Special effects inventor and engineer Petro Vlahos, whose industry contributions made possible such iconic film moments as Julie Andrews dancing with penguins in the 1964 classic Mary Poppins, died Sunday. He was 96. ...
Vlahos had more than 35 patents for camera crane motor controls, screen brightness meters, safe squib systems, cabling designs and junction boxes, projection screens, optical sound tracks and even sonar. ...
His version of the sodium system was used on dozens of Disney films, including Mary Poppins, The Love Bug (1969) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) and was borrowed by Alfred Hitchcock for The Birds (1963) and by Warren Beatty for Dick Tracy (1990). ...
All of Mr Vlahos' technology is outmoded now, but it had a sizable impact on films in the '60s, 70s, and 80s; in the same way that hanging miniatures and glass shots made a big difference in the quality of features in earlier decades.
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1 comments:
It did, indeed. The systems at Walt Disney Productions were cutting edge and other Hollywood film makers, besides Hitchcock came to Disney to do their effects.
The big difference between current Disney and Walt's studio was imagination and creativity. Like Steve Jobs, Walt was always out in front leading the way.
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