good location for the scene, Or. iginally, the sequence had been photographed by Karl Struss in Red Rock Canyon, but Bob Burns wes unable to obtain a weekend permit to film there. Joe Musso, who had ‘worked with some of the team members on Flash Gordon, remem: bered 2 location near Death Valley called Trona Pinnacle. Some of the lecelandic scenes from Jourey t0 the Center of the Earth had been filmed there, as well as.a brief sequence in the Bautlestar Galactica pilot. ‘Tom Scherman, Dennis Muren, ‘Minorand Matney scouted the area, taking measurements, figuring ‘out the camera angles and position, Dennis Muren has long been familiar with the requirements for @ perspective shot, since many years ‘ago he photographed the tree houses for the David Allen film Raiders of the Stone Ring using the ‘same method, With the location selected and the ‘model completed, Bob and Kathy Burns began the lengthy process of ‘organizing the logistics of the shoot permits, equipment, costumes, 2 ‘etc. The costumes proved to be more difficult than anticipated. In the 1950s you could have gone to ‘any surplus store and bought all the props and clothes for a few dollars, but now. ... The only authentic pieces of equipment that they were able to find were the oxygen mas! everything else had to be built. ‘The costumes and props were clearly pictured in the publicity stills Bums had on hand, so they knew ‘what the finished items had to !ook like. Close inspection revealed an enormous amount of hand props and equipment that would have to be fabricated. Burns is an expert at scavenging odd parts and shapes and combining them into something else. The oxygen tank equipment ‘was assembled from milk bottle caps, plastic toy bells, wooden dow Ing and pipe fittings, Even back packs and map cases had to be ‘custom assembled, Driven by the desire for authenticity, Kathy Burns even bullt the explorers’ caps, with only the photo for a quide. ‘The day of shooting tinally arrivea with everything ready, having been finished only the night before. {At the pinnacle the weather was clear, the Sun bright—everything Perfect for photography except for a strong 40-mph wind blowing in sharp gusts. For a shot requiring rock steady foreground miniature, this presented a problem. The original location was abandoned and ‘everything was shifted up to a hillside, hoping to gain some protec: tion from the fierce wind, Dennis Muren had had a frame ‘welded together that resembled an ironing board without the cover and with one leg. The framework would cantilever in front of the camera, serving as 9 base for the miniature, twas weighted down with rocks to secure it as firmly as possible against the wind. Left: Bob Skotak applies final coat of latex and ‘dasue to Brian Mosman's ack. The X-M crew ls ‘by asun- attacked bilstered Martian cave: dweller, Below left: Brian Is fitted with plastic Bald cap. The makeup was left very rough since ‘only long shota are involved. ‘Mike Minor and Tom Scherman began to build the miniature set after the camera was locked down in position. The foreground miniature ‘was constructed at the site, since the terrain had to be matched exactly, (Mike Minor describes the process. “First we started screwing plywood to the frame, then I stapled an apron of lightweight wire screen on the ‘edges. The screening didn’t drape straight down, but flared out around the circumference parallel to the ground. We plastered right on top of that—smeared, painted— “It took about three hours to com: plete the miniature, We had just barely enough time to get the takes. twas @ constant battle, because as the day went on, the shadows got longer and the colors changed, so there was constant repainting. The 40-mph winds moved the rocket ever so slightly, even with the brace that Tom had built. (Tom drove four nails into a plece of plywood that matched the positions of four holes drilled inside the base finds, The rocket was set on the nails and epoxied down.) Those takes in which the rocket moved, of course, will not be used—it looks like an earthquake had started!" During the entire shoot Tom ‘Scherman was no more than ten feet from the rocket. One gust of wind strong enougl to rip the model out of its base and damage it would have wasted the day. Without the rocket there would be no scene to shoot, The camera was tied down on a tripod with a nodal mount. The first shoot included a pan from right to left of about 120°, following the ex. plorers as they leave the rocket. Without the nodal mount the perspective would shift between the foreground miniature and the background terrain, spoiling the