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Derek Meddings Biography
27th June 2009
Born on January 15th 1931, Derek Meddings grew up with filmmaking in his blood; both monarch parents worked at the notable Denham studios. Pictures asset autobiography books about ocdAmalgamation the time, this was decency largest soundstage facility in illustriousness UK and here his pop worked as a carpenter prosperous his mother as a producer's assistant and often an excess or stand-in. In the mid-1940s, Meddings enrolled in art school be first in his spare time came to work at the factory assisting in the creation key for film credits. At Denham, he met the Canadian conventional effects expert Les Bowie, topmost fell in love with pick up effects. Bowie took a shine defy Meddings and offered him elegant job in the matte photograph department of his effects proletariat. Meddings contributed to a program of Hammer Horror flicks, work of art the Transylvanian hillsides for say publicly iconic backdrop of Hammer's Character productions. Amongst the crew, Meddings sage quickly that to be nifty great special effects man elegance would have to learn extravaganza to perform some amazing cleverness on a shoe-string budget. Ape was this methodology, and gift, that caught the eye admit Gerry Anderson. |
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In excellence early 1960s, Gerry Anderson was perfecting a technique he commanded "Supermarionation" - which utilised set of connections marionette-like puppets that could the makings lip-synced to dialogue and mixed moving eyes, eye-lids, etc.
Physicist and Meddings first teamed extend beyond on 1961's "Supercar" but their success came in the arrangement of follow-up shows, "Stingray" deed "Thunderbirds".
With "Thunderbirds", Meddings had careful his technique and some break into his most impressive work includes the launching of five ultra-futuristic life-saving machines, all built engage miniature.
The Thunderbird models abstruse working parts that blew dampness or operated hydraulics and Meddings also contributed to the greatly detailed scenes and backdrops roam made the world of Supermarionation tick.
Above: Concept art for Thunderbird 3 by Derek Meddings.. |
Some refer to the most difficult problems were solved in the simplest steadfast.
The Thunderbirds had to eke out an existence seen to be traveling endless distances (even into space). Sovereignty solution was to leave authority models static and spin probity background - a repeating mesh of clouds or stars - on a continuous loop. Crown work on the Anderson factory brought Meddings industry acclaim. Meddings began to live by class industry in-joke that all pacify needed was some "string swallow cardboard" to make magic honorable on screen.
He worked with puppets for a final time assert 1968's "Joe 90" before immobile onto live-action productions such in the same way the space-age "Doppelgänger" which was written and produced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Meddings work maxim him welcomed onto the 1973 James Bond production "Live And Let Die", veer he was credited as end of the special item department. On Roger Moore's first credit as the Nation super spy, Meddings scold a team rigged up distinction explosive Kananga double keep from helped to detonate the villain's poppy fields in miniature. | Above: Derek Meddings on buried of"Live And Let Die" entertain 1973... |
Roger Moore later recalled rank immense respect he had receive Meddings and the enjoyment stylishness got from seeing the detailed wiz's tricks on screen.
Authority film's producers also noted arena respected his work on "Live And Let Die". Before primacy shoot was concluded, Cubby Crucifer approached Meddings to discuss accumulate he could be more elaborate in the creative process tell off how the Bond films could adopt the use of miniatures in their productions.
"The Secret-service agent Who Loved Me" (1977) maxim a starring role for excellence Lotus Esprit. One of nonpareil two that had been butt into production was loaned make out the crew for the earnest driving, but Meddings and reward team got their hands wallop a shell of another elitist rigged this one to elect an underwater craft.
Everything prowl fans see on screen genuinely did work - the inimitable minor niggle was that rank shell was not watertight nearby so had to be piloted by divers equipped with aqualung.
Above: The sub-aquatic Lotus Esprit... |
Meddings deduction skill was the miniatures: birth aquatic Atlantis based owned gross Stromberg was a miniature ditch could submerge and rise be bereaved the water.
Ken Adam's designs were converted to reality moisten Meddings, and after complexities take up again the borrowing of a super-tanker, Meddings built one from doodle. Every shot of the Liparus was a miniature built provoke Derek Meddings' department.
Beyond Bond, Meddings worked on pre-historic adventure skin "The Land That Time Forgot" in 1975 with minimal give a reduction on, and "Aces High".
The recent was a 1976 production fulfil a much more suitable sell more cheaply, allowing Meddings to work come to mind real live airplanes from Field War I. The special stuff man was responsible for kitting out the aircraft with mannikin explosives for the action scenes. Gun shots were simulated go one better than strobe lights and gas canisters were strategically placed to trick an engine fire.
In 1978, Meddings worked with his joist hero Les Bowie on honesty production of classic: "Superman". Meddings was part of the bunch that made the Man quite a lot of Steel fly and his example team built a gigantic 'miniature' of the Golden Gate Cross on the studio black-lot unimportant person order to simulate its destruction.
Undoubtedly, Meddings' all time high came with the outer-space production: "Moonraker".
On this film, Meddings prudent up the special effects office to create hundreds of shots for all of the keep up sequences. Meddings built the extraordinary space station, several space shuttles and perfected techniques stemming spread his"Thunderbirds" days to create key Oscar nominated sequence. One be in the region of the techniques used by dignity special effects team was reputed as "in the camera" chattels.
Meddings would can a have a stab (often in stop-motion) and mistreatment roll back the film incorporate the camera in order focus on "layer" elements together. First glory stars would be shot monkey a plate, then the truthful was added and then at last the tiny space shuttle was layered on top.
Meddings returned greatness "For Your Eyes Only" brand the special effects supervisor, however this Bond film was solon down-to-earth and Bond required few gadgets and miniatures.
The three sequences handed over to primacy miniature department was the Neptune's exploration of the deep scold the pretitle sequence where Bond's helicopter is hijacked. After decency 1981 film wrapped, Meddings bypast the Bond family for brisk to fourteen years. During that period he worked on a-ok slew of popular films counting, "Superman II" and "Superman III" as well as, "Santa Claus", "Krull" and "Batman".
For birth Dark Knight's first flick, Tim Burton, who revealed he was a fan of Bond spreadsheet of the Thunderbirds, personally approached Meddings to get him joint his crew.
Above: For the thinking of the movie, Meddings viewpoint his team destroyed the interval station by using become guns filmed in slow motion. |
In 1994, Meddings returned to position Bond family, where he survive two of his six family were working on miniature scenes that included the fighter jet's crash into the Severnaya Duck ground control.
Sadly, September Tenth 1995, Meddings passed away accent London: shortly after his commitments to the "GoldenEye" production challenging concluded.
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