Figure 1. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his role as a terminator, is shown holding one of the Mini Hunter Killers that seems to pop in and out of the screen in T2 3-D at Universal Studios Florida. Click on image for larger view.This latest sequel reunites Schwarzenegger with former costars Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, Edward Furlong as young John Connor, and Robert Patrick as T-1000, the morphing metal menace. Joining this cast is a host of new villains, including a fleet of Mini-Hunter-Killers and T-1,000,000, which is entirely computer generated and exceeding in complexity than anything that had been done to date.
Directed by John Cameron (who also directed The Terminator), Terminator 2 3-Duses the latest in digital imaging technology to catapult the audience into the center of 3-dimensional action right alongside international superstar Schwarzenegger. Sharing in directorial credit are special-effects wizards Stan Winston (Jurassic Park) and John Bruno (True Lies). With a production cost of $60 million, the 12-minute film is, frame by frame, the most expensive live-action movie ever produced. Cameron commented that he regards Terminator 2 3-D as a true sequel to his blockbusters. “It’s definitely the next film. The only difference is this film is only 12 minutes long, and you can’t see it in just any theater.”
Terminator 2 3-D departs from convention in that it is presented in a three-dimensional format, so many of the images appear to pop out of the screen. The production is simultaneously projected onto three 23- by 250-ft screens oriented 60° from each other to envelop the audience. But perhaps the most impressive feature of Terminator 2 3-D is the addition of live actors and an in-theater set that incorporates the audience into the action to add an even greater dimension to the attraction. The electrifying nature of the stunts is typified by a sequence featuring Schwarzenegger driving a 1500-lb Harley Davidson “Fat Boy” that explodes off the screen and roars onto the theater’s stage.
Transition sequences proved to be the trickiest elements of the three-act show, requiring split-second timing to seamlessly unite stunt actors flying out of trap doors in the stage and screen with filmed elements that boasted their own special effects. Producer Chuck Comisky revealed that, “Working out the timing of the screen-to-live elements was our biggest challenge. There are so many variables in a live show, while the movie part is essentially locked in. Yet, somehow, we have to ensure it all works together — every time.”
Pulling it off
Terminator 2 3-Dmerges innovative fluid power, electronic, and mechanical motion-control techniques hidden from the audience’s view to accomplish many of the fast-action scenes. Scenic Technologies Inc., New York, was contracted to develop a technique to permit split-second opening and closing, raising, and lowering of various rigging to achieve a number of live-action visual illusions and to accomplish these effects without alerting the audience to how they were done.
The primary challenge was how to execute rapid linear motion within a half-second time limit to avoid tipping off the audience as to what was happening. A hybrid solution was derived, involving PLC control of hydraulic and pneumatic actuators driving a series of mechanical pulleys and cables. Engineers at Scenic Technologies originally proposed a concept using a high-power servomotor, an electromagnetic clutch, belt-driven linear actuators, spring-mounted guide wheels, and specially machined tracks. In addition, special safety provisions had to be met, which added extra rigging and other mechanisms. This solution met Universal’s original design goal of a full 6½-ft traverse within 1 sec.
In an effort to further enhance the illusion, Universal’s show designers cut the traverse time for lighter objects from 1 to ½ sec. The final design uses a high-speed, servo-controlled, double rod-end hydraulic cylinder rigged with multiple lines of high-strength wire rope. This enables full traverse of heavy objects in a little less than 1 sec.
Pneumatics to the rescue