“The Winston Effect” offers real insight into how special effects are created these days

Jim Hill

18 years ago

I got a lot of nice notes in response to yesterday’s Peter Ellenshaw tribute. Though what I thought was kind of intriguing was the theme that ran through many of these e-mails. Which was:

“How I wish I’d had the chance to stand in Peter Ellenshaw’s studio and watch that man work. See how the special effects for all those classic Disney films were done.”

Well, if you really want to know how special effects are done, have I got a book for you.

“The Winston Effect: The Art and History of Stan Winston Studio” (Titan Books, October 2006) is this great behind-the-scenes look at the career of a true visual effects visionary, Stan Winston. Who actually started his career at Walt Disney Productions back in the early 1970s. Where he worked as an apprentice in the studio’s make-up department while “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” was being shot.

Stan honed his skills while he worked at Disney. Sketching many of the celebrities that Winston would encounter while walking around the lot. Here you see a caricature of Jonathan Winters (Who was making an appearance on “The Mouse Factory” at the time) as well as a more formal portrait of David Tomlinson in his Professor Emelius Browne garb.

Building on what he learned during his Burbank apprenticeship, Winston quickly became one of Hollywood’s top make-up artists, receiving great acclaim for the old age appliances that he created for the “Roots” mini-series and the “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” TV movie.

Given that Stan had an obvious gift when it came to making young actors look old, Disney officials brought Winston back to Burbank to work on “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” Where he first had to make Jonathan Pryce look impossibly old. Then — in order to make it look as though Mr. Dark came to a suitably gruesome end — Stan created several robotic versions of Mr. Pryce that looked even older.

Given how much Winston enjoyed working with those remote-controlled Mr. Darks on “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” Stan looked for other projects that offered similar challenges. Which is why Winston was thrilled when he was hired to work on James Cameron‘s “The Terminator.”

And given the great job that Stan’s staff did on “The Terminator,” Cameron quickly hired Winston to work on his next project. Where Stan’s crew then had to bring to life an even larger creature: The fearsome Alien Queen from “Aliens.”

And given the amazing job that Winston Studios had done on that film, Steven Spielberg then recruited Stan to create the animatronic dinosaurs that he needed for the “Jurassic Park Adventure Pack” films.

And today, Stan Winston Studios is probably Hollywood’s top effects house. Whether you need a special make-up appliance, an animatronic creature or a digitally animated creation, Winston’s people can handle it. Which is the Mouse continues to seek Stan out, recruiting his staff to work on Walt Disney Pictures projects like “Inspector Gadget” and “Eight Below.”

This handsome 336-page hardcover book is just like you were given the keys to Stan’s studio and were invited to rifle through his files. You’ll find lots of great behind-the-scenes photographs as well as many work-in-progress sketches. Which will give you some real sense of all the hard work that went into the creation of some of your favorite films.

Which (admittedly) isn’t quite as cool as standing behind Stan Winston and actually watching him work. But it’s pretty damn close.

So if you really want to learn more about how special effects are actually done in Hollywood today, then I suggest you pick up a copy of “The Winston Effect: The Art and History of Stan Winston Studios.” This genuinely entertaining & informative book (Which was written by effects industry expert Jody Duncan) is a must-have for all you movie mavens out there.