Tag Archives: architecture

damascus it is

Posted on by March 11, 2013
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On 26 February 2013 TV2 of Denmark needed a backdrop for a report on the current conflict in Syria. As it seems someone at the station searched the web for a suitable picture and hit upon a beautiful vista of the old city of Damascus. But the picture shows Damascus as it most probably has looked during the time of the ↑third crusade (1189-1192). Above that the picture doesn’t depict anything from the empirical world, but is a still from the computer game ‘↵Assassin’s Creed‘ (Ubisoft Montreal 2007). Quite tell-tale is the wooden beam attached to the minarett at the … Continue reading →

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where’s the original?

Posted on by February 17, 2013
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zeph’s pop culture quiz #58 It will be a matter of seconds to identify the movie from which the above screencap stems. But, believe it or not, the building at the left was inspired by a real-life one. Where is the original building located?     Simply leave a comment with your educated guess—you can ask for additional hints, too. [Leaving a comment is easy; just click the ‘Leave a comment’ at the end of the post and fill in the form. If it’s the first time you post a comment, it will be held for moderation. But I am … Continue reading →

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fallingwater neuschwanstein hybrid

Posted on by February 17, 2013
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This is the fictional castle or fortress atop the ↑Reichenbach Falls where the showdown between ↑Holmes and ↑Moriarty takes place in ‘↑A Game of Shadows‘ (Ritchie 2011). It was ↑created by the VFX company Framestore. Their first inspiration was the ↑Festung Hohenwerfen in Austria:  But as Hohenwerfen looked a bit too military, the designers threw in elements inspired by ↑Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria:  And then of course, the basic idea, to my eye, comes from ↑Frank Lloyd Wright‘s ↑Fallingwater:  RITCHIE, GUY STEWART. 2011. Sherlock Holmes: A game of shadows [motion picture]. Burbank: Warner Bros. … Continue reading →

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ennis house sunrise

Posted on by January 17, 2013
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  The idea to recreate the ‘↵House on Haunted Hill‘ in ‘↑Minecraft‘ haunts me since months. Well, ↑Kevin Shull already did it back in November 2011, complete with custom texture pack and all: House was created “block for block” as close as I could get with the photographs I found. Some areas were unclear in photos if photographed at all. House is 3x minecraft dimensions. Doors are six blocks tall instead of two. Thirteen textures created for textile blocks. Thirty additional “ice” blocks were created (that won’t melt) for windows and doors. Not enough blocks to do window designs or … Continue reading →

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joost swarte interview

Posted on by November 7, 2012
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↑The Comics Journal just republished online a ↑long interview which Daniel Peniston and Kim Thompson did in 2006 with Dutch comic book legend ↑Joost Swarte. The interview not only shows what a Renaissance man Swarte is, but there also are discussed e.g. architecture, theatre, and the Clear Line aka ligne claire, originally Klare lijn as coined by Swarte. A fine companion piece on the latter subject is Paul Gravett’s ↑Hergé & The Clear Line. … Continue reading →

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behind the metropolis

Posted on by November 1, 2012
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Just refound these two behind-the-scenes stills of the set of ‘↑Metropolis‘ (Lang 1927), showing how one of the most famous vistas in the history of the moving images was built. From looking at them alone it becomes understandable why the movie was ↵so costly.  LANG, FRITZ. 1927. Metropolis [motion picture]. Berlin: Ufa. … Continue reading →

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star wars 1313

Posted on by June 17, 2012
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Somewhen I read a quote by George Lucas which I can’t find again—little wonder in the face of the tons of quotes of him published. It might have been in connection to the ephemeral sequel trilogy or the then upcoming ‘The Clone Wars.’ Anyway, if I remember correctly he stated that he wanted further material in the franchise to follow darker, grittier storylines. Immediately I thought that finally ‘the ↵mellow fairy tale mythology of this space operas disguised as science fiction’ are subjected to the cyberpunk discourse, too. Well, now it indeed may happen—at E3 LucasArts demonstrated a new Star … Continue reading →

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lego serving science

Posted on by March 24, 2012
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I especially like this Google Science Fair 2012 video, because it shows how much makeshift and creative improvisation takes place in laboratory work—quite to the contrary of the usual renditions of hight-tech labs in movies. And I of course do like it, because Lego is used. Another instance of Lego serving science is a recent publicity stunt: The personnel of the German research-station ↑Neumayer III in antarctica are ↑recreating their station out of 7000 Lego pieces [in German]. Seemingly as a kind of group therapy to overcome the boredom during the antarctic winter :-) … Continue reading →

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