Visual Effects (Logan's Run) Logan's Run

The visual effects for Logan's Run won a Special Achievement Academy Award shared by L.B. Abbott, Glen Robinson, and Matthew Yuricich. The award recognized work that spanned miniature city photography, the Carousel flying rig, matte paintings, and the first use of genuine laser holography in a feature film. The effects were the most expensive element of the production and the primary reason the budget escalated from a projected $3 million to a final cost of $9 million. (wikipedia)

L.B. Abbott brought four decades of Fox special effects experience to an MGM production

Lenwood Ballard "Bill" Abbott (1908-1985) had been head of the Special Effects Department at 20th Century Fox from 1957 until his retirement in 1970. His career began at Fox at age eighteen as an assistant cameraman on What Price Glory (1926). By the time of Logan's Run, Abbott had already won Academy Awards for Doctor Dolittle (1967), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). His filmography included The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Fantastic Voyage (1966), Planet of the Apes (1968), and The Towering Inferno (1974). Logan's Run was his final major film recognition. (wikipedia)

The Carousel sequence -- where citizens float upward and are incinerated -- was the most technically demanding element. Robinson designed a rig with a revolving base synchronized with an overhead revolving apparatus, equipped with electric motors and hidden wires that could levitate fifteen to eighteen performers simultaneously. The rig allowed a variety of camera angles as performers revolved and tumbled in front of the audience. To achieve upward-looking shots, the set was inverted -- the camera shot downward at what was supposed to be the ceiling crystal, with performers descending toward it. (wikipedia)

See The Carousel Sequence (Logan's Run) for a full analysis of the sequence's design and execution.

The Kenworthy Snorkel camera created the illusion of flying through a full-scale city

Most shooting of the miniature domed city was done with the Kenworthy Snorkel System -- a specialized camera rig that allowed fluid movement through the model at a low horizon. The system used a periscope-like probe lens that could travel through narrow openings in the miniature, creating the illusion of flying through a full-scale city. The approach was essential for selling the scale of the dome, which was among the largest miniatures ever constructed for a film. (wikipedia)

The force-field effects were filmed directly off a monitor and double-printed

The glowing force-field effects that surround the Carousel participants during their ascent were created by filming directly off a cathode-ray tube. The technique produced black-and-white images to which any desired colors could be added in post-production. These effects were then double-printed over the Carousel footage, creating visible energy fields around the floating bodies. The approach was simple by later standards but effective at the scale required. (ascmag)

Logan's Run pioneered genuine laser holography in a feature film

The "Deep Sleep" computer sequences used real holograms -- the first time genuine laser holography appeared in a motion picture. Michael York recalled traveling to San Francisco to shoot at a small workshop where the holographic technology was being developed. The holograms were used for the computer interface scenes where the central computer communicates with Logan. (wikipedia, mentalfloss)

"The hologram had just been invented. We went up to San Francisco to this funny little studio workshop, and there it was." -- Michael York, It Came From Blog (2021)

The film was also the first released with a Dolby Stereo soundtrack on 70mm prints

Logan's Run holds the distinction of being the first film released with a Dolby Stereo soundtrack on 70mm prints, predating Star Wars by a year. The 70mm Todd-AO 35 photography by cinematographer Ernest Laszlo earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. (wikipedia)

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