Soul Searcher: March 17th 2004

In The Making of Jurassic Park, physical effects meister Michael Lantieri recounts the trouble he had trying to find a way to make those now-infamous concentric ripples in the glass of water as the T-Rex approaches. Various methods were pursued, long conversations with wave tank specialists were engaged in and much furrowing of the brow was seen to occur. In the end he had a brainwave the night before they shot the scene: he placed the water on his guitar and plucked a string.

I’m reminded of this story as I’m about to begin my second evening with Fergus trying to work out how to make a string, cable or long thin object of any kind ripple in the serene, flowing fashion I want. Last night’s efforts included gently blasting some string with a hairdryer, attaching threads to our fingers and puppeteering a cord, and finally twisting an audio cable into a spiral and letting it unwind. This latter method currently holds the most promise, though it still has a trembling quality to it which gives away its small scale and destroys any illusion of ghostliness. The quest continues.

Saturday lurks nearer with trouser-browning stealth. I still have AJ’s narration to record for the documentary and a few shots from his camcorder to cut in. The trailer, of course, still lacks for some umbilical cord effects and whilst I got a great score through from Scott just now, it does need some changes making to it. But rest assured it will all be ready for Saturday. Don’t forget, folks – 12 noon at the Studio Theatre, The Courtyard, Edgar Street, Hereford, UK, The World, The Solar System, The Milky Way, The Universe,

Soul Searcher: March 17th 2004