This Invention Made Disney MILLIONS, but Then They LOST It!

Four years ago, we learned about Disney's magic prism that created the best transparency mattes. We thought that prism was lost... until we found it.

Creative Tools ►

00:00 Greenscreens Suck
01:19 The Science
03:25 How Is This Working?
04:24 Squarespace
05:21 The Experiment
07:47 Compositing
09:55 The Results

[RustyGellerSteadicam]

I was one of the last people at Disney to use the Sodium Vapor light system. It was on "Something Wicked This Way Comes" in 1982 or 3. I was an vfx AC at the studio. The prisim was held under license from Rank. It was a hallowed object. It was kept in a steel box and it was studio policy that 2 AC's had to be with it at all times when it was removed from the storage locker. We both carried it to the stage, then carefully inserted it into the 2-strip camera. It was never left alone on stage, we took turns leaving for lunch, the john, etc. It hadn't been used for years but we had a series of tough matte jobs to shoot so they dusted off the old gear. I was aware I was watching a bit of history. The key was the didymium filter in the prism. That thing has to be around somewhere. Technically, Rank would still own it.

[Nighthawkinlight]

FYI, your sodium lamps should be upsidedown or sideways for longevity. If you have the electrodes on the bottom they'll get dripped on by sodium which will eventually cause the bulb to fail. If used properly LPS bulbs will last pretty much forever. This is a very clever technique. Well done

[lukegordonharris]

Just want to point out for people who don't know, Paul Debevec is one of the researchers responsible for a whole bunch of modern VFX techniques, just check out his resume and website, it's like reading through the origin story of most of what we use today.

[patrickvalentino]

Niko, I've been watching CC videos for years as a non-filmmaker who is intrigued by the craft of filmmaking. Everyone on the videos seems very intelligent, curious, and skilled, but you always stood out as having that little extra curiosity, knowledge, and desire to try to realize an effect or technique as best you can, and so I'm very happy to see you have gotten a sandbox to geek out and explore. keep it up!

[KnitterX]

I love how the quest for this forgotten technology involved a search for long lost prisms of which, according to legend, only three have ever existed. If this was the plot of a video game you would call it absolutely unrealistic and uninspired.

[kyoopihd]

You know, despite the fact that you guys have simply re-created something that was invented more than half of a century ago, it really feels like new ground was broken here for some reason. Kinda gives me that real heart uplifting feeling watching this. Loved it!

[aycoded]

Award for the least clickbait video with the most clickbait title.

This is so cool.

[ramanujdas]

Fig Fan Niko, Paul is a Genius. Thanks for enlightening on this beautiful craft.

[batsukamuro]

In just over 12 minutes, I went from zero awareness to thoroughly impressed.

[unitNitro]

those original 3 prisms are, like, the closest things to ancient magical artifacts that exist.

*wisened old sage voice* “This crystal has the power to alter Reality itself, using the light of the dawn”

[eujuneca]

This feels like the end of a cycle. They have talked about this prism many times. I'm happy for them to be able to replicate it, even if the original prism is lost in Disney's vault

[truespica]

Just imagine just having one of those crystals just sitting in your attic collecting dust and never knowing that what you have is worth MILLIONS today

[ChasFink]

I've read that the quality of the original sodium vapor camera/prism was something of a happy accident, and two attempts to make new ones were not 100% successful. The fact that you could make such a great recreation relatively easily and cheaply is amazing.

I do hope the original is not lost. It belongs in a museum.

[heckensteiner]

The thing I love about this channel is the massive appreciation for the old techniques. I worked on a couple of Avengers movies and it was a nightmare when both Nebula and Gamora were onscreen at the same. One is green and the other is blue, so you can imagine the problems that would arise. This 60 year old technique would have fixed that!

[MoofyYT]

Actually incredible. This has probably got to be in the top 3 if not 1 episode on Corridor.

[stalman]

I can't thank you guys enough for the service and inspiration you provide to filmmakers everywhere

[MonsieurDoge]

The ancient dark arts of video compositing... the prophecy has been fulfilled.

[ghost_ship_supreme]

Someone somewhere has one of the prisms on their desk and don’t even know it.
Congrats on rewriting the future of films!

[edwardchester]

Slightly mindblowing that a relatively simple alternative solution like this can be used and thus proves the worth of the process yet the process was dropped. It's so clearly superior.

[machiii]

Not only does it allow for otherwise complex greenscreens to be done in (almost) a single composite step, but the fact it does transparency so well really filters the composition well! If this WAS to be done with a greenscreen there'd likely be a bit of bleed that would have to be feathered or filtered out further complicating the composition!

This is awesome.