Idea #51 - How Mary Poppins Revolutionised Filmmaking

Hello!

Walt Disney has long been revered as the master of vfx and animations. But which of his films propelled him to monumental success?

Mary Poppins (1964) is not just a beloved classic, but a film that revolutionised the art of filmmaking. This film is widely known for being Disney's best live-action film, and has also won the Oscar for best Visual Effects.

To bring "Mary Poppins" to life, Disney hired the engineer and inventor, Petro Vlahos. His innovation eventually became the basis of the modern green screen.

Vlahos replaced the blue screen with yellow, specifically the yellow emitted from sodium gas. This technique by itself was highly acclaimed since it allowed the use of many colours across the spectrum while shooting.

There was an issue, however. Despite multiple attempts to replicate it, Vlahos could only create just one working prism which meant there was only one sodium vapour camera in the entire world.

Here is The Penguin Sequence:

How Mary Poppins changed Movies forever:

Written By: Hetvi Kamdar

Curated By: Hetvi Kamdar