Designing the Computer UIs In Movies

xandroid points out an NPR interview with Mark Coleran, who "...designs the fancy-but-fake graphics that flash across computers in the movies. He has worked on a laundry list of blockbusters: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Ultimatum, Children of Men, Mission Impossible III, and many more. He says a lot of the inspiration for computer screens comes from video games." The main point of these fake movie UIs is different than that of real UIs: to tell a story very quickly, not to reveal and enable function.

Re:so hes the guy to blame

[negRo_slim]

Last I heard (back when TechTV was still going) the majority of the UIs are done with Stardock [stardock.com].

Stardock Systems in the 90s had stuff used for thi

[Locutus]

In the 90s, with the OO( Object Oriented ) Workplace Shell on OS/2, a company called Stardock Systems came up with a great desktop enhancing package( Object Desktop ) which I'd heard was also being used to build screens for the film industry. It really made an OS/2 desktop pop and back then, only the NextStep UI can close to the default WPS. I don't think anything came close to what Stardock did with the WPS using their desktop extension Object Desktop.

The article could have went into what they use and what they've used. It was pretty shallow without that info IMO.

LoB

Re:Jurassic xterms

[Thelasko]

It's a UNIX system! I know this!

That system used in Jurassic Park actually exists. It's called fsn [wikipedia.org] and it has an open source alternative called tdfsb. [determinate.net]

Not as bad a directed security camera's

[SmallFurryCreature]

I am sure you have seen it, when the characters watch a security video of something you saw earlier and apparently security camera's are on dolly's, move about and cut automatic to new shots for the most exciting action...

Although my worsed still is Jurassic Park, a time line underneath a live conversation...

Re:It's as simple as Ninnle!

[Soul-Burn666]

Actually, the 3D GUI in Jurassic Park did exist.
Although the official page is already down, you can check the internet archive version here [archive.org]. (Also seems down at the moment, quite sad though).
It was an experimental file system navigator called FSN, written by Silicon Graphics. Who else would try to push 3D even where it's not that useful?

Re:Clever girl

[this great guy]

Life isn't a soap opera. Life isn't a love story. Life isn't about looking like Brad Pitt. Life isn't an action movie. You aren't Vin Diesel.

Hahaha... Yes I am.

- Vin Diesel.

Re:Avatar was cool...

[__aaclcg7560]

I think it is an example of how our desktop environments are failing us though. My eeepc and my hp laptop both run ubuntu 8.10 with gnome. When both are connected to my wifi I should be able to slide my mouse off the left side of the HP screen onto the eeepc, and drag files as I go.

Try Synergy [sourceforge.net] to share keyboard and mouse via software and network between computers that have their own display. You might be able to copy and paste files with the unified clipboard.

Re:Clever girl

[Thinboy00]

compositing

IIRC compiz is older than Aero (i.e. Vista etc.).

Re:"Narrative Causality"...

[Thinboy00]

Then why are there all those characters who smoke cigarettes and drink Coca Cola?

Actually, that helps to fund the movie. Coke probably pays good money to keep the characters from drinking Pepsi instead.

Re:Clever girl

[Anonymous Coward]

That would be the File System Navigator, it does(or did perhaps) indeed exist for IRIX at the time, so that was indeed a UNIX system.

Re:Clever girl

[VortexCortex]

I remember seeing that 3D file system on the screen in Jurassic Park: "It's a Unix System!, I know this!"
I just shook my head thinking, "It's acutally IRIX [wikipedia.org]."