The Movie Mania III: Return of the Garrison event at the National Space Centre last month was, in a word, awesome. I had visited the event last year (and had intended to go the previous year, but was thwarted by car trouble).
Although this was a family orientated event, the genre was undeniably science-fiction, with visitors to the Space Centre greeted by Storm Troopers (c/o 501st Garrison) patrolling for "rebel scum". The tone for the day was set when we watched a group of teenagers being gamely harangued and searched by said Storm Troopers, who ordered the group to first lie down on the floor, before putting them through basic training and having them perform press ups.
Accompanying the Storm Troopers were Jedi (both light and dark) and Sand People from Star Wars, but also members from Reel Icons that included Indiana (and Henry) Jones, Jean Luc Picard, Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, and Lara Croft.
It was undeniably fascinating to watch Ada's reaction to these people dressed as film characters in over-the-top uniforms and costumes, and I was surprised to see Ada being utterly unphased by the helmets worn by Storm Troopers (that's my girl!), although she was frightened by their digitised voices. Despite this, we still managed to rout a squad of storm troopers, after they spotted the light sabre Ada was casually waving to all and sundry.
One of the highlights of the day was the Alien Encounter Experience by the UK Colonial Marines. I expected to be disappointed by Alien Encounter, doubting that they would be able to capture the tension of the films, but I was well and truly proved wrong.
Opening with a short presentation by a scientist (thus I was unable to ask "how I get out of this chicken-shit outfit, anyway?") before entering Weyland Yutani's Bio-Research Facility. The attention to detail was quite frankly amazing, with the room staffed by people acting as scientists, display screens showing 3D images of alien implantations, and clocks showing the different times at Gateway, Furianna, and LV-426 amongst others. After being assured nothing could possibly go wrong, in true horror style the lights went out, warning klaxons came on, and a pair of Colonial Marines burst in declaring a "Code: Black".
For the remainder of the experience, we were hustled by a squad of Colonial Marines (who were dropping like fly's by the Aliens), through a series of rooms and passageways. Despite being fully aware this was merely fantasy, I could not resist being affected by the atmosphere, helped a lot by the intensity of the Marines, and the ever present shadows (used to great effect when standing in a darkened elevator), thus it was inevitable you would find yourself being affected with heart pounding tension.
The experience culminated with a lone Alien advancing towards us, as one of our valiant Colonial Marines frantically attempting to punch in the code to a fire door, before demanding the code from his fellow marine. After hammering in the code, slamming the door open, and pointing at the lead visitor (in this case me), he yelled "MOVE IT! GO! GO! GO!". And you did, with further Colonial Marines outside screaming at you to "KEEP RUNNING!". I never stopped until I had returned to the starting point.
I later heard that one person had became so worked up by the experience, that he shoved aside the Colonial Marine who was punching in the door code, kicked the door down, and fled! The Alien Encounter team naturally considered this reaction to be a resounding success.
The rest of the day was spent enjoying the various talks given by the special guests, and whilst the subject matter was in the majority aimed at the children, the topics were sufficiently interesting to nonetheless appeal to older audience members. It was great to meet Jeremy Bullock (Boba Fett in Star Wars) again; and to chat with Trevor Steedman (Pvt Wiezowksi in Aliens) about his stuntwork and views on digital technology in stuntwork. Warwick Davis (Wicket from Star Wars, and Willow from Willow) chaired a couple of talks on his experiences behind prosthetics, as well as an overview of his career as an actor.
One source of perpetual fascination for me was the prop makers' board. Whilst all of their members are all non-professional (the one who I was talking to was a postman!), the skill they possess - both individually and collectively - is phenomenal, as their props are literally indistinguishable from the genuine article. In many ways, it is a shame to see such creative force not receiving the recognition that it deserves; but as one explained, the UK Film industry is still too small to support them. So the next time you complain about your postman, just remember he might very well have an M41A Pulse Rifle...
Although this was a family orientated event, the genre was undeniably science-fiction, with visitors to the Space Centre greeted by Storm Troopers (c/o 501st Garrison) patrolling for "rebel scum". The tone for the day was set when we watched a group of teenagers being gamely harangued and searched by said Storm Troopers, who ordered the group to first lie down on the floor, before putting them through basic training and having them perform press ups.
Accompanying the Storm Troopers were Jedi (both light and dark) and Sand People from Star Wars, but also members from Reel Icons that included Indiana (and Henry) Jones, Jean Luc Picard, Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, and Lara Croft.
It was undeniably fascinating to watch Ada's reaction to these people dressed as film characters in over-the-top uniforms and costumes, and I was surprised to see Ada being utterly unphased by the helmets worn by Storm Troopers (that's my girl!), although she was frightened by their digitised voices. Despite this, we still managed to rout a squad of storm troopers, after they spotted the light sabre Ada was casually waving to all and sundry.
One of the highlights of the day was the Alien Encounter Experience by the UK Colonial Marines. I expected to be disappointed by Alien Encounter, doubting that they would be able to capture the tension of the films, but I was well and truly proved wrong.
Opening with a short presentation by a scientist (thus I was unable to ask "how I get out of this chicken-shit outfit, anyway?") before entering Weyland Yutani's Bio-Research Facility. The attention to detail was quite frankly amazing, with the room staffed by people acting as scientists, display screens showing 3D images of alien implantations, and clocks showing the different times at Gateway, Furianna, and LV-426 amongst others. After being assured nothing could possibly go wrong, in true horror style the lights went out, warning klaxons came on, and a pair of Colonial Marines burst in declaring a "Code: Black".
For the remainder of the experience, we were hustled by a squad of Colonial Marines (who were dropping like fly's by the Aliens), through a series of rooms and passageways. Despite being fully aware this was merely fantasy, I could not resist being affected by the atmosphere, helped a lot by the intensity of the Marines, and the ever present shadows (used to great effect when standing in a darkened elevator), thus it was inevitable you would find yourself being affected with heart pounding tension.
The experience culminated with a lone Alien advancing towards us, as one of our valiant Colonial Marines frantically attempting to punch in the code to a fire door, before demanding the code from his fellow marine. After hammering in the code, slamming the door open, and pointing at the lead visitor (in this case me), he yelled "MOVE IT! GO! GO! GO!". And you did, with further Colonial Marines outside screaming at you to "KEEP RUNNING!". I never stopped until I had returned to the starting point.
I later heard that one person had became so worked up by the experience, that he shoved aside the Colonial Marine who was punching in the door code, kicked the door down, and fled! The Alien Encounter team naturally considered this reaction to be a resounding success.
The rest of the day was spent enjoying the various talks given by the special guests, and whilst the subject matter was in the majority aimed at the children, the topics were sufficiently interesting to nonetheless appeal to older audience members. It was great to meet Jeremy Bullock (Boba Fett in Star Wars) again; and to chat with Trevor Steedman (Pvt Wiezowksi in Aliens) about his stuntwork and views on digital technology in stuntwork. Warwick Davis (Wicket from Star Wars, and Willow from Willow) chaired a couple of talks on his experiences behind prosthetics, as well as an overview of his career as an actor.
One source of perpetual fascination for me was the prop makers' board. Whilst all of their members are all non-professional (the one who I was talking to was a postman!), the skill they possess - both individually and collectively - is phenomenal, as their props are literally indistinguishable from the genuine article. In many ways, it is a shame to see such creative force not receiving the recognition that it deserves; but as one explained, the UK Film industry is still too small to support them. So the next time you complain about your postman, just remember he might very well have an M41A Pulse Rifle...
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