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Howard
Lydecker
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Voyage
to the Bottom of the Sea
|
When Miniatures Were Big.
Continued
(3). | | | | |
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Theodore
Lydecker
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 As mentioned,
the Lydeckers got their models to fly by guiding them along
supporting lengths of dulled piano wire. Film grain,
camera motion, editing, careful lighting and selective choice of
takes effectively obscured these wires. The technique was used
to good effect for the Flying Sub's airborne sequences in Voyage
as demonstrated below . . .  | |
Above photos copyright Republic Pictures and Jack
Mathis Advertising
.
. . as well as for many underwater shots in the
series. If you look closely at the photo to the right,
you can see
vestiges of the control wires, particularly to the
front of the model. In addition to previously mentioned factors, the
reduced definition of American television at the time of Voyage's initial
airing, generally rendered these wires undetectable. These effects still look great
today. | |
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Thanks to producer and media historian
Bob Burns for
these
photos of the original Flying Sub miniature used
in filming Voyage.
The fine guide wires
were threaded through narrow tubes (blue
arrows) which ran horizontally through the right and left
sides of the model.
| |
| When pulled taut, the wires
supported the miniature, which could then be "flown" against the backdrop
of the sky or plunged into the effects Lake. Gravity
propelled the model and camera motion implied banks and
turns. Note the eyelet on the front end of the model (red arrow)
to the right.
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An additional wire could be fastened to the
eyelet when the model needed to be pulled upward, such as for
filming scenes of FS-1 emerging from the water. For more photos and information on Bob Burns' FS1
model plus photos of the interior mockup,  Go to Bob Burns' FS1 Model
| |
L.B.Abbott
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| When special effects man L.B.
Abbott came on board to do the Voyage TV show (he had of course
done the special-effects work for the Voyage
movie), Howard Lydecker was available,
and with a bit of courting, came on board in Season One as a
consultant and to oversee model construction. |
|
Learn more about the Lydecker
brothers in the most comprehensive chapters yet
written about them in the fabulous REPUBLIC
CONFIDENTIAL: VOLUME 1--THE STUDIO by Jack
Mathis. If you want to tune in on one of
the truly great studios, and certainly the producer
of the best serials and their fabulous special effects,
you'll want this book. No, you need
this book!
---Michael Bailey
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Copyright Republic Pictures and
Jack Mathis
Advertising | |
|
Read more about shooting effects miniatures
the old fashioned way at Modern Mechanix dot com. Link
through for some pretty cool, well written stuff, circa 1935. |
Back to Voyage Home
Page
Arrows courtesy 
| "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" ® is a registered
trademark of Irwin Allen Properties, LLC. © Irwin Allen
Properties, LLC and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All
rights
reserved. | |
