Creating Movie Magic, Modernizing Special Effects

TG: How did you learn stop motion animation, especially considering in those days there weren't tons of films schools like there are today, and certainly not magazines we could buy that reveal how special effects are done?

HARRYHAUSEN: I suppose it was simply by trial and error. I must have read something in a magazine about it, but I don't recall where or when.

TG: At what point did you feel you could do this kind of animation well? At what point did you go from learning the techniques to where you felt you could do it well yourself?

HARRYHAUSEN: I don't know when that point came. I was doing stop-motion in my backyard and garage when I was 14 or 15, so I must have felt I could do something good even then or I wouldn't have even tried.

TG: On average, how long would a great stop motion segment take to film, and on average what would it cost?

HARRYHAUSEN: Each segment took a different length of time, from one month to four months. The cost could be from a few thousand to several thousand. I never really kept track of those sorts of things.

The creature from one of Harryhausen's early films, 1957's "20 Million Miles to Earth."

TG: You had also mentioned in a recent interview that on your films you had a great deal of control over what you were doing, which every filmmaker dreams of. Why did the studios then give you a lot of control over your work?

HARRYHAUSEN: I had control over my work because I almost invariably brought the idea to the studio with my frequent producer/collaborator Charles Schneer, and the studios understood that I, and only I, could see the projects through to their conclusion successfully. I wouldn't have done it any other way. Other than "Clash of the Titans," where we had to bring in stop-motion animators Jim Danforth and Steve Archer to help us meet our deadline, I never worked with anyone on any of my films.

TG: Working with limited budgets and without the technology we have today, did you feel you really had to earn a solution to a problem back then, instead of like today, where you could create something on a computer, or "paint it in" later? Did it make the victory in creating something then even sweeter, that you had to solve the puzzle to create something great?

HARRYHAUSEN: I always enjoyed solving problems facing me. Today's artists do have an easier time of it with computers, however, they must all work with many other people on their projects, something I was able to avoid almost completely for more than 40 years.

TG: Today there are so many magazines and websites dedicated to how movie magic is done. Back in the day, was there ever any effort to keep special effects techniques secret, so audiences wouldn't know how the magic was done? Did anyone ever feel if the audience knew how it was done, it would ruin the effect?

HARRYHAUSEN: When I began doing feature films, the studios tended to keep everything about their films a secret, including special effects. Other than professional journals not available to the general public, most magazines never even touched about things like special effects. Occasionally, a magazine like Mechanix Illustrated, Collier's or Life would do an article about special effects, but the articles tended to be rather general in nature.

TG: What stop motion scene or segment are you the most proud of personally, where you really felt you got what you were going for?

HARRYHAUSEN: I'm proud of all of my work, but I suppose the skeleton sequence in "Jason and the Argonauts" gives me the greatest satisfaction. It was certainly the most time-consuming and elaborate sequence I ever designed.

The classic skeleton battle in "Jason and the Argonauts" was at the time one of the most elaborate and electrifying special effects sequences ever created, and Harryhausen considers it his finest achievement.

TG: How has it felt being the master over a miniature universe? Has it ever felt like you're a God over the people and creatures, creating and controlling them?

HARRYHAUSEN: I suppose one could say I had a Zeus complex, moving my little creatures around as I wished. Most of all, of course, it was great fun.

TG: How do you feel about today's CGI technology?

HARRYHAUSEN: I regard CGI as a very efficient tool. The big drawback is that people using it must work with many others, a situation I would not enjoy.

TG: Do you feel there is still room for a great movie with stop-motion? Do you feel the fans would love to see a classic Ray Harryhausen style film again?

HARRYHAUSEN:There is room for any type of entertainment which entertains, whether it's stop-motion, puppetry, string puppets or computer-generated imagery. Everything begins and ends with the story and how well the story is executed. Otherwise, the most expensive film in the world doesn't matter.

TG: You've been working with Darren Davis on a series of graphic novels. How do you feel your work translates to the graphic novel format?

HARRYHAUSEN: I'm very pleased that BlueWater Productions is adapting stories from my films for new adventures. My work was based in fantasy and adventure, and comic books, by their very nature, are based in the same territory.

TG: Your work has inspired many great filmmakers when they were in their formative years, like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Peter Jackson. How do you feel about your work being so influential, and the fact that it's still being enjoyed to this day?

HARRYHAUSEN: I'm very proud and happy that my work has had such a profound influence on such important filmmakers as Spielberg, Lucas and Jackson, not to mention the dozens of special effects and makeup artists who have told me that I was their inspiration. It's very gratifying to know that one's efforts have been appreciated.

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