Meccano 2001 A Space Odyssey special effect explained

[@Liesmith424]

No idea why KZbin randomly recommended this video 11 years after the fact, but I appreciate the clear and concise explanation and demonstration.

[@ollyk22]

me too! 🤣

[@robertnixon7433]

Same

[@zenaakers7469]

[@corinnemuir1542]

Right, same. Almost same. I want to say I appreciate the clear concise explanation but I can’t. Left a bad taste in my mouth. Have you ever eaten something so disgusting it just hangs over you, like the spirit that attached itself to me. I lament its existence. This video being recommended to me is the KZbin version of a spirit attachment. Challenge arises, then evades the challenge, forming a problem, which alters behavior prioritizing selected method of engagement with the challenge,….man, it just threw me off my groove. Remember, ignoring the dragon makes it grow.

[@Liesmith424]

@@corinnemuir1542 Ok.

[@cujoedaman]

I had no idea the actors were attached to a long metal rod that just pulled them along. Kubric was a genius!

[@gregonline6506]

😂😂😂

[@tamneal]

Excellent video and explanation - and I agree with the comment that this is so much better than a CGI effect. 2001 was created by an incredibly talented and imaginative team of people with the incomparable Kubrick at the helm. Without doubt my favourite film.

[@MECCNUTTY]

+Tam Neal It's my favourite sci-fi film.

[@Riverrockphotos]

The pen scene was so cool and to find out how simple it was to do is just crazy.

[@xmlthegreat]

There was no such thing as CG in 1968 so of course these folks had to figure out how to do an incredibly complex practical effect.

[@jackphoton]

How they did the shot is very well known. To see it in action from the outside in miniature is eye-opening to the actuality of it. Thank you!

[@richardmattocks]

This was the 1 "live effect" in the film could never work out. Then I heard the answer via the DVD commentary. Couldn't believe it! So Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou for making this to show it in action. Genius!

[@Doctor699]

Great demonstration. Awesome model and it would have been an awesome set for those actors to work on. The human eye is pretty good at detecting fake CGI as well, that's what makes these older films so special, what you see is really there, and really believable.

[@MECCNUTTY]

I agree totally.

[@vanamonde2]

Just as seamless as the movie. Great demonstration!

[@knightlautrec4311]

I actually had to go back because the transition on the camera footage at the end was so seamless! I was thinking, wait when did he start the other part spinning?? Great stuff!

[@mandolinic]

You nailed it completely. I was imagining some more complex gearing, but the differential neatly solves the problem of seamlessly transferring the drive from one cylinder to the other.

[@fredericksaxton3991]

I went to see this film on first release in 1969, it became my favourite film. Thank you for the video. Very well explained.

[@arobbins100]

Very well done - I had actually never thought about how they produced that scene; such an iconic one too. Very interesting to watch how you did it, I'm sure you've hit on how the original was filmed too. Just as an aside, I'm watching your clip on 02/04/2023 which according to the Wiki P is the day 2001 premiered in 1968. Loved the video, thanks!

[@vjreejr]

This is very very good! I wondered how that scene was done. The other great visual effect is when Frank is jogging in the circular interior. It was more or less the same illusions. The entire circular interior was built and rotated so Gary Lookwood actually jogged in place with the ground moving underneath him. In one shot, the camera is simply behind him at a constant distance. In another shot, the camera is mounted with the circular rotating interior but it's aim is on Frank as he "runs"

[@kjamison5951]

Top video. All parts shown and then the final effect. Perfect! Interesting use of Meccano!

[@joeynrg]

11 years and KZbin sends me to this video.. It either knows me way to well or is running out of stuff to show me. Either way, great video!

[@chrisBruner]

Wow, KZbin randomly recommended this video 11 years after the fact, but I too appreciate the clear and concise explanation and demonstration!

[@morlockmeat]

A perfect display of how it worked!

[@MECCNUTTY]

@newspaniard Strangely enough, no, I designed it in my head, and it more or less worked as expected. The only mistake was the mounting position for the video camera which needed two rethinks, especially when I decided to use my other camera. There was also a minor adjustment to get the two tubes as close together as possible to minimise the light coming in.

[@MrJimithee]

I had to subscribe, not just because I love 2001 (and Meccano) but you had 999 subs! So I am your thousandth customer, and I would like to claim my lifetime supply of Meccano (!)

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

I always figured this shot was done *something* like this. What *AMAZES* me is how they transitioned from one segment rotating to the other with *ABSOLUTELY NO VISIBLE 'JUMP'* of any kind....

[@MECCNUTTY]

It is an excellent film and has hardly dated. Additionally when David Bowman walks towards Frank Poole in the circular interior, Frank Poole is strapped into his seat.

[@shanestephens2314]

Thank you for going to the trouble of creating this to explain how it was done.

[@meccanoman]

Fantastic video. This is a great build. 2001 is one of my favorite movies. Very well done.

[@OldGamingGeezer]

Wow, that's fantastic. Both the original effect, and your wonderful seamless recreation. Well done.

[@AlanTaylorCRSmusicproduction]

I salute your geekiness :)

[@mhoover]

Clearly you put some effort into this. Clever use of the differential for a seamless transition of motion. Is it just me or did it turn the other way in the film? Oh well, no matter. Good job on this.

[@thecarman3693]

If you watch the film closely you'll notice that both Frank and Dave step onto the rotating portion at exactly the same time. This of course was necessary, otherwise if only one of the two stepped onto the second portion the other would be stuck rotating until he became upside down ... and would then fall. Also notice that they need to step onto the platform precisely where the hatch is located.

[@AgentOrange96]

Just the other day, some mechanical engineer on Reddit was insisting that frames must have been removed because you can't stop and start a mass spinning instantaneously. And while this makes sense, it is clear that no frames are missing. The differential is the key here! I'm kind of surprised a mechanical engineer couldn't have thought of that.

[@mariodistefano2973]

A very neat explanation, glad to see that YT algorithm made m to your video. Thanks!

[@jagc1969]

Just for all the work I guess it took to build such impressive device this video deserves a lot of more likes. If I'm not wrong the real one they used for the movie was built by Vickers-Armstrong. A very good explanation and in fact an awesome result. I had no other option but to subscribe to your channel . I am anxious to check what other surprises we can find there... Thanks for sharing this video.

[@johnbonaccorsi5378]

What an excellent job you did with this.

[@andyrowlands50029]

Well done Brian Meccano Leach. I'd thought for some years this is how they must have done this sequence, and your model has just about proven it to me at least.

[@MECCNUTTY]

There is a web page somewhere (I can't remember exactly where) which says this is the way it was done. The author was one of the people working on it. All it didn't say was whether there was one motor through a differential or two separate motors.

[@kylemossi]

Brilliant video man. This is the kind of video that gets a like ;)

[@geeque10101]

Man, that's great! You should have your own TV show (eg- the Secret Life of Machines- one of my all time favs). This is really interesting. Thanks for posting it.

[@TransmissionEpicts]

Secret Life of Machines was ace! Especially the stuff they would make for the end credits!

[@sprueVerse]

Have not seen a Meccano build for 40 years!!! Bravo!

[@musicfreak1138]

Absolutely stunning how the practical effects make CGI seem cheap. This is true movie magic

[@kengruz669]

Fantastic job, and great engineering with the differential. Bravo!

[@Chrisovideos]

Great video! It would be so amazing to see the actual set used for this in the movie to compare to yours. I remember the Lionel Richie video in the 80's where they rotate the room with the camera fixed to create the illusion of "dancing on the ceiling" . So much more satisfying seeing clever, non CGI, ways to create effects.

[@lazmotron]

Great demonstration! I guess Douglas Trumbull must have designed this set up for 2001.

[@user-cy2er8qe7v]

That. Is. Awesome.

[@vilod]

Nice work. That was a lot of time building. Very cool.

[@bertspeggly4428]

Excellent! Well done Brian.

[@SonicConstruction]

This is pretty cool, good work (:)

[@MECCNUTTY]

Thank you Mr. Sonic Construction. It filled a basic requirement.

[@SonicConstruction]

I particularly enjoyed it when the camera inverted

[@MECCNUTTY]

There's a deleted scene in 2001, where David Bowman is in a rotating lifeboat and the colour changes from orange to bright red. P.S. If you are reading this and are not 'sonic construction' this is an in joke.

[@stockicide]

I like that the man is made of Meccano as well. Nice touch.

[@esra_erimez]

Who's watching in 2023! This never gets old!

[@nigelcarren]

Always a joy to watch this thank you, but I wonder, is anyone else watching this whilst waiting for toast on the ISS?

[@picknikbasket]

Brilliant! The film was pretty good too 😊

[@bob4analog]

It's like demonstrating a magician's slight of hand trick; Brilliant special effect trick.. best of all, not done with any CGI!

[@jaymercy224]

I remember when I saw it first time in movie and tried to figure out how its made. This is very good demonstration!

[@NightBazaar]

Timing for the actors would be very important. Both men would have to be out of the long tube and in the section where the hatch is before the long tube begins turning and hatch section stops turning.

[@NightBazaar]

+mipmipmipmipmip The model shown in this video is pretty cool. Looks like it was made with an erector set. In the movie, there are two people going through the tube to reach the area where the hatch is located. There's a clip that shows how the shot was stabilized with the actual actors playing the roles of Dave Bowman and Frank Poole. Brian's model view shows a single character. In the movie, both characters step out of the tube and into the hatch section at nearly the exact same time, otherwise the effect would be unconvincing. Check out the link and you'll see what I mean. I don't know if anyone did a countdown, but the actors certainly knew where the hatch was located and where to step across to it. Once both are by the hatch, the hatch section is stationary and the long tube begins rotating. You'll see one actor waits for the other to be side-by-side so they could both step across at nearly the same time. 2001 is an old movie, but it's still excellent as ever with top notch innovative special effects. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4OqeH5oqt59hdk

[@jmf5246]

If u watch u see keir wait for a second for gary to join him.

[@justoutofframemoviereviews656]

open the trap door, Hal.

[@_c_y_p_3]

With that much time and bolts you coulda built your own space rocket! I am kidding, interesting and very cool to see. Thanks for sharing. I bought a tattoo design course buy Guy Aitchison and he showed how to build diaramas and light them with absolutely magical lighting just using a few basic rules of composition and keeping your contrast between textures and colors, light and dark. He was building biomechanical contraptions much like HR Gieger but building em around a lightbulb where the light became a central vanishing point. You should all look up his courses and ignore the tattoo part, just look at the clay and chicken wire prop building and lighting, and design theories, the guy is a revolutionary. He changed tattooing forever.

[@philrabe910]

Bravo! Nice model. I always understood the effect, but had a hard spot with the transition. the actors move through the transition flawlessly. Now I can see it was 'easy' for them. I would have Loved to build a big, practical, moving Kubrick set!!

[@wompstopm123]

i had no idea meccano was like this, i wish i had this instead of lego

[@fathom6424]

Yes, 11 years old and KZbin recommends this now!? I hope Brian sees this comment because I want to congratulate him on this video.

[@CunnyLinctus]

Fascinating explanation of a brilliant effect

[@mikmik9034]

Volume much too low compared to other ads and videos. Not worth watching to me.

[@pschroeter1]

The thing I notice is it's like at the switch the two ends ends start and stop instantaneously. I don't see any jumps caused by accelerations.

[@atomartmatter5970]

"MECCANO" and "2001". Two reasons to live

[@Toobula]

Nice job! Not easy to get that transition smotth in the full scale model. Do you know if Kubrik actually employed a differential?

[@MECCNUTTY]

I do not. I couldn't find anything on the internet. I would guess it was because the speed is so constant. Two motors, one slowing down, the other speeding up would be difficult to be accurate.

[@tedf1471]

I bet the original Studio mechanism made all sorts of noises too!

[@deanevangelista6359]

That scene always made me dizzy. “In space, no one can hear you puke.”

[@massimookissed1023]

Maybe not, but it *_does_* make one hell of a mess inside your visor.

[@DJTI99]

Move aside, and let the man go through....

[@gotaminutereviews]

Too fat, fat you must cut lean.

[@stantaylor2752]

You gotta take the spinny ladder to the mezzanine, chump!

[@jmf5246]

Bravo! Great job

[@adrianthoroughgood1191]

Outstanding!

[@LordFalconsword]

It was cheaper to build this set than to try and simulate freefall with wires, and ultimately more convincing as well.

[@nigelcarren]

Nicely done sir! 🏆

[@jondrew55]

3:13 - This looks more like a scene from Event Horizon than 2001

[@davidcottrell1308]

GREAT JOB!!

[@davidbowerman6433]

And later used in Inception to great effect. As said, you just can't beat a live performance

[@KRYPTOS_K5]

Amazing. Congratulations.

[@richdelgado3405]

The need to make a 2001 Special Edition Erector Set!

[@bobredman1346]

You've done a magnificent job of demonstrating how this effect was done. I have a question. Have you been able to acquire photos that show the outside of the set-up that Kubrick used in order to film this? I've seen the photos that have been taken showing the filming of Dave Bowman going through the passageway, but these only show the interior of the set and not the entire physical set that was used. Thank you. I hope you can give me some feedback on this.

[@MECCNUTTY]

+Bob Redman Tone answer to that is no. You would have thought they would have taken pictures at the time. There is text describing how it was done.

[@bobredman1346]

+Brian Meccano Leach Thank you for the quick reply! It seems there has to be pictures in someone's files, somewhere in this great big world. Again, a terrific piece of engineering on your part.

[@smadaf]

Lovely! And no wasteful modern hype junk, with credits and music and obnoxious fast cutting and reading a bad script and "Like, comment, and subscribe".

[@vanamonde2]

Brilliant!

[@thehoopsters5255]

My Dad said his Dad had Meccano when he was younger. So it's been around ages!

[@MECCNUTTY]

It all started in 1901. I had my first set in about 1972.

[@dazdaz105]

20 seconds of ads for a 3 minute video ? Really ?

[@stevenreichertart]

Great explanation--thanks!!

[@JamesOrlowski]

I've seen the movie several times and never noticed that Frank and David are able to walk on the floor in the shuttle bay, as if there's gravity there. I can't understand why, other than the movie producers couldn't afford to make the actors float when outside the rotating living quarters and hope no one noticed.

[@JamesOrlowski]

@Catherine Xanthe They guys seem to walk much easier than the stewardesses do in them, and it doesn't explain why items also don't "float" around. I just still think the filmmakers couldn't figure out how to make a "no gravity" environment outside of the rotating living quarters, so they just let this slide in the hopes no one would notice. But regardless, it's still a great movie that requires a bit of "suspend disbelief" by the viewer -- as does most films.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

The “grip shoes” are just a prop. It’s quite plain there’s more holding them to the floor than velcro.

[@rioriggs3568]

Great stuff

[@rorrante]

Great Video, Great Job !

[@IdoSha]

Awesome!

[@StanleyKu]

Great job! Beats boring CGI any day.

[@TheWorldBelow360]

Fantastic with much durismo!

[@louddog962]

Nailed it!

[@chrislox1]

That was brilliant!

[@charliehand398]

Yay!!! That's fantastic.

[@cameriqueTV]

Amazing! How long did it take to build the model?

[@MECCNUTTY]

Hard to remember. I think I worked on it on and off for about 4 months. Man hours about 50.

[@MECCNUTTY]

@geeque10101 Might happen in some manner, through my Meccano club, there are occasional contacts on filming, or whether a model could appear in a TV show.

[@youtert]

Move aside, and let the man go through, let the man go through.

[@freddigglegmail]

the change in relative velocities is too perfect in the movie to match your explanation. I suspect that a blue screen & film splice were also used.

[@MECCNUTTY]

Green screen today could achieve that, but in 1967?

[@TheMetalButcher]

It's explained by the differential. Perfect constant velocity at all times.

[@johnbonaccorsi5378]

No, the maker of this brief video, with its marvelous model, has it exactly right. See Keir Dullea at 31:13 of kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqOTlGN8est3obM ("We didn't have to worry about a green screen in this film at all ....") See him also at 0:38 of kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHKxhp93l8tjmcU ("Everything you see in this film ... was done physically or chemically [i.e., photographically], one way or the other.")

[@S4NSE]

wow it looks so cool

[@DriesduPreez]

That is a purely subjective opinion. I doubt you would be choosing practical over CGI when it comes to the Hulk or the Na'vi. But I agree, in that achieving a 'impossible' effect without the aid of extensive CGI is rather exciting. Such as the lobby scene in Inception. (Inspired technically-wise by non-other than 2001:SO)

[@Kishan_Baijnath]

Wow. Phenomenal.

[@ikymagoo]

That’s awesome!

[@JonnyMudMower]

2023 here 👍🏻

[@brianarbenz7206]

Gee, How did Keir and Gary fit inside those tubes? 🤗

[@StanleyKu]

I never saw Hulk, probably because of the mind-numbing cgi. It has it's place for sure, but it's rarely done with enough restraint in my opinion.

[@skoggiehoggins1445]

Bravo! 👍👍

[@hiltz0007]

very cool

[@daveydumpling]

Nice one