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WALL-E Blu-Ray Case
Whenever possible I like to use film props as the basis for a Blu-Ray special edition cases, and for WALL-E I thought I’d use a simple but striking prop seen briefly in the film, the recolonization manual (or Manuel, as the captain called it). It’s a cool-looking book with an illuminated leaf emblem on the cover.
Initially I thought this would make for a neat iPad cover, but it’s size and thickness is more appropriate for a disc case. I also thought a WALL-E robot would be ideal for a Blu-Ray case, but that would be a bit too big in my opinion (much like the R2D2 one I made a few years ago).
The leaf emblem would light on command via button, and would be powered by a replaceable battery. This design has only one disc, but additional flaps could be included to up the disc count to as many as 3.
If you like Pixar please also check out designs for The Incredibles and Finding Nemo. A Monsters Inc. Blu-Ray player can be found here. For all the Blu-Ray case designs click here.
A Collection Of Jurassic Park Ideas
With Jurassic Park 3D hitting theaters this Friday, I thought I’d revisit a few posts inspired by the film over the past 3 years this blog has been in existence. In no particular order:
1. Jurassic Park 3D Glasses. I was so sure this would be a thing I vowed to watch the Twilight films if it didn’t happen. A man of my word, I will… oh, they’re not on Netflix? Oh man what a bummer. But seriously I’d want a pair of these, 3D or no.
2. Jurassic Park Blu-Ray Case. This design put my blog on the map, so feel free to assign blame here. If I ever got rich I would 3D-print this sucker.
3. Jurassic Park Fence Bed. Featuring a doomed plush goat (like so many of my other posts)! I’m pretty sure there was an IKEA bed with a similar frame, but I can’t seem to find it anymore.
4. Jurassic Park Watch. I made this for my Watch This series, and I still love this design 2 years later. You’ll note as we go back in time, the pictures as smaller. For some reason I was cool with a blog width of 445 pixels back in the day.
5. Jurassic Park Hockey Jersey. This one migrated to my other blog, but it was a hit when I posted it here in the fall of 2011. The design was inspired by the gas-powered jeeps from the film.
6. Wallpapers! You can find a ‘Fences’ screen here, and a rather juvenile Yoshi-themed one here.
And that’s it for now, please stay tuned for more Jurassic Park designs in the future! Enjoy the film’s re-release and remember: it’s in IMAX for only one week.
Geeky Flash Drives Part 2: Ghostbusters Ghost Trap
This dates back to one of my very first ideas on this site, but a few things about that flash drive design bugged me: it could not fit into any USB port (the plug was recessed), and it had no indicator light. Well I’m glad to finally put together a redesign, which features a flip plug and an LED light to indicate that it is plugged-in.
The ghost trap is a plug-and-play device used by the Ghostbusters, so it makes sense it would be a USB flash drive. You’re just transporting data instead of ghosts.
There are a few other variations for this design: the USB plug could flip out of the trap doors; the trap compartment could be a flash drive that slides out of the main trap; or the foot pedal cable could be a USB plug that is tethered to the flash drive trap. Either way, I hope to get one of these some day.
Firefly And Serenity Blu-Ray Case
ANNOUNCEMENT: Be sure to check my other blog as right now the third run of Browncoats hockey jerseys are being offered for a limited time (as well as another surprise jersey). Original post as follows:
An obscure but fitting choice for a Blu-Ray case: the media player seen in the film Serenity that River Tam uses to see the plight of Miranda. The size of the player looked perfect, making this case almost a prop replica.
I also want to say right off the bat that this would be ideal for a Blu-Ray player too; might do that another day. For now I decided to make it a case, because the glass casing had this ‘layered’ look in the film, making it appear like a bunch of cases stacked on one another.
A few manual clasps at the side would lock the case shut. With the clasps pried loose, four trays would be accessed, holding a total of 6 discs, enough for the complete television series and the feature film. This can be expanded to 8 discs if needed (added discs could go on the bottom of the 4th tray and the case stand itself). Once opened the trays turn like pages in a book.
A nice touch would be the illumination of the case via a single blue LED light, which would be activated on demand. This is a feature that would be better for the aforementioned Blu-Ray player idea, but still possible for a case. The light is housed in a detachable module that is plugged into the top disc tray (the two side clasps plug into the module as well); it can also remain affixed when accessing discs. This module functioned as the data storage device in the film, so if you’d like to carry it around with you as a prop that is also an option.
What could arguably be a bigger pipe dream than this case is getting FOX and Universal to cooperate and release the television series and film together in one package. FOX owns the TV series while Universal owns the film. To date they’ve done their own respective releases. One possibility is FOX releasing the complete TV series with a few empty slots for the film’s discs, which would be a nice gesture. But then again this media player design is proprietary to the film. *Sigh!*
Jurassic Park 3D Glasses
I’m pretty sure that 3D glasses similar to the design above are being readied for next year’s Jurassic Park 3D re-release. The night vision goggles seen in the film would make for the perfect design. In fact, if they don’t issue something like this, I will watch all of the Twilight films in one sitting.*
It’s a no-brainer to make this prediction. The bigger question is how could they not go with something like this? Even The Phantom Menace got some Pod Racer goggles for its 3D release earlier this year.
These don’t need the LED lights, though it would be nice. Just as long as they sport a theme similar to the night vision goggles.
This is probably the one occasion where I’d wear dorky 3D glasses to a film, because these goggles were intended for watching dinosaurs in a dark setting.
Have to say I am quite looking forward to seeing Jurassic Park on the big screen again, as the film is probably the most memorable experience I had going to a theatre. The 3D is entirely gravy, however watching the film you can see that so many shots would work great in the 3rd dimension; like that crane shot that goes up and over the electric fence (Prior to Grant and the kids attempting to climb it), or the herd of Gallimimus racing towards the camera. Spring 2013 can’t get here soon enough.
*I said watch. I’ll probably mute the sound and add my own dialogue.
Jurassic Park Blu-Ray Case Redux
This is just an old idea from a few years back. I’m just giving it the red carpet treatment that recent Blu-Ray designs have received.
The original Jurassic Park Blu-Ray case really helped launch this blog from relative obscurity, so it’s something I’ll always look back on fondly. Certainly helped make me feel less silly about posting stuff, that is for sure.
The only change I made from previous incarnations is the Velociraptor cage is more screen-accurate. I could’ve made it 100% exact, but I wanted to keep the cage openings fewer in number and larger in size, so the Raptor eye peering out is noticeable. The addition of the ladder makes this design look more ornate, but less-friendly for sitting amongst your Blu-Ray library – so it is an optional attachment I feel.
The actual cage is slightly wider than this case design, so it could easily be home to four Blu-Ray cases, which could be handy when the 4th film debuts, or possibly for that 3D re-release arriving in Spring 2013 (to mark the 20th Anniversary). That is, if Universal Studios would consider adopting this design. They’re more than welcome to use it!
Films That Can Be Salvaged Part 9: The Last Starfighter
Salvageable Films is a series where I stop finger-painting for a few minutes and armchair quarterback a feature film that fell just shy of greatness.
The Rundown: The Last Starfighter is a film that bowed in 1984, doing moderately well but not setting the world on fire at the time, certainly not enough to warrant a sequel (until somewhat recently, but those plans have stalled). It trumpeted cutting-edge CG at the time of its release, but nowadays the film is more renowned for its story and usage of video games to propel said story, endearing the film to geeks of all ages. Given the film’s success and notoriety, it would be difficult to call it a cult film, but given its age it has an impressive following that is every bit as strong as most cult films.
What made it great: While the FX blew my socks off when I was a kid, I’ve come to realize that what made it great was Robert Preston’s memorable turn as Centauri. I cannot recall another instance in the history of cinema where a character had the showmanship that beckoned the audience to step right up and see what’s behind the curtain. If you’re a kid, that suckered you in. If you’re an adult, darnit if you didn’t feel like a kid again. Yes Centauri’s role was brief but he can still bring an audience back again and again. Imagine if we were only stuck with the whiny protagonist for the first half of the film? Read the rest of this entry
