FOR ALL MANKIND visual effects maestro Todd Sheridan Perry
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In this visually rich episode of *The Movies That Made Me*, host Todd Sheridan Perry—renowned visual effects supervisor and veteran of projects like *Love, All Mankind* and *I'm a Virgo*—shares his curated list of 10 groundbreaking yet underappreciated visual effects shots that shaped his career. Spanning from early silent cinema to modern digital animation, Perry highlights ingenious, low-tech solutions that relied on mirrors, forced perspective, miniature models, and optical printing. From J. Stuart Blackton’s 1909 *Princess Nicotine* to Peter Jackson’s 1989 *Bad Taste*, and culminating in the emotionally resonant CGI of *The One and Only Ivan*, Perry celebrates the artistry and ingenuity of practical effects. He reflects on how passion, not budget, drives innovation, and warns of AI’s potential to homogenize creativity unless artists remain central. The episode is both a love letter to cinema’s technical roots and a call to preserve human-driven storytelling in an age of automation.
The most powerful visual effects often rely on clever physical tricks—mirrors, forced perspective, and optical printing—not just digital tools.
Passion and craftsmanship, not budget, are the true drivers of innovation in visual effects.
Subtlety in animation—especially in animal performances—allows audiences to project their own emotions, creating deeper emotional connections.
Accidents and mistakes on set (like the accidental white-out in *Heat*) can become iconic when embraced by visionary directors.
AI-generated content risks producing bland, mediocre work unless paired with human creativity to push boundaries.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
Introduction and Origin Story
Hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante introduce the episode and set the stage by recounting how they met Todd Perry through a desperate, low-budget film project in the 1970s, which he saved with just $117.12. This anecdote underscores Perry’s early career and passion for effects.
Todd’s Theme: The Esoteric List
“I don't know if it's the first example of forced perspective, but I love the twist on it where you use a mirror to help with the space.”
Princess Nicotine (1909): The Mirror Trick
“It's all done with mirrors. It's all done with mirrors, exactly.”
Sunrise: A Tale of Two Souls (1928): The Shift-In Process
“The train smoke is in front of everything. And so the train is sitting, you know, close to the camera.”
Foreign Correspondent (1940): The Rice Paper Crash
“Very simple. The very screen that... There you go. Get a hand for solving that problem.”
“It's never great and it's never terrible. It's always just spectacularly mediocre.”
“When you push it down, when you make it so subtle, then the audience is imprinting what they are thinking that the animal is thinking.”
“Very simple. The very screen that... There you go. Get a hand for solving that problem.”
Hosts
Guest
Todd Sheridan Perry
person
Josh Olson
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Joe Dante
person
Princess Nicotine
media
Darby O'Gill and the Little People
media
Sunrise: A Tale of Two Souls
media
Flesh Gordon
media
Foreign Correspondent
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The One and Only Ivan
media
The Tower
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