)
• Based on the Gothic Novel by
Mary Shelly.
• Monster created by stitching
together dead body parts and
re-animating them with a
lightning bolt.
• Monster turns against its
creator.
• Monster dies, but is
resurrected for the sequel.
Frankenstein: “It’s Alive!”
“Classic“ Monster Movie Formula
(Usually will contain most, but not all)
• Written as a cautionary tale. Man’s
tampering with nature unleashes the
creature to wreak man-made world.
• Warnings are disregarded.
• Heroine/love interest is
menaced by the creature.
• Monster is often a sympathetic
figure.
• Science/Technology is used to
destroy creature.
Frankenstein (Continued)
• The Movie and the Monster
(played by Boris Karloff)
became an cultural Icon.
• Film was followed by
numerous sequels and
parodies.
• Banned in Kansas.
• Distinctive “flat-topped” head
& neck bolts designed by
makeup artist Jack Pierce.
Horror Movie Makeup
• Jack Pierce created the
make up for most of the
Universal Monsters.
• Movie Makeup differs
from theatrical makeup in
that theatrical makeup is designed to help
audiences see expressions at a distance.
• Movie makeup must be able to withstand
an actors face being project on a 30’ high
screen.
Frankenstein Makeup
Frankenstein (Continued)
• Continues to be a
cultural icon that shows
up everywhere.
Bride of Frankenstein(1933)
• Monster comes
back to demand
a mate.
• Considered to be
one of the few
films where the
sequel surpasses
the original.
• Director James
Whale was able
to demand full
control of the
picture.
The Lost World (1925)
• Based on the Novel
by Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle.
• First major film to
feature “gigantic
beasts” like
dinosaurs.
• .
Discussion Point
• How would you
create giant
monsters on the
screen back in the
1920’s before there
were computer
image processing?
King Kong (1933)
• Classic “Giant Beast” Movie to which
all other are compared.
• Willis O'Brien perfected his stop
motion technique in this film.
• Producer Merian Cooper got the idea
from an real-life expedition to bring a
Komodo Dragon back to NYC.
• First Hollywood picture to have a fulllength score. Also first to have a
thematic score.
• Featured a break-through technique
for rear projection using a plastic
screen.
Rear Projection
• Rear projection: Puppet background, people foreground.
• Miniature projection: People background, puppet foreground.
Kong vs. the T-Rex
Kong: Small & Large
• An 18”
model was
used stop
motion
production.
• A full sized
bust and
arm was
built to
interact with
human
actors.
“Classic Formula” for King Kong
• Man takes Kong out of his
natural environment and he
escapes to tear up NYC.
• First mate (hero) is skeptical of
the bringing Anne Darrow
(heroine) on trip.
• Kong is fascinated by the blond
Darrow and carries her to top of
Empire State Building.
• New technology (Airplanes) kill
him.
Kong aftermath
• Broke box all box officer records and saved
RKO studios from bankruptcy.
• Sequels Son of Kong, King Kong vs. Godzilla,
King Kong Escapes, King Kong Lives.
• Remakes in 1976 & 2005.
Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
• First independent job by Ray
Harryhausen.
• Nuclear bomb test in Arctic
frees frozen dinosaur.
Scientist tries to warn others
of danger but is not believed.
Beast arrives in NYC and
tears up Coney Island.
• Hero uses radio-active
material to kill beast.
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
“The Foghorn”
• In 1951 Ray Bradbury wrote a short story about
a dinosaur destroying a lighthouse.
• Producers of “Beast” like the idea and put it into
the script, but didn’t tell ( or pay) Bradbury.
• Later they forgot what they had done and hired
Bradbury to rewrite the script!
How Film Works
• Though we see continuous
motion on the screen, film is
actually made up of
individual pictures that flash
by 24 times a second.
The Art of Stop Motion
Photography
• Articulated models
are filmed on
miniature sets.
• As each new frame
is photographed the
model’s position is
changed slightly.
• During playback the
model seems to
move by itself.
A Demonstration of Stop
Motion
• A live demonstration of stop motion.
Example
The Great Skeleton Fight
Other Harryhausen Films
• It Came from Beneath the Sea, Earth vs. the
Flying Saucers, 20 Million Miles to Earth,
Clash of the Titans, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad,
Mysterious Island, The Valley of Gwangi.
Making a Movie
• The first step in making a movie is a story
idea.
• The second step is a complete script.
• The producers of the film can raise money
for the film using the script.
• Once the production is financed, one of
the first things created is a storyboard.
Storyboards
• Storyboards
are a series of
pictures, very
much like a
comic book,
that allow the
people making
the film to see
what it might
look like.
Storyboarding
• Storyboards are used to figure out what
sets, costumes and camera equipment will
be needed for each scene.
• They are also valuable for estimating the
cost of the pictures.
• Very important for films that involve
special effects like stop-motion or CGI
monsters.
Making a Monster Movie
• Brainstorm with your group to come up
with a plot for your movie.
• Write them down as a series of bullet
points (8 to 10 points would be ideal).
• Story board your movie with one picture
per bullet point.
Homework
• Read “The Wolves are at the Multiplex
Door” by next class.
• Don’t for get to view your monster movie
and do the associated study guide by the
last class on Nov. 3th.
Believe in Monsters!