in memoriam
Ahhh ... there's another name from long ago that forces a quick walk down Memory Lane ...
Back in the days of my youth, I was required to write a termpaper for a kinda/sorta college prep class (they weren't called that so much back then); and the instructor -- a bit of an oddball but good-natured to say the least -- required his students to actually focus our reports on something that was near and dear to us. Being a bit of a film junkie even at the ripe young age, I didn't exactly have a great deal of resources available to me in a small town to research and discuss anything, say, Hollywood-specific; and, yet, I did have a stack of well-read Starlog magazines and also just about any like-minded knockoffs that hit the bookstore shelves. For those of you who've never had the good fortune, Starlog was a genre magazine that did interviews with all the movers and shakers in Science Fiction and Fantasy back then; and I'd already dog-earred a few features about Special Effects that I'd read over and over and over again. So ... my high school college prep termpaper was going to be about the revolution of Special Effects.
Well, arguably, Brian Johnson's name was one of the big ones from the late 1970's and early 1980's that I knew. Fortunately, he was mentioned enough -- alongside John Dykstra for his ground-breaking techniques with the original Star Wars from 1977 and the model-making portfolio of Derek Meddings -- so I had a few individuals I could do a bit more research about in order to flesh out my ideas. Again, it wasn't as if any of us had anything like the Internet back then, readers; so research into something that hadn't been given a great deal of reportage meant that I had to look more into what these pioneers said in interviews in order to even have a foothold with which to begin. But the A grade I ultimately received for my effort was owed to the work of names like that of Brian Johnson, so I'm forever thankful these technicians weren't afraid to speak up when given the chance.
Over the years, I followed his work -- along with so many others -- because even back then it was easy to see that Special Effects weren't so much a new phenomenon as they were something that would always be evolving. As the technology and capabilities grew (and continue to grow), all of us fans really owe a debt of thanks to folks like Brian Johnson. These craftsmen and women were tasked with making the impossible possible; and the flicks they made back then can still stand side-by-side with what's being accomplished today.
Alas, no one gets out alive; and I saw the posting on the Information Superhighway regarding the man's passing.
Our warmest prayers are extended to the family, friends, and fans of Brian Johnson.
May he rest in peace.
-- EZ
Back in the days of my youth, I was required to write a termpaper for a kinda/sorta college prep class (they weren't called that so much back then); and the instructor -- a bit of an oddball but good-natured to say the least -- required his students to actually focus our reports on something that was near and dear to us. Being a bit of a film junkie even at the ripe young age, I didn't exactly have a great deal of resources available to me in a small town to research and discuss anything, say, Hollywood-specific; and, yet, I did have a stack of well-read Starlog magazines and also just about any like-minded knockoffs that hit the bookstore shelves. For those of you who've never had the good fortune, Starlog was a genre magazine that did interviews with all the movers and shakers in Science Fiction and Fantasy back then; and I'd already dog-earred a few features about Special Effects that I'd read over and over and over again. So ... my high school college prep termpaper was going to be about the revolution of Special Effects.
Well, arguably, Brian Johnson's name was one of the big ones from the late 1970's and early 1980's that I knew. Fortunately, he was mentioned enough -- alongside John Dykstra for his ground-breaking techniques with the original Star Wars from 1977 and the model-making portfolio of Derek Meddings -- so I had a few individuals I could do a bit more research about in order to flesh out my ideas. Again, it wasn't as if any of us had anything like the Internet back then, readers; so research into something that hadn't been given a great deal of reportage meant that I had to look more into what these pioneers said in interviews in order to even have a foothold with which to begin. But the A grade I ultimately received for my effort was owed to the work of names like that of Brian Johnson, so I'm forever thankful these technicians weren't afraid to speak up when given the chance.
Over the years, I followed his work -- along with so many others -- because even back then it was easy to see that Special Effects weren't so much a new phenomenon as they were something that would always be evolving. As the technology and capabilities grew (and continue to grow), all of us fans really owe a debt of thanks to folks like Brian Johnson. These craftsmen and women were tasked with making the impossible possible; and the flicks they made back then can still stand side-by-side with what's being accomplished today.
Alas, no one gets out alive; and I saw the posting on the Information Superhighway regarding the man's passing.
Our warmest prayers are extended to the family, friends, and fans of Brian Johnson.
May he rest in peace.
-- EZ
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