The effects of the original Ghostbusters relied on practical magic, and sheer ingenuity.
Ivan Reitman, director
It goes without saying thatGhostbustersis an enduring classic.
Part of this was also down to how it looked.
ButGhostbusterswas also an immense visual undertaking for an 80s action comedy movie.
So, how did they do it?
Reitman himself also brought some specialist knowledge to the table.
Remarkably, this was all done live, with no optical effects.
It required Weaver to wear a full body cast to take her weight as she starts to rise.
However, such a version would have cost $300 million in 1984.
So, it was no surprised they scaled it back a tad.
The whole film took about ten months to make, which is a very quick turnaround time.
Edlund estimates about 70-80% of the composites inGhostbustersare the first take.
However, this was not where the film crew got their slime from!
For the movie, they used methyl silos, which is otherwise known as Chinese food starch.
Furthermore, the melted marshmallow at the end of the film wasnt actually marshmallow!
Part of what made the effects so, well, effective, was their practical nature.
That they were tangible really adds a level of texture.
This scene was achieved in a few ways.
This was done by grips hiding in a trapdoor underneath the chair, wearing dog-leg gloves.
Its truly simple when you know how!
The idea behind this was the concept of rubberising light.
The proton packs weighed 30lb fully loaded, but there were a few different versions.
This meant that one second of ghostly footage took up to full three weeks to complete.
The scale models when filming these scenes was not a standard size.
Therefore, they had quite a struggle finding model cars at the appropriate scale for their purposes.
But even this was a special effect.
The water was actually sand, because, according to Ramis, water doesnt miniaturise.
However, the scenes in the back room were shot in the Los Angeles Public Library.
It was here some of the most memorable scenes were shot.
Remember the books floating from shelf to shelf?
The card catalogue drawer scene was very technical.
Of course, for the final scenes they had to build a real, massive set.
It was built approximately three storeys off the ground, so Reitman could shoot the low angles he wanted.
This was designed by legendary production designer John Decuir.
The iconic firehouse is actually two firehouses.
The exterior was of the-now famous firehouse in New York, whilst the interiors were shot in Los Angeles.
Coincidentally, both were built in 1912, which helped naturally match the interior and the exterior.
Indeed, some of the optical effects with the dog dont work so well.
They even raised eyebrows 30 years ago.
But ultimately, he conceded, it didnt seem to matter.
Somewhat ironically, it is the puppet-versions of the dogs that are some of the best looking effects.
