https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQwKV7lCzEI

Tron, meanwhile IRL …

There is an abundance of back-and-forth between the computer world and reality in this film. The sweet spot is where they emulate the former with the latter.

In this scene, which starts with some rushed exposition, the filmmakers do their best to make the set look computer generated, with really stunning, if not entirely planned, results.

The actors’ scenes were shot on black and white film. Then, every frame was painted, masked, sandwiched with 3D backgrounds, and coated in light effects—a hand crafted digital emulation with gorgeous sporty outfits, and a rare luminescence.

One can appreciate the 3D renders more knowing that the numbers for each of the positions of each objects ( 6 per frame ) were hand written, then retyped into a computer. The teams’ first experience viewing their creation was on 70mm film in a theater.