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In the realm of cinematic special effects, few names resonate as strongly as Douglas Trumbull. His revolutionary contributions to landmark films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Blade Runner cemented his place among the greatest visual effects pioneers. Trumbull passed away in February 2022 at the age of 79.
As fans continue to mourn his loss, it's an opportune moment to reflect on the extraordinary life of this groundbreaking visual artist. Here are 10 intriguing facts about the journey of filmmaker and special effects legend Douglas Trumbull.
10. A Family Tradition
Douglas Trumbull was born on April 8, 1942, in Los Angeles, California. Growing up near Hollywood certainly gave him an advantage in entering the industry, and a family tie also played a role. His father, Don Trumbull, was an aerospace engineer who contributed to the special effects of Star Wars (1977) and one of Hollywood's early visual effects masterpieces: The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Although Douglas Trumbull’s father didn’t have another film credit until after his son found success in the industry, he later collaborated with him on movies such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It's evident that the artistic abilities that define a great visual artist run in the Trumbull family.
9. Early Fascination with Electronics and Construction
Growing up in California, Trumbull developed a deep curiosity about how mechanical and electronic devices functioned. He even crafted his own crystal set radios, small devices that could not only receive radio signals but also power themselves from those signals.
This natural talent for mechanics and electricity sparked his interest in pursuing a career in architecture. However, his unique skills would ultimately steer him toward a path where he could merge his passion for outer space and science fiction films.
8. Films Created for NASA and the Air Force
Before venturing into architecture, Trumbull’s drawings of planets and spacecraft caught the eye of Graphic Films, a small animation and graphic arts studio. The studio served as a contractor for the U.S. government, particularly NASA and the U.S. Air Force.
During his time there, Trumbull contributed to documentaries and conceptual films for these agencies. Some of these films were even shot in Cinerama, a groundbreaking widescreen format that required three separate projectors to display the film on a curved, wraparound screen. A forerunner of today’s IMAX, Cinerama was an ideal choice for Graphic Films and NASA to showcase the agency’s ambitious plans for space exploration.
7. A Ticket to the 1964 World’s Fair
One of the Cinerama projects Trumbull worked on for Graphic Films was featured at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. To the Moon and Beyond was shown at the Transportation and Travel Pavilion, offering an immersive Cinerama experience that gave audiences a glimpse of space travel, five years before NASA’s historic moon landing.
The film’s poster invited viewers to prepare for “the most fantastic, incredible voyage through billions of miles of space…from its utmost outer reaches…back to the Earth itself, and into the center of the minutest atom. All through the magic of Cinerama!”
6. A Tribute to Kubrick
In 1964, the World’s Fair hosted two notable guests—director Stanley Kubrick and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke—who were in the early stages of developing their groundbreaking 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Captivated by the realism of the To the Moon and Beyond segment, Kubrick enlisted the help of Graphic Films as advisors and storyboard artists for his film.
When Kubrick parted ways with Graphic Films, Trumbull took a bold step and contacted Kubrick directly, offering his ideas for how to bring Kubrick’s vision to life. This fateful call marked a turning point in Trumbull’s career, leading Kubrick to reach out to Trumbull’s boss and arrange for him to travel to England to contribute to the film.
5. The Birth of the Stargate
As the production of 2001 progressed, the team eventually figured out how to transform the script’s ambitious concepts into the stunning visual effects that would become iconic. One of the most memorable sequences, the ‘Stargate’ scene, in which astronaut Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) encounters extraterrestrial life, was initially vague in its design when filming began.
Trumbull recalled that the team had a rough concept of one of Jupiter’s moons featuring a tunnel, offering a glimpse into another part of the universe. However, there was no concrete plan for how to turn this idea into something real. He remarked, 'It wasn’t my job to find a solution, but I could see what others were doing, and it was clear it wasn’t working.' Inspired by some 'avant-garde animation films' he had watched, Trumbull came up with a machine he called a 'slit-scan.' The machine 'moved colorful artwork behind slits while the camera pulled away from the slit.' This effect became the famous scene we see in the film today. Kubrick approved of the results and told Trumbull to 'keep shooting, keep shooting.'
4. The Genesis of Iconic Droids
Trumbull leveraged his success from 2001 to secure more special effects roles in Hollywood. Just a few years later, he was given the opportunity to direct his own film, Silent Running. The film tells the story of a botanist (Bruce Dern) in the future, who is tasked with preserving plant and animal life until Earth is once again habitable. He achieves this with the help of small robots (designed by Trumbull himself). For those who watched Silent Running after seeing Star Wars, the robots might seem strangely familiar, as they could easily fit into the Star Wars universe as droids.
Norman Reynolds, the art director for the 1977 Star Wars film, acknowledged this connection, saying, 'I remember watching Silent Running for the robots.' Some of the features shared by the robots in Silent Running and the Star Wars droids include retractable arms, the ability to interact with computers, and built-in tools. But perhaps the most striking similarity is the characteristic beeps and whistles that both sets of robots use to communicate.
3. Protecting the Planet
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also known as the BP oil spill, started within days of the April 20, 2010 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. By the time the leak was under control, an estimated 3.19 million barrels of oil had leaked into the Gulf.
Ever the inventor, Trumbull took to social media with a solution concept that garnered a lot of attention at the time as a common-sense way to clean up the Gulf waters. His concept and pitch can still be seen on YouTube. In the end, no governments or BP reached out to Trumbull to follow up on the idea, but one does have to wonder if his ideas were incorporated into cleanup efforts.
2. A Universal Back to the Future
When Universal Studios wanted to create a Back to the Future ride, they contracted with a company called Berkshire Ridefilm. This is one of several companies that Trumbull started and named after the Berkshire hills area of Massachusetts where he lived. Given his credentials and experience with To the Moon and Beyond and the sense of movement in the 2001 Stargate sequence, he was the ideal candidate to help Universal bring the ride to life. He directed the 4-minute film that’s a part of the ride.
Trumbull took on the job with his characteristic zeal and inventiveness, and he can be seen on YouTube talking about how he conveyed the sense of motion that is so key to the ride to the short film.
1. Leading the Shots
Earlier, we discussed how, after determining the approach to film the iconic 2001 Stargate scene, he took charge of much of the filming himself, as encouraged by Kubrick. This hands-on experience, combined with his rise as a director, made it common for other directors to let Trumbull handle the special effects sequences in their films.
Trumbull's most memorable contributions include his work on the 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture. According to the Hollywood Reporter, director Robert Wise entrusted Trumbull with filming the dramatic docking sequence on the Enterprise, as well as Spock’s spacewalk. These two moments are widely regarded as some of the most remarkable scenes in the Star Trek franchise.
