Mark Vargo<\/a>, ASC has some of my absolute favorite video breakdowns<\/strong>. His technical knowledge and in-depth understanding of historical context make them truly must-watch. Previous videos include a breakdown of the work of grips<\/a>. In the latest episode, Vargo looks at the blue-screen process<\/strong>\u00a0and explains why 1980 was a seminal year for blue screen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n I compare this era in cinema to our nation’s lunar program. An amazing cooperative of artists, imagination, optics, engineering, and home-brewed software. I learned the blue-screen process at ILM on The Empire Strikes Back<\/em><\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Vargo takes a look at earlier compositing methods and special photographic effects<\/a>, covering\u00a0the always amazing work of Georges Melies, the Williams Process<\/a> from the late 1920s, and the Dunning Process<\/a> of King Kong<\/em><\/a> in the 1930s.<\/p>\n Mark Vargo also touches on\u00a0the Oscar-winning blue-screen work of The Thief of Bagdad<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>in the 1940s, and the sodium vapor process<\/a> pioneered by Ub Iwerks<\/a> at Disney for Mary Poppins<\/a>. <\/em>Together, all of these processes\u00a0led to a revolution in blue-screen work in the 1980s.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most interesting part of the video is the detailed breakdown of the blue-screen process<\/strong>. Vargo explains why they used rear-lit blue screens<\/strong> that emitted light in the range of 500 nanometers. The footage was then sent to an optical printer which rephotographs the footage into a composite. It’s a truly fascinating watch.<\/p>\n See\u00a0the whole video below.<\/p>\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2016\/07\/King_Kong_Blue_Screen.gif\" "\\"How")
\nImages via Mark Vargo\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n![\"How](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2016\/07\/BlueScreenPass.gif\" "\\"How")
\nImages\u00a0via Mark Vargo<\/em><\/p>\n