The Transformation of Visual Effects in the Jurassic Park Series and Its Impact on Storytelling

Introduction

At the beginning of the 20th century, technical and technological developments repeatedly changed the history of cinema. The field of visual effects was born in the early 1900s thanks to Georges Méliès, and it was further developed by visual effects image specialist and producer Norman O. Dawn. Nowadays, visual effects have become an indispensable part of cinema, to the extent that it even takes center stage at times.

To understand the defined explanation throughout the article, let's briefly talk about SFX and CGI, which form the concept of visual effects.Special effects (SFX) are mechanical models used for shooting in front of the camera, pyrotechnics used for explosions and flames, sized models, animatronics, prosthetic make-up, machines used for atmospheric effects (fog, rain, snow, etc.), and practically used physical tools. Computer-Generated Images (CGI) are the effects that can be computer-generated producible factors and digital characters used in post-production process, such as 3D models, matte paints, digital particle effects. By considering the creditable progress of CGI during 1990's, we will discuss the effects of the concept of VFX, reconstituted by combining with SFX, in the storytelling in out article.

This study focuses on the Jurassic Park series based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. The movie features three experts, paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill), paleobotanist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and chaos theory mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), visiting a Central America theme park that collects genetically modified dinosaurs. It tells the struggle of primitive and advanced living species between the past and the future, and the tragic events that unfolded one after the other as a result of the interference with nature by this scientist who wanted to play God. By 1993, dinosaurs were resurrected in movie theaters thanks to director Steven Spielberg and visual effects supervisor Stan Winston. When the film was first released, it was considered by almost everyone to be timeless and groundbreaking in terms of its visual effects and storytelling. So what is the secret of this blockbuster movie that still resides in our minds 30 years after the first movie? Did Jurassic Park’s charm come from the fact that its “dinosaurs were beautiful and natural, but also that everything about their movements, their appearance, was organic,” as Stan Winston puts it?

Most of the dinosaur scenes in the first three films of Jurassic Park were staged with animatronic puppets or electronically animated models rather than CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) effects used in today's movies. The larger animatronic puppets, including the one for the T-Rex, were highly detailed —weighing an average of 5 tons, made on a one-to-one scale and supported by hydraulics controlled by around 8-10 operators. The true-to-life size and movement of the models increased the perceptual realism of the movie. In this way, the animatronic dinosaurs became the stars of the show, even surpassing the actors. (Duncan, 2006, p. 170-171).

One of the most iconic moments of the first movie appears in the scene where the T-Rex breaks the electric wires of the paddock and escapes. The horror of encountering the wildest dinosaur in the history was reflected on the faces of the characters and felt by the audience, as the characters watched the vibrations in a glass of water caused by the heavy steps of the approaching T-Rex. The scene is perfectly rendered, from its sound design to the practical visual effects, and the logic of the T-Rex behaving like an apex predator. The T-Rex's predatory instinct to crush the car, examine and control it, and attack its prey when it is in motion makes the scene spectacular. Furthermore, the fact that there was no music accompanying this scene made the feeling of pure fear and tension more realistic.

In the first movie, the dinosaurs' reactions were handled in detail in their natural habitat. The use of realistic animatronic puppets in scenes created with an eye on details enables the audience to experience a terrifying cinema experience full of tension. For example, in the scenes where the T-Rex is present, he first detects and examines his prey, as an apex predator would do in its natural environment. He plays with his prey before killing them. Thanks to the skillful mimicry of natural animal behavior in the first movie, these scenes are still vividly remembered 30 years later.

Figure 1.

Jurassic Park: T-rex (animatronic puppet) escape the paddock (1993)