Five parts of “The Terminator” have already been released, but many viewers were impressed by its first episodes much more than the subsequent ones. Interesting facts about the shooting of a popular action movie, cast, paradoxes of time lines, theories - all these topics have long been the subject of discussion for fans of the franchise. The first two parts of the project made Arnold Schwarzenegger a real screen star. How was the Terminator's artificial eye created, and what tricks was the film's director forced to resort to? You can learn about this and much more from the article.
The price of the first "Terminator"
Some viewers often confuse the order of the first two parts, and sometimes only remember that in the first film the Terminator cuts out an eye and wants to kill main character, and in the second, she saves John and tries to gain the trust of his mother. Of course, true fans of the franchise remember much more details. Naturally, Interesting Facts The shooting of “The Terminator” remained in the memory of the creators of the action film, because it was they who had to show incredible ingenuity while working on the project. This action movie has become a wonderful example of how one of the most spectacular films of its time can be made for a relatively small amount of money.
Only $6.4 million was allocated for the production of the first part. If we take inflation into account, that amount would be approximately $14 million today. It's a rare director these days who would dare make a promising blockbuster for that kind of money. For example, about $500 million was spent on the creation of one of the parts of “The Avengers,” presented in 2018. After some period, director James Cameron joked that the film “Terminator” (1984) was shot for the cost of the trailer in which Schwarzenegger rested during the production of the second part of the film.
Unrealized ideas
While working on the first part of the film, its authors had to seriously save money. Due to the lack of necessary computer technology, Cameron's team resorted to various tricks when creating the famous robot. It was originally planned that the Terminator in the 1984 film would be created from liquid metal, with the ability to take on images different people. Subsequently, this idea was embodied in the sequel, when the budget was significantly increased and the necessary special effects appeared.
Due to the modest amount allocated for production, many others had to be abandoned. interesting ideas. Some insiders stated that in the first versions of the script, Arnold Schwarzenegger's character had to eat regular foods in order to maintain the normal state of his “human” shell. Of course, rejecting this idea probably has nothing to do with the small budget.
The secret of the Terminator's red eyes
The performer of a key role in the action film managed to accurately hit the desired image. Schwarzenegger's sparse facial expressions, his menacing appearance and impressive muscle mass did their job - the actor did an excellent job with the role of a “humanized” robot. The problem was completely different: it was necessary to decide what to do with the metal frame and the red glow of the Terminator's eyes. Cameron had to use stop-motion puppet animation technology, which filmmakers have been using for a long time.
The scene where the Terminator repairs his eye in Terminator 1 became one of the most memorable. Of course, these episodes were not complete without mannequins. In order for Schwarzenegger's character to get rid of his eye, the actor had to be temporarily replaced with a doll with a silicone face, which was moistened with water for a more naturalistic look. Periodically, the footage of the mannequin was replaced with footage of the performer leading role, who had makeup applied to him of blue color. The Terminator without an eye looked scary, and Schwarzenegger himself admitted that he was also impressed by these scenes later.
Dolls in the frame
Almost all scenes with the skeletal Terminator involved a doll that was no more than half a meter tall. Cameron used a shooting technique similar to puppet cartoons: every change in the position of the legs, skull, hands, etc. was recorded frame by frame. Then the frames were stitched together, and subsequently the audience could see the Terminator confidently walking in the frame. There were many such scenes, including an episode with a robot that got out from under a blazing truck. Such mannequins were only good for general shots. In episodes where only the torso, legs or head of the T-800 are visible, the authors of the action film used dolls to life size.
IN full height he was practically not shown - he was only able to move his arms and head, but could not walk.
James Cameron's tricks
Due to the fact that during the filming of the film "Terminator" (1984), the cyborg involved in film set, could not fully move, James Cameron resorted to various tricks. The director shot close-ups of individual parts of the robot: moving the upper part of the machine, its arm or leg was much easier than achieving realistic movements from the entire T-800. For example, in the scene with the exploding truck, viewers first saw a full-length small doll, animated frame by frame. After this, the emphasis is placed either on the face or on the legs. The latter was the easiest to film: you just had to rearrange the cyborg’s limbs, recording it on camera. The scene, which lasted only a few seconds on screen, was filmed in dozens of takes.
Schwarzenegger's "Partner"
As already mentioned, when the Terminator with a red eye appeared in the frame, it was not always Schwarzenegger himself. Instead of his head, viewers often saw an artificial head.
An example is the second half of the film, and it's especially worth noting the scenes shown shortly after the cyborg falls from his motorcycle and is hit by a truck. This fall leads to sad metamorphoses for the robot - metal begins to appear on the left side of his face. In some episodes, the viewer is shown a mannequin, and in others, the actor's face in makeup. The appearance of Schwarzenegger himself looks more realistic, but this effect partially disappears when he begins to speak: at these moments it becomes obvious that the movement of the “metal” is a little unnatural.
Toy truck
The story behind one of the most spectacular scenes in the film, the truck chase, is quite unusual. The chase was filmed with a real car driving at high speed, but the explosion had to be tricky. The Los Angeles administration did not allow the truck to be blown up in the city. In addition, not far from the scene of events there was an ammunition depot. After some deliberation, the film crew had to purchase a smaller copy of the fuel tanker. The first radio-controlled car exploded unsuccessfully, so we had to take on the second plastic car. As a result, the effect of realism was achieved thanks to accelerated shooting.
Magic tricks in famous scenes
Linda Hamilton, who portrayed Sarah Connor, did not at all try to hide from the car pursuing her. The actress simply ran near a huge screen with the corresponding video sequence. While filming a post-apocalyptic future, the director actively used toy sets. Much of what was shown to the viewer on the screen was made of foil, cardboard and plastic. The tanks, which seemed truly huge, were actually no larger than the size of an ordinary baby carriage. The grenade that ended up under the track is actually a small piece of plastic that didn't immediately manage to get into required space. Before everything turned out the way the director wanted, 26 takes were done. Cameron also experimented not only with accelerated filming, but also slow motion.
Peanut dust and cardboard city
When Terminator viewers see scenes of a post-apocalyptic future on screen, they can see that the ground is completely littered with skulls - in fact, each of them was the size of Walnut. The ruins of the city were created mainly from cardboard and occupied several square meters. Using artificial smoke, the film crew was able to create the illusion of a large space. The colorful explosions looked very impressive thanks to the backlight bulbs. In turn, the peanut dust looked just like slowly settling earth dust. Cameron used many such techniques.
Surely, the creators of the project will remember for the rest of their lives how they filmed “The Terminator,” because in many situations they had to show incredible imagination and creative thinking. For example, they did not have the opportunity to create spectacular flying machines: there was neither money nor time for this. The team decided to make a very rough model, and in order to achieve a smooth flight from the device, the specialists had to develop an entire system of cables.
Without these tricks, the implausibility of the aircraft was too obvious - it was given away by the characteristic swaying movements.
Total savings
The team had to save on everything: cars, suits, explosions, and even the Terminator's eye (more on that below). For example, scenes in which people were present in the frame at the same time as military equipment are just miracles of rear projection, as was the case with Hamilton’s heroine running away from a truck. There were no funds not only for pyrotechnic effects. The cameraman could not buy or rent an expensive camera dolly, so he often climbed onto the wheelchair, which was subsequently pushed by other members film crew. The first part of the action film was made almost in a hurry, initially positioned as a B-category film for a teenage audience.
Nevertheless, the audience witnessed the release of the real cultural phenomenon.
The last footage of the legendary cyborg
The last shot of the cult project of 1984, in which viewers are shown a colorful cyborg, is the skull of a T-800, crushed under pressure. Cameron had to work hard on this scene. In the final seconds of the spectacular episode, viewers see the Terminator's red eye fade. Although the scene looks quite impressive, it didn't require a lot of expense.
The team made do with polystyrene foam painted in a metallic color (it served as a “press”), foil (a cyborg skull), a red light bulb and smoke from a cigarette, which ended up in the frame by accident. Be that as it may, James Cameron and his assistants did a great job, thanks to which “Terminator” became one of famous projects in the world of cinema.
Sergey Dolgov, senior lecturer at the Higher School of Economics.
Many probably remember the blockbuster “Terminator” about a powerful metal man from the future with excellent eyesight. Today this film, which did not leave cinema screens in the early nineties, can easily be classified as “popular science cinema”. Almost all of his then fantastic ideas have already become a reality: artificial intelligence and humanoid robots - except that the liquid metal killer has not yet been invented and produced (and thank God!). However, of greatest interest in the context of this article is the “terminator eye” - a system that allows you to display additional information about objects falling into the field of view.
Augmented reality on the screen of a tablet or smartphone will generate the addresses of friends and acquaintances and provide information about the availability of seats in your favorite restaurant.
Imagine: you glanced at the nearest restaurant, and the menu for the day and a smiling chef waving at you were displayed on your retina. Fiction, would you say? No, a future that has already happened!
The name of this future is Auqmented Reality (augmented reality), or AR for short, - the technology of overlaying visual information associated with them onto visible images.
One of the founders of this technology can be considered Ivan Sutherland, an American specialist in computer graphics. In 1967, he developed a prototype based on Sword of Damocles stereo glasses for displaying 3D graphics. The system was first used in a project completed in 1968 for the Bell Helicopter Company, in which stereo glasses were paired with an infrared camera located under the belly of the helicopter. The camera was controlled by the movement of the pilot's head.
In the early 1990s, Boeing researcher Tom Caudell used head-mounted stereo displays in aircraft maintenance, overlaying interactive graphics over real-world images. Later, based on them, a device was created to display target data, first on the glass of an aircraft canopy, and later directly on the glass of the pilot’s helmet.
Since then, modern military aircraft and helicopters often use helmet-mounted displays, which allow the pilot to receive the most important information without looking at the main dashboard. Thanks to this, you can save precious seconds, for example during a maneuverable air battle. Such systems indicate a target by detecting head movement or reacting to the movement of the eyeballs. A pilot wearing such a helmet can not only visually recognize a target and distinguish it from dozens of other moving objects, but also obtain information about its speed, position relative to other targets, trace the trajectory of its intended movement, etc.
How does augmented reality work? The reading device (which can also be a regular phone with a camera) films the surrounding reality, captures the image and processes it using image recognition algorithms that complement the real image with a virtual one. As a rule, high-contrast images are used for these purposes, which are recognized by the cameras of the most primitive mobile phones even with very low resolution and in very low lighting. Inside a special program installed on a mobile device, there is information about which virtual image is associated with the image in the camera lens.
A special case of such a marker is a QR code (Quick Response Code), an analogue of a barcode, in which up to 7089 characters can be written. By installing a special application for mobile devices, you can instantly enter text information recorded in a QR code into your phone, add contacts to your address book, follow web links, send SMS messages, etc.
Modern developments in augmented reality make it possible to recognize not only clear lines, but also the shape of the face, hand, body proportions - almost any outline of objects. Several hundred virtual fitting rooms are already operating on the Internet and on real trading platforms, where you see yourself on the kiosk screen, like in the reflection of a mirror, only in new clothes. You can “try on” at least the entire collection of the store by controlling the program with simple gesture commands (waving your hands and pressing invisible buttons in the air), which makes it possible to choose the size and color without changing clothes.
Today, technological fashion trendsetters in the field of AR are manufacturers of computer entertainment, owners of mobile platforms, marketers and advertisers, large retail chains and online stores. There are hundreds computer games, which process the video signal from the camera and superimpose additional elements on the image of the surrounding world.
However, this technology is not only suitable for fun. In museums, libraries, development centers, in scientific and medical laboratories, augmented reality becomes a visual aid (for example, in clinics, where during an operation you need to “see” vital organs hidden from the surgeon’s eyes). It is not surprising that considerable funds are invested in developments in this area, because where interactivity is used, the material is learned better. This reality appeals not only to children, but also to adults. Enter the words museum and augmented reality into the Youtube search bar, and you will be immersed in amazing world augmented reality best museums peace.
AugmentedReality is an entire industry with gigantic investments, an impressive list of professions and specialties, a dizzying list of implementations and a very near future in which we will all soon feel like heroes of a science fiction film.
Today AR is available to any owner of an “advanced” mobile phone, equipped with geolocation technologies. For example, by simply pointing the camera of your phone, which has a special application downloaded, at a section of the sky, you can see the location of the stars in this place in given time. Naturally, this AR application works both during the day and in cloudy weather.
Also, using a phone equipped with a camera, GPS, compass and gyroscope, you can “look around” the street and see labels of cafes (with reviews), cinemas with movie schedules or other information superimposed on buildings. Some browsers allow you to download a three-dimensional metro map or receive visual information about friends on social networks who are currently nearby, as well as detect “traces” of those who sent messages on Twitter from a given point in space.
AR tours of ancient cities are available for tourists, where computer images are superimposed on the real environment. For example, the authors of the Lifeplus project suggest wearing something like a virtual reality helmet with a camera and a computer behind your shoulders. The image captured by the camera will be processed with a special software, so that the real environment will be complemented computer graphics. On an excursion to Pompeii, the tourist will see not only houses, taverns and estates dug out of volcanic ash, but also the inhabitants ancient city busy with everyday worries (naturally, these will be computer-generated images).
You can also see how virtual reality works in Moscow by booking an “augmented” tour of the Darwin Museum.
Almost every big company- from BMW to Nestle - has been noted in the creation of various AR applications. Russian companies, operating in the AR market (such as 2Nova, ArDoor, RedMadRobot, Wi2Geo, HotSpot, AiLove, Vane), have been creating interactive kiosks and promotional sites for advertising for several years in a row, releasing board “augmented” games, using markers for remote control virtual objects, they are actively developing recognition systems not only for barcodes, but also for real objects, such as human faces.
It is worth noting that there is a big difference between augmented and virtual realities: the first superimposes individual information elements on a picture of the real world, and the second creates a new one based on it artificial world. So, it seems that virtual reality has exhausted itself. Instead, an altered reality awaits us, where Computer World is introduced into the real unnoticed, as if in make-believe. Real world At the same time, it begins to acquire new meanings and connections.
Useful AR-based services
● The Layar browser allows Android smartphones to gain real-time access to information about the world around them. The augmented reality in this application is divided into layers: from metro stations and attractions to panoramic photographs objects.
● Russian social network AlterGeo gives you the opportunity through the camera mobile device see pop-up information messages (for example, 543 meters from you on the right there is a bakery, 810 meters away there is a gas station, and after 1024 meters there is your friend registered on the network).
● On the website t-immersion.com you can learn in detail how augmented reality works in the most various fields(industrial production, education, marketing), and even try to create it yourself by downloading the developer package.
● The creators of the Semapedia service took the on-line encyclopedia Wikipedia as a basis: using a mobile phone you can “read” special tags and access the corresponding article in Wikipedia.
Since childhood, I have been curious about what kind of strange letters flash on the screen when the viewer sees the world through the eyes of the Terminator. The machines are the same, they should be designed the same. But no, the creators still made a number of significant changes. Yes, the color scheme remained the same from grandfather’s room for developing photographs, but the content of the texts displayed on the screen has changed dramatically. In the first part, the emphasis is on creating in the viewer a feeling of contact with an incomprehensible machine intelligence. It is absolutely impossible to understand why this is written there without having some advanced knowledge in the field of computer science. Having them, you can note, not without joy in your heart, that a robot from the year 2029, don’t feed him plutonium, loves to read in his spare time (and even in work time too) listings of assembly code for the MOS Technology 6510/8500 processor, known mainly due to the extremely popular Commodore-64 personal computer in the 80s. You can verify this by reading the list of instructions of a given processor and comparing it with what the terminator sees:
I personally cannot understand what this code is supposed to do, because my knowledge is limited only by a very long acquaintance with assembler for x86 series processors. But here knowledgeable people they say that this is nothing more than Apple DOS 3.3 code. One cannot help but be surprised. How can one not recall the robot Bender, who, looking at the flowcharts, said, “Bad, bad girl..." Apparently, the sight of the naked code of the ancient operating system brought the terminator into awe and languor, making his iron heart beat faster.
Here, by the way, one can also trace analogies with John Connor's father. After all, all the time in the future he was still admiring Sarah’s photo, until it (the photo) was burned by an evil killer robot. Perhaps, in fact, the Terminator also admired the Apple Dos 3.3 code, until before his eyes the vile rebel smashed the last functioning model of the computer on which it was running with his butt. And he flared up with anger and returned to the past in order to take revenge on people and save the operating system dear to his heart. And he wanted to kill John Connor's mother just for the sake of the lulz.
In the second part, the Terminator was severely reprogrammed by John Connor, who knocked all this robo-erotic nonsense out of his brain. Apparently, it can be considered that he castrated him in a sense. No more exciting listings! Only human-readable interfaces and a compass.
Here everything is more or less clear. It is clear that the robot needs a car, there are criteria. True, the units of measurement are puzzling. Well, okay, it's a robot, what does it matter? And no robotic nonsense for you there. By the way, Connor also changed the font. AND color scheme twisted it slightly. You know exactly who. “Robots, your fonts are crap, only assholes design this way!”
But the terminator is looking for a new thing. Please note that when asking prices, he can adjust the degree of extrapolation, grid spacing, and even the accuracy of the z-buffer. That's so beautiful. I really didn’t expect that these inscriptions running in a split second could turn out to be so meaningful. It’s a pity we can’t see how he changes parameters when choosing clothes for himself.
An inquisitive reader can also mark the checksum field in this picture. I must say, this is a very common phenomenon, found in a significant part of the screens. Apparently, the desire to constantly check the checksum for some reason is a favorite pastime of terminators. Moreover, this passion has successfully migrated from the first part. There, the terminator also ran checksum with manic persistence:
KEY PERFECT 4.0 on the right side of the screen is nothing more than an Apple II checksum programm. And he spams this Key Perfect 4.0 incredibly.
More funny stuff:
For some reason, terminators store the amount of losses in a variable of type real, and not int, as one might expect. Like, does he count the wounded as half or, say, a third of those killed? And if you accidentally wound 10 people, does that count as one killed?
One of the most famous moments:
The Terminator ponders the answer options. I wonder if terminators can speak in Shakespearean style on occasion? For a robot, swearing is no more difficult than quoting Hamlet. He could sometimes say something like: “Poor John Connor, I knew him, T1000, he was a man of endless wit, inexhaustible in inventions...”
Death of the Terminator:
The last thing the brave robot sees before turning into molten steel. It's hard to see, but you can see something:
IMMINENT SHUTDOWN - inevitable death
SYSTEM FAILURE
MODE LEVELS (you can tell) - My health is very bad.
TEMPERATURE OVERLOAD - Heat, fever
NEURAL NET MISFIRE
AT NODE ///// - Brain indigestion
That's it, I couldn't make out anything else.
I'm as sorry as a robot. Every time I almost cry when I see him drowning.
Since childhood, I have been curious about what kind of strange letters flash on the screen when the viewer sees the world through the eyes of the Terminator.
I somehow didn’t have time to check everything. Now, I finally remembered. It’s very interesting, I’ll tell you.
The first thing that surprised me was that it turns out that terminators see differently in different parts (I mean the second and first, I didn’t test the third, because it is graceless and does not count as kagbe at all). It would seem, why bother with a garden? The machines are the same, they should be designed the same. But no, the creators still made a number of significant changes.
Yes, the color scheme remained the same from grandfather’s room for developing photographs, but the content of the texts displayed on the screen has changed dramatically.
In the first part, the emphasis is on creating in the viewer a feeling of contact with an incomprehensible machine intelligence. It is absolutely impossible to understand why this is written there without having some advanced knowledge in the field of computer science. Having them, you can note, not without joy in your heart, that a robot from the year 2029, don’t feed him plutonium, likes to read in his spare time (and during working hours too) assembly code listings for the MOS Technology 6510/8500 processor, known mainly thanks to the Commodore-64 personal computer, which was extremely popular in the 80s. You can verify this by reading the list of instructions of a given processor and comparing it with what the terminator sees:
Or here: 
I personally cannot understand what this code is supposed to do, because my knowledge is limited only by a very long acquaintance with assembler for x86 series processors. But knowledgeable people say that this is nothing more than Apple DOS 3.3 code. One cannot help but be surprised. How can one not remember the robot Bender, who, looking at the flowcharts, said, “Bad, bad girl...”. Apparently, the sight of the naked code of the ancient operating system brought the terminator into awe and languor, causing his iron heart to beat faster.
Here, by the way, one can also trace analogies with John Connor's father. After all, all the time in the future he was still admiring Sarah’s photo, until it (the photo) was burned by an evil killer robot. Perhaps, in fact, the Terminator also admired the Apple Dos 3.3 code, until before his eyes the vile rebel smashed the last functioning model of the computer on which it was running with his butt. And he flared up with anger and returned to the past in order to take revenge on people and save the operating system dear to his heart. And he wanted to kill John Connor's mother just for the sake of the lulz.
In the second part, the Terminator was severely reprogrammed by John Connor, who knocked all this robo-erotic nonsense out of his brain. Apparently, it can be considered that he castrated him in a sense. No more exciting listings! Only human-readable interfaces and a compass.
Here everything is more or less clear. It is clear that the robot needs a car, there are criteria. True, the units of measurement are puzzling. Well, okay, it's a robot, what does it matter? And no robotic nonsense for you there. By the way, Connor also changed the font. And I tweaked the color scheme a little. You know it yourself. “Robots, your fonts are crap, only assholes design this way!”
But the terminator is looking for a new thing. Please note that when asking prices, he can adjust the degree of extrapolation, grid spacing, and even the accuracy of the z-buffer. That's so beautiful. I really didn’t expect that these inscriptions running in a split second could turn out to be so meaningful. It’s a pity we can’t see how he changes parameters when choosing clothes for himself.
An inquisitive reader can also mark the checksum field in this picture. I must say, this is a very common phenomenon, found in a significant part of the screens. Apparently, the desire to constantly check the checksum for some reason is a favorite pastime of terminators. Moreover, this passion has successfully migrated from the first part. There, the terminator also ran checksum with manic persistence:
KEY PERFECT 4.0 on the right side of the screen is nothing more than Apple II checksum programm. And he spams this Key Perfect 4.0 incredibly.
More funny stuff: 
For some reason, terminators store the amount of losses in a variable of type real, and not int, as one might expect. Like, does he count the wounded as half or, say, a third of those killed? And if you accidentally wound 10 people, does that count as one killed?
One of the most famous moments: 
The Terminator ponders the answer options. I wonder if terminators can speak in Shakespearean style on occasion? For a robot, swearing is no more difficult than quoting Hamlet. He could sometimes say something like: “Poor John Connor, I knew him, T1000, he was a man of endless wit, inexhaustible in inventions...”
Death of the Terminator: 
The last thing the brave robot sees before turning into molten steel. It's hard to see, but you can see something:
IMMINENT SHUTDOWN - inevitable death
SYSTEM FAILURE
MODE LEVELS (you can tell) - My health is very bad.
TEMPERATURE OVERLOAD - Heat, fever
NEURAL NET MISFIRE
AT NODE ///// - Brain indigestion
That's it, I couldn't make out anything else.
I'm as sorry as a robot. Every time I almost cry when I see him drowning.
Chapaev and only :(
