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Google Celebrates Godzilla, Ultraman Special-Effects Pioneer
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
In honor of famed special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya's 114th birthday (born July 7, 1901), Google's latest logo is drawn in celebration of the man and his accomplishments. It works like a series of quick mini-games to create a kaijū special-effects film starring an Ultraman-style hero.
Doodler Jennifer Hom created the logo, and even went to Tsuburaya Productions to accurate portray the tokusatsu filming process.
Tsuburaya brought to life many of the famous monsters loved around the world. He's responsible for the special effects seen in the original Godzilla and Mothra films. He started constructing model airplanes as a child but discovered his passion for special effects after seeing the original King Kong film. After reverse-engineering the special effects from watching the film, he later joined the newly founded TOHO Motion Picture Company in 1936. His film career would include being drafted to create propaganda films during WWII and being monitored as a spy by the U.S. government.
These events would set the stage for Godzilla, and it was Tsuburaya's decision to put a man in a 220lb suit with miniatures to create scale instead of using stop-motion animation. It would be the most expensive Japanese film of its time and a huge success. He would strike gold again with Ultraman, a special-effects and pop culture phenomenon. He spent approximately 50 years in the industry he loved and created over 250 special effect works.
[Via Vox]
