I seriously thought that they blew up a real decommissioned bridge somewhere for that movie. This might be some of the most convincing miniature effects in film history
remember watching this at the theatre and someone behind us said "I can't believe they let them blow up a bridge for a movie " . LOL . It was actually more convincing on the big screen as it looks more fake on the TV .
Damn that was excellent work! That bridge explosion scene looked so real. I always wondered how they managed to get a real bridge to blow up. Just watched it in HD and it still looks real. Now looking up how they did it. Hard to believe it was miniatures. The realistic flexible truck really sells it further. Even the truck sliding and explosion looked real. I thought that was a real truck they slid down.
@@Joshua_N-A i was fooled by Terminator 2 documentary terminators walking casually in the background, crew, and actors in the scene, damn it was projection and it even worked well in the lower quality documentary video :D
@@mikcnmvedmsfonoteka the opening was the best thing to see. Camera techniques, angles, perspective you name it. Cameron made it like a real battlefield. It's always interesting for me to see the process of filmmaking with miniatures and scale models. A master filmmaker can make them look real. The Batmobile scene in Batman Begins also use miniatures and remote control scale models.
The amount of work these professionals go through - all just for our entertainment while we sit there stuffing our faces with popcorn and Mtn Dew. Amazing. He speaks so well and explanations are so clear. Really great! Thank you for your wonderful effects!
Leslie is a GOD of SFX. This bridge shot in particular has always been an absolute favorite, It is truly flawless (except for framing on the B-angle... where I just now noticed that the end of the model is visible. Never noticed it with like 30 viewings...! All eyes are on the truck I guess :) Effects specialists must truly marvel at this shot in a way that few others could ever appreciate. Regular moviegoers probably paid it the highest compliment by simply assuming it was real. Seriously: *Absolutely flawless.*
That always looked so realistic to me. I always thought it was real size. Of coarse I was young when I first saw this. Even growing up I never noticed.
That's Cameron alright. Even I thought Terminator 2 opening scene where the flying Hunter-Killers were at 1:1 scale size. Never know they use miniatures and rear projection for that. It looks like a real battlefield.
It's incredible how real this miniature stuff looks on the movie, the small details like the truck flexing is brilliant. True Lies is one of favorite movies too with the perfect amount of action, satire, and side story romance, plus Jamie Lee Curtis rockin that bed post
CGI is far less expensive than practical effects, that's why CGI is so prevalent. There are only a small handful of directors that would ever get the budget to do large scale practical effects.
The CGI that works best is the CGI you think is practical... or better yet, you don't see a special effect at all. Practical is amazing, sure, but there are scenes done with CGI that I am completely shocked were special effects. Heck, I didn't even know that these scenes in true lies were miniature or even special. I have the DTheater (1080i) version too. (bluray version has not come out yet) Will these effects "hold up" on giant 8KTVs with modern high resolution film scans and knowledge of their existence? I kinda wish I hadn't watched this.
Thanks so much for documenting all this work; one of the great ways the internet allows us to record and share things we love and ensuring this work doesn’t get lost to time.
I never realized how much miniatures Hollywood used I was always wondering how they got these crazy shots that would dam near kill somebody if they tried to do it in real life
@@Trainwheel_Time The result my friend. I don't know how you conclude that I said that CGI is not an art. The thing is, that nowadays only CGIs are used, and the practical effects that I think give a better result are almost gone. Of course, it is a matter of financial cost and the viewers, instead of demanding the best, agree with the producers who want a lower cost and bigger profits, but at a great cost for the quality of the art. Movies become video games. In my opinion you are wrong and the viewers are victims...
@@Dan-jg7zl Yes, it is. But if you want a masterpiece you have to sacrifice money. I'm sure they can cut something from their ultra expensive lifestyle. Nowadays they do it for the money and not for the art or the viewers...
Amazing how much work had to be done for special effects in movie compared to now where its mostly all just CGI anymore. And what could you possibly down vote this video for? What didn't you like that made you click the thumbs down. Der.
And all these years I was living under the illusion that areal bridge had been blown up to pieces by two Maverick air-to-surface missiles. CGI eat your heart out. I gladly paid almost 40 bucks (ticket + soda & pop corn king size) to see this movie.
So, for the moment at least, solid objects are superior to 1’s and 0’s. I suppose the best example is Alien? What superlative work in set design and special effects!
Personally miniatures still have their place today imo. For now Japan is the one that uses it extensively. For sci fi, spaceships doesn't have to be all CGI in every scene. It just need the right camera shots and angle also direction and lighting is essential. It shouldn't be too hard to do today.
I just always assumed they used a real jet and blew up a real bridge... it's incredible how much miniature work was so convincing it was indistinguishable from reality, whereas even the best CGI with a huge action scene, you can usually still tell it is artificial because on some level you know it can't be real
You know when I watched this movie I thought they actually blew up part of the old bridge. If you drove down to the Keys at that time they had built a brand new bridge and the old one ran along nearby. I honestly thought they'd got permission to blow up part of the old bridge as I assumed they were demolishing it anyway perhaps. It looked so realistic.
I have had actually heard that, they blew a real bridge, as movie trivia… I guess maybe it was just urban legend or assumption due to the real demolition happening. Kind of sad when the effects guys do so well nobody thinks it’s an effect, as they don’t get the recognition they deserve, but at least they can be satisfied the illusion fooled everyone!
I was working on a guys house one time that told me he was one of the two pilots that were flying in the film. He was a retired Military pilot. He even had his tail hook off his last aircraft. He seemed like a honest guy so I believed him. About a hour later I went down this hall way to do some work and on the wall was a picture of him and Arnold hugging it out with the plane in the back ground. So maybe he was telling the truth.
Funny cause the real bridge is missing a few pieces apart from each other in the similar distances as the movie bombs. it was just a walking/fishing bridge
Such a cool and memorable scene. Glad to know more about it, and what it took to get it done. Production people are so ingenious to come up and complete something like this.
I love looking at the background in these guys houses and trying to figure out what movies they worked on. I can see some original battlestar galactica ships.
Special Visual Effects By Digital Domain Digital Domain Visual Effects/VFX Supervisor John Bruno Miniature Supervisor Patrick McClung Digital Effects Supervisor Jacques Stroweis Pyrotechnics Supervisor Joseph Viskocil Assistant Digital Effects Supervisor Gray Marshall
Yep! Way too difficult and expensive to get clearance from hundreds of films for this doc. But you can find all the scenes somewhere on UA-cam. I tried to focus more on the model makers and their stories rather than the movies. Most studio DVD "making of´s" show more footage.
The material aren't that hard to find but you need to fnd those who can make them look realisitic and convincing. That's the issue right there. Practical effects is a fading art in film industry.
It's mostly CGI nowadays, unfortunately. But some directors still use miniatures like, Wes Anderson, Tarantino, Chris Nolan and the Mandalorian TV series has some miniatures.
@@MJTAUTOMOTIVE like I said, I understand that. I would imagine though, as good as it is, there will be a margin of people that would be watching this, waiting for the actual scene. I’m just commenting.
If you can pay the thousands of dollars to the studios for the license fees, please do! This is about the model makers. I do not work for the studios, and am not doing advertising for the movies. You can find the link to the scene further down in this thread.
Practical effects >>>>> CGI. Even if the bridge scene was done with 2021 CGI it still wouldn't look as good or convincing as the 1994 practical effects work. Just imagine if they put as much work into practical effects nowadays. It would look amazing! Instead, all they ever wanna do is use CGI. It's terrible.
The miniature was built in LA, driven across the country to Fl. Unloaded and taken out to the film location.....etc. It's nice to know Hollywood is really doing its part to curtail carbon emissions.
Dude, this was filmed nearly 30 years ago. And they did what they needed to do, nothing more. Give up the Hollywood bashing -- or at least do it elsewhere, please.
He speaks so well. Brilliant, brilliant miniature work on that bridge sequence.
I seriously thought that they blew up a real decommissioned bridge somewhere for that movie. This might be some of the most convincing miniature effects in film history
The new blade runner remake used miniatures look it up on UA-cam it’s well impressive
Same here.
I totally agree 💯
remember watching this at the theatre and someone behind us said "I can't believe they let them blow up a bridge for a movie " . LOL . It was actually more convincing on the big screen as it looks more fake on the TV .
@@johnny0012 a lot of that was digitally replaced
Damn that was excellent work! That bridge explosion scene looked so real. I always wondered how they managed to get a real bridge to blow up. Just watched it in HD and it still looks real. Now looking up how they did it. Hard to believe it was miniatures. The realistic flexible truck really sells it further. Even the truck sliding and explosion looked real. I thought that was a real truck they slid down.
What hard to believe is it occurred in 1994.
Terminator 2 (1991) opening scene is mostly made of miniatures and rear projection.
@@Joshua_N-A i was fooled by Terminator 2 documentary terminators walking casually in the background, crew, and actors in the scene, damn it was projection and it even worked well in the lower quality documentary video :D
@@mikcnmvedmsfonoteka the opening was the best thing to see. Camera techniques, angles, perspective you name it. Cameron made it like a real battlefield. It's always interesting for me to see the process of filmmaking with miniatures and scale models. A master filmmaker can make them look real. The Batmobile scene in Batman Begins also use miniatures and remote control scale models.
I never knew till now! Hehehe!
The bridge/truck sequence has to be one of my all-time favorite miniature effects because it all looks so frickin' real. Great job Maestro!
After all these years, I thought that the sequence was actually filmed on that bridge.
AND THAT PLANE LOOKED SO REAL
It's amazing the amount of work that goes into these special effects. The attention to detail is astounding.
The miniature effects in this movie and Dante’s Peak were incredible.
The amount of work these professionals go through - all just for our entertainment while we sit there stuffing our faces with popcorn and Mtn Dew. Amazing. He speaks so well and explanations are so clear. Really great! Thank you for your wonderful effects!
Ingenuity at its best!
All of these amazing people who put these type of things together deserve a lot more credit. 👏🏻
The talent and genius of the guys is amazing.
"Jim cut the shot from the movie the day we got it".
That hurt...
Leslie is a GOD of SFX. This bridge shot in particular has always been an absolute favorite, It is truly flawless (except for framing on the B-angle... where I just now noticed that the end of the model is visible. Never noticed it with like 30 viewings...! All eyes are on the truck I guess :) Effects specialists must truly marvel at this shot in a way that few others could ever appreciate. Regular moviegoers probably paid it the highest compliment by simply assuming it was real.
Seriously: *Absolutely flawless.*
That always looked so realistic to me. I always thought it was real size. Of coarse I was young when I first saw this. Even growing up I never noticed.
That's Cameron alright. Even I thought Terminator 2 opening scene where the flying Hunter-Killers were at 1:1 scale size. Never know they use miniatures and rear projection for that. It looks like a real battlefield.
They just don’t do that type of magic anymore. I wish James Cameron would just do another epic action film, bring back the BLOCKBUSTER!!!
Me to
It's incredible how real this miniature stuff looks on the movie, the small details like the truck flexing is brilliant. True Lies is one of favorite movies too with the perfect amount of action, satire, and side story romance, plus Jamie Lee Curtis rockin that bed post
Wow, I have seen this movie don’t know how many times and never noticed it was an effect involving miniatures. That was just perfect.
thus why practical fx will always be superior to CGI
You are absolutely right they have to use cg where its necessary but they use everywhere nowadays
CGI is far less expensive than practical effects, that's why CGI is so prevalent. There are only a small handful of directors that would ever get the budget to do large scale practical effects.
The CGI that works best is the CGI you think is practical... or better yet, you don't see a special effect at all. Practical is amazing, sure, but there are scenes done with CGI that I am completely shocked were special effects. Heck, I didn't even know that these scenes in true lies were miniature or even special. I have the DTheater (1080i) version too. (bluray version has not come out yet) Will these effects "hold up" on giant 8KTVs with modern high resolution film scans and knowledge of their existence? I kinda wish I hadn't watched this.
Cgi is so boring i can t keep watching it.
Absolutely!!
Absolutely amazing, the work which goes into fx.
I seriously thought they blew up a real bridge. Even after many times watching the movie.
Great job!!!
OH MY GOD! He experimented almost a month on the physics of one truck Model to land the right way and then Cameron cuts it out. Insane.
Always thought they used a decommissioned bridge for that scene.
Everything was perfectly done.
Hope the shot that was cut makes it into the Blu-ray/ 4K release (including this great interview!)
You wrote exactly what I was thinking, except you wrote it down 8 months ago and I just thought of it.
I just hope we get a Blu-ray release.
Amazing scene! Always loved miniatures and practical effects and did NOT think this was miniature when I first say it.
This channel is a dream coming true for every movie miniatures lover, like me :)
Thanks! More coming soon.
@@piercefilm Bravo ! Please let these craftsfolks talk as long as they want !!
Thanks so much for documenting all this work; one of the great ways the internet allows us to record and share things we love and ensuring this work doesn’t get lost to time.
Thanks for watching!
2:06 well I’m blowed, I always thought that was a real section of bridge (not used anymore/waiting for demolition) … says a lot for the VFX teams
I never realized how much miniatures Hollywood used
I was always wondering how they got these crazy shots that would dam near kill somebody if they tried to do it in real life
One of my favorite explosions in a movie remember seeing it first time was like that was siiccckkkk!!!!!
I think these effects come across as more believable than Avatar, personally.
U are right
and ironically, that film is also a james cameron film
@@h.cedric8157 do you think Avatar was an attempt to push CGI to its limits?
@@Joshua_N-A Most if not all Cameron films are attempts at pushing cinematography effects in general
I totally dislike Avatar. It sucks compare to True Lies.
I watched this at 18 and thought they were real!
I always assumed they had used an old section of defunct bridge or something - blown it up for real.
We must demand that practical effects be reused. A few years later (if it has not already been done) the art will be forgotten.
Why? What makes one better than the other? You think CGI is not an art? Sorry but you are wrong.
@@Trainwheel_Time The result my friend. I don't know how you conclude that I said that CGI is not an art. The thing is, that nowadays only CGIs are used, and the practical effects that I think give a better result are almost gone. Of course, it is a matter of financial cost and the viewers, instead of demanding the best, agree with the producers who want a lower cost and bigger profits, but at a great cost for the quality of the art. Movies become video games. In my opinion you are wrong and the viewers are victims...
But it's also so expensive.
@@Dan-jg7zl Yes, it is. But if you want a masterpiece you have to sacrifice money. I'm sure they can cut something from their ultra expensive lifestyle. Nowadays they do it for the money and not for the art or the viewers...
Amazing how much work had to be done for special effects in movie compared to now where its mostly all just CGI anymore. And what could you possibly down vote this video for? What didn't you like that made you click the thumbs down. Der.
9 people won't do it for their country
Because youths nowadays want something casual and catch their eyes. Gotta flow with the times, huh?
That was awesome! I needed that today!
I only just found out now that the bridge was fake
And all these years I was living under the illusion that areal bridge had been blown up to pieces by two Maverick air-to-surface missiles. CGI eat your heart out. I gladly paid almost 40 bucks (ticket + soda & pop corn king size) to see this movie.
So, for the moment at least, solid objects are superior to 1’s and 0’s. I suppose the best example is Alien? What superlative work in set design and special effects!
Personally miniatures still have their place today imo. For now Japan is the one that uses it extensively. For sci fi, spaceships doesn't have to be all CGI in every scene. It just need the right camera shots and angle also direction and lighting is essential. It shouldn't be too hard to do today.
great work ,thanx for sharing
Great tip re the surgical tubing! 🏆
I just always assumed they used a real jet and blew up a real bridge... it's incredible how much miniature work was so convincing it was indistinguishable from reality, whereas even the best CGI with a huge action scene, you can usually still tell it is artificial because on some level you know it can't be real
Wait a min, I thought they used real bridge 😮
You know when I watched this movie I thought they actually blew up part of the old bridge. If you drove down to the Keys at that time they had built a brand new bridge and the old one ran along nearby. I honestly thought they'd got permission to blow up part of the old bridge as I assumed they were demolishing it anyway perhaps. It looked so realistic.
I have had actually heard that, they blew a real bridge, as movie trivia… I guess maybe it was just urban legend or assumption due to the real demolition happening. Kind of sad when the effects guys do so well nobody thinks it’s an effect, as they don’t get the recognition they deserve, but at least they can be satisfied the illusion fooled everyone!
This man is a genius
when I saw the explosion I thought, that had to be full size
The best visual in that movie was Jamie Lee doing her dance!
And no FX required.
Generates practical effects on me every time.
It’s an environmentally protected area!
“Yea, we got money to offer”
Oh, sure, go ahead and film...
All jokes aside, these guys do awesome work.
Yeah, happens all the time. These big time Hollywood directors have a lot of power and don’t forget that money talks.
but do make sure u pick up every piece of debris while leaving
07:29 "I don't know why it blow up. It's hitting the water."
You're working on a movie called "True Lies". That's why.
I was working on a guys house one time that told me he was one of the two pilots that were flying in the film. He was a retired Military pilot. He even had his tail hook off his last aircraft. He seemed like a honest guy so I believed him. About a hour later I went down this hall way to do some work and on the wall was a picture of him and Arnold hugging it out with the plane in the back ground. So maybe he was telling the truth.
Funny cause the real bridge is missing a few pieces apart from each other in the similar distances as the movie bombs. it was just a walking/fishing bridge
Fortunately Amzon Prime gets you a free look at True Lies so you can see how spectacular the bridge scenes are.
Such a cool and memorable scene. Glad to know more about it, and what it took to get it done. Production people are so ingenious to come up and complete something like this.
I love looking at the background in these guys houses and trying to figure out what movies they worked on. I can see some original battlestar galactica ships.
If you watch all the segments you can hear about most of the movies they worked on.
He cut the shot? OMG!
You're FIred !!!!!!!
Special Visual Effects By Digital Domain Digital Domain Visual Effects/VFX Supervisor John Bruno Miniature Supervisor Patrick McClung Digital Effects Supervisor Jacques Stroweis Pyrotechnics Supervisor Joseph Viskocil Assistant Digital Effects Supervisor Gray Marshall
Yes, but the bridge sequence miniature was done by Stetson Visual Services.
Damn if only they could show the effects from the movie as he described what was going on. Licensing I guess?
Yep! Way too difficult and expensive to get clearance from hundreds of films for this doc. But you can find all the scenes somewhere on UA-cam. I tried to focus more on the model makers and their stories rather than the movies. Most studio DVD "making of´s" show more footage.
Sad ending
The biggest SFX was how they got Schwarzenegger into a Harriers Pilot seat.....
One of my most favorite action and Arnold movies.
They don’t make them like they use to.
I love these videos and I get that it’s a rights issue, but not seeing clips of the resulting effects is kinda sad.
You can see pretty much all the final shots here on UA-cam.
Dude when is this coming out on bluray. I think it was last on laserdic.
would doing this be cheaper than CG today?
The material aren't that hard to find but you need to fnd those who can make them look realisitic and convincing. That's the issue right there. Practical effects is a fading art in film industry.
Im glad jamie lee curtis in her black dress was real !
JLC was effin HOT back then. Amazing form.
I knew the scene where Arnold jumped on top of harrier was fake but I thought the bridge scene was a real bridge with cgi effects
It is too bad that we don't get to see the raw footage. Just still pictures...:-(
You can find the scene here on UA-cam. I don't work for the studios, and I don't want to pay high fees for licensing.
Is the limousine driver saying EZ Van one come in. EZ Van two do you read me? Pirates Confectionary, Aye Captain Aye, Me Hearties!
He mustve been talking about Joe Viskocil.
Yes.
Do we still use these techniques or is everything now FX?
It's mostly CGI nowadays, unfortunately. But some directors still use miniatures like, Wes Anderson, Tarantino, Chris Nolan and the Mandalorian TV series has some miniatures.
@@piercefilm I would say a mix of both works well. All CGI is a big NO for me......thanks
Even the new CGI Thunderbirds uses miniatures, they always look better,
What about the rockets?
Why didn't they include the scene in this video? Bit of a tease.
I don't work for the studio. This doc is about the model makers and how they built things. You can easily find all the scenes here on UA-cam.
@@piercefilm I understand that. It’s a great post and I don’t want to be seen to be downing it. They should have included the resulting scene though.
@@garyhatherly3355, The Licencing for the movie shot would cost a fortune. Like He said he is focusing on the Model Makers and the models.
@@MJTAUTOMOTIVE like I said, I understand that. I would imagine though, as good as it is, there will be a margin of people that would be watching this, waiting for the actual scene. I’m just commenting.
Arnolds best movie.
I always thought they blew up a real bridge for this. wow
8:08 Was that a model?
No, those two guys are just really big.
Jeff O 🤣🤣
I hate this CGI shit these days. Fire and smoke always look fake.
This guy looks like James Gandolfini
interesting, looks like hes wearing a maori greenstone kawakawa around his neck
An interview viedeo with no footage 🙄
If you can pay the thousands of dollars to the studios for the license fees, please do! This is about the model makers. I do not work for the studios, and am not doing advertising for the movies. You can find the link to the scene further down in this thread.
Oh dear, just listen and be quiet.
Practical effects >>>>> CGI. Even if the bridge scene was done with 2021 CGI it still wouldn't look as good or convincing as the 1994 practical effects work. Just imagine if they put as much work into practical effects nowadays. It would look amazing! Instead, all they ever wanna do is use CGI. It's terrible.
Today we have more technology... drones, new camera systems etc. and they film worst movies...
The miniature was built in LA, driven across the country to Fl. Unloaded and taken out to the film location.....etc.
It's nice to know Hollywood is really doing its part to curtail carbon emissions.
The film industry was never about the environment. It's always about money.
@@piercefilm but the hollyweird fools lecture us about it.
Dude, this was filmed nearly 30 years ago. And they did what they needed to do, nothing more. Give up the Hollywood bashing -- or at least do it elsewhere, please.