Ron Thornton's startling, Emmy award-winning graphics for the upcoming sci-fi series, Babylon 5.
There are six essentials in painting - The first is spirit - the second, rhythm - the third, thought - the fourth, scenery - the fifth, the brush - and the last is the ink * Ching Hao, The Spirit of the Brush By Sandy Sandfort
Ron Thornton is an artist. And like Ching Hao, Thornton gives creativity a higher priority than hardware - he has to, he's on a tight budget. Thornton "painted" the startling images shown here for the upcoming sci-fi series Babylon 5 using an Amiga-based Video Toaster, NewTek's consumer-oriented computer graphics system.
The Video Toaster is good, but it's a long way from the Silicon Graphics workstations used to create the special effects in Jurassic Park. Nevertheless, Thornton conjures up all Babylon 5's digital special effects with the US$2,000 machine.
The 36-year-old Sussex, England native has always had an interest in drawing flying machines. Before his mother sold the family home, Thornton returned to go through his things. Among them was an old drawing pad. To his delight, Thornton found it filled with the kind of images to which he is now giving computer life at Babylon 5's Southern California studios.
Thornton paid his filmmaking dues as a model builder for such BBC science- fiction classics as Blake's 7 and Dr. Who. He came to the US to work on such forgettable movie epics as Real Genius, starring Val Kilmer. Working in America ultimately introduced Thornton to computer graphics. He had been peripherally involved with Babylon 5 for a few years, so he pitched the new technology to the show's creator, Joe Straczynski. Joe was sold on the spot.
Due in large part to Thornton's magnificent graphic artistry (he won an Emmy for special effects for the work shown here), Babylon 5 was finally picked up by the Prime Time Entertainment Network after years of dog and pony shows for skeptical studio executives.
Babylon 5, for those of you who missed the syndicated pilot broadcast earlier this year, takes place on a huge space habitat at the crossroads of several space-faring races. There, humans and aliens are trying to work toward mutual understanding, peace, and cooperation. Don't be surprised if you hear echoes of today's earthly headlines. Science fiction is often allegorical; Babylon 5 is no exception. Its writers are on a five-year mission (the story will resolve in that time frame, according to Straczynski) to tell us the truth about ourselves by telling us stories from an imaginary future. Thornton's role in that mission is to give Babylon 5 its visual veritas - the truth that comes from beauty.
Babylon 5, the syndicated series, will air in the US in January 1994. Consult your local listings for channel, day, and time. E-mail (b5- request@iastate.edu) for current information on the Babylon 5 newsgroup. NewTek Inc: +1 (913) 231 0100; fax +1 (913) 231 0101.
