Toon Talk: Tron: 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition - Apr 22, 2002

Toon Talk: Tron: 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition
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Nowadays, everything is digital. But see the ‘primitive’ ways the filmmakers used Digital Imagery on Tron here:

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  • Backlit Animation: How they separated the filmed images for individual coloring, such as the costume circuitry and eyes and teeth.
  • Digital Imagery in ‘Tron’: The aim was to cohesively combine the live actors with the CGI environments. The breakdown of the effects houses and their scenes is revealed here as well.
  • Beyond ‘Tron’: The highlight of this excerpt from a television special on the computer company Magi (who did the Light Cycles, Recognizers and Tanks) is a hilariously retro, Simpsons-esque publicity film on what computer animation is.
  • The Role of Triple I: Merely an intro for …
  • Triple I Demo: Triple I was another effects house used for Tron; they created Sark’s Carrier, the Solar Sailer and the MCP. This demo film is a trippy kaleidoscope of early computer animation, the kind you often see in video bars or your local Virgin Megastore. If that juggler looks familiar, it should. His face was used as a model for the MCP.

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All the characters, vehicles and settings for Tron are shown from their original to final Design:

Introduction to Design: Lisberger states the classic Atari games as inspiration, and drops another hint about Tron 2.0.

The Programs: Each character has their own gallery, which smartly includes production photos and actual stills from the movie along with the typical conceptual artwork:

  • Flynn: See the original white costumes as they appeared on the set!
  • Tron: See Bruce Boxleitner with a Metropolis-like skullcap!
  • Yori: See her in a dress!
  • Dumont: See him float!
  • Sark: See the samurai influences!
  • MCP: See the animation test that allowed the Master Control to speak!
  • The Bit: See what could have been Tron’s answer to the cute and cuddly sidekick!
  • Video Warriors: See Road Warrior rip-offs!
  • Miscellaneous Characters: See Cirque de Soliel rejects!
  • Guards: See … nothing much!

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The Vehicles: Separate sections for all the high-tech gadgets on display in Tron:

  • Light Cycles: Features Syd Mead Discusses Light Cycle Design, where you see the Light Cycle sequence … again. Also includes Magi Animation Tests and a design gallery of the Light Cycles in various colors.
  • Recognizers: In addition to a gallery showing interior and exterior designs of these floating monoliths, you can view the Magi-created video display for the Space Paranoids game played by Flynn in the movie, in either full-screen or letterbox formats.
  • Tanks: Gallery, with interior and exterior designs as well.
  • Sark’s Carrier: Gallery; at one point, it actually did look like an aircraft carrier.
  • Solar Sailor: Gallery; at various times the Sailer resembled a Viking ship, a pontoon boat and even Captain Hook’s pirate galleon.

The Electronic World: Gallery showcasing the film’s different settings, including Dillinger’s office, Flynn’s arcade, the game grid, the I/O tower and Yori’s apartment (with Tron and Yori playing patty-cake), not seen in the film (see Deleted Scenes below).