This 30-Year-Old Terminator VFX BLEW OUR MINDS!

THIS EPISODE ►
Wren and Peter take a deep dive into the VFX of Terminator: Judgement Day.

FOLLOW ►

SUPPORT ►

OUR GEAR, SOFTWARE & PARTNERS ►

MUSIC ►

[SirWrender]

To everyone saying "sorry, but the original shot looks better": Haha we know! Isn't that amazing though? It proves that nothing beats talent, craftsmanship, and a good eye when it comes to making art. The tools are secondary. I really wish I had more time time make a V2. I learned so much from my first attempt that I feel confident I could make it much better if I tried again. Still though, nothing but MAD RESPECT for the original artists!

[SimonClark]

Please, please do more shot recreations like this - it was super cool! Absolutely love the more granular breakdown of VFX shots, with a practical film making sections as well as the retrospective of old techniques

[jordanthomas]

Robert Patrick’s truly terrifying performance really is what sells the character of the T-1000, his talent cannot be overlooked.

[VolvagiasBlaze]

i think the viscosity of the actual character is a big key to making it look sleek and closer to the original. The T-1000 is made of liquid metal like mercury, it takes little force to separate it and little force to put it back together, and in both of the recreations you made it bouncier, more gelatinous, made it a lil cartoony, and made it looks like it took effort to go through the bars, where as the T-1000 just slides in like it's nothing, no effort, no struggle, making him look more menacing.
It's the little details that really make the effects come alive

[LJP]

I was actually working as a software engineer at Cyberware (the company with the 3D digitizer mentioned at 12:23 - you can even see the logo on the computer display) when this was going on in 1990-1991. There were only 12 people (inventor David Addleman, his parents and brother, and eight employees), so everything was in a few rooms, including the manufacturing of $40, 000 products. I distinctly remember the model seen at 21:40 (I even touched it) - a plaster cast of the actor's head was used to make a model out of something flexible that someone at ILM then modified to include the blast hole. It was sent to Cyberware to be scanned, so that the data could then be used in their animation. I always wondered why ILM hadn't bought their own digitizer yet, like a couple other animation companies had done by that time. Instead, ILM would fly actors up to Monterey, CA to be digitized in person at Cyberware (yes, I met several actors) or do a plaster cast of the actor and ship it to us.

That was a fascinating place to work, and I have lots of memories. As a souvenir I even kept a floppy disk (obviously unusable now - it was only compatible with HP Integral computers and Cyberware's early software) with the scan data of William Shatner! (The whole bridge crew was scanned for the time travel scene in Star Trek IV.) I also convinced my husband to get digitized for fun, and then I made a miniature "bronze" bust from it (high-density stiff foam carved by Cyberware's computer-driven milling machine, then covered with a mixture of bronze powder and epoxy and touched up with brown shoe polish - it's a technique David's mom developed that looks surprisingly convincing until you pick it up and realize how lightweight it is.) Of course my husband is now horribly embarrassed by the bust's existence, so it never sees the light of day.

[spiderdude]

This just goes to show you how unbelievably amazing T-2 really was. They basically MADE the technology required to do what they wanted. From scratch.

[maninthemask]

It’s insane that the original STILL looks better. Like even after all these years the effects still hold up.

[thatfunkyopossum]

Whenever y’all do this and at the end come to the conclusion of “the superior version is a merging of these two methods”, i’d really love to see y’all take the time to combine them! I think it would be neat and educational

[shmehfleh]

It's a real testament to the original VFX artists' skill that 30 years later, that shot is still tough as hell to reproduce. I saw T2 in the theater, and I remember being blown away by it. This was back when special effects shots like that made national news.

[johnalphacentauri]

The biggest mistake of this version was to add bouncing. In this new version looks more like a sort jelly or silicone.
The beauty of the old one is also made by that fluid, sinuous, sneaky effect of liquid metal.
That is not a technical error but just lack of poetry. Anyway this video is great and very fascinating!

[nicksouthwell]

The original has Patrick taking a step. Yours, wren is just floating. That’s a big part of the disconnect.

Not to downplay your work. It looks great guys.

[AntsHumour]

Even modern VFX experts can't beat high budget 90s CGI

[MarcoNoPolo]

That whole film still stands today. The CGI. Everything.

[SWDude]

The fact that this film is nearly 3 decades old and the CGI for the most part looks great still is really something to be proud of!

[leokimvideo]

The chrome & gray sphere. The stuff of visual effect legends. Those who held the sphere had the power

[Deetroiter]

The graphics and technology used in this movie is still absolutely incredible to this very day. The fact that they didn’t cut away but actually fully showed him walking through the bars…pure madness. Especially for 30 years ago

[goldenjam_]

Fun fact: the original wasn't cgi. Robert Patrick improvised the whole thing and decided that melting through the bars was cooler

[dash]

imagine how satisfied those old dudes must be knowing shit they created decades ago still baffles modern tech wizards. Just imagine what they would be creating with that same determination and eye for detail if they had been using modern equipment.

[soulforsale]

As a Japanese person, I’m proud to see that Shuzo Matsuoka is being used as an encouragement meme 😂

[Wheezyweasel]

Just to show how amazing Robert Patrick is, the guy really went through the bars and he really changed his hands to blades. It took the actor months to learn how to melt and morph his body through the bars, and to become liquid, but he did it, amazing actor.