The proton stream

Ghostbusters Discussion General Ghostbusters Discussion
1

I’ve watched both movies more times than I can even remember and I’ve watched RGB and EGB so many times that I can recall any episode without forgetting a single scene. I’ve always been a fan of the proton streams used in GBII and this is because they look more thicker in their colors with their orange glow and yellow core. In GBII the streams just seem more out of control than the ones in the first movie. Though I do highly respect the craftsmanship of the streams in the first movie considering how much effort was put into creating them. The streams in the second movie were more CGI influenced but that isn’t a bad thing. The streams in RGB and EGB are also very nicely done though I prefer the red/pink-ish streams they use in season 4 of RGB. Has anyone ever noticed btw that when PKE energy infects the powerlines in the RGB episode known as Killerwatt, that for a moment those powerlines actually look like the streams from GBII? And this takes me to the comic books of Ghostbusters and the streams they used in the Legion series were quite nice but missed a certain flare to it. The streams used in the IDW monthly issues are far better than any of the streams I’ve seen in previous comic books of our favorite heroes. I appreciate the level of attention that is paid into creating the streams for the IDW series and it really shows as the special effects look absolutely stunning.

So which streams do you all prefer? Please comment and let me know.

2

I like the streams in the first film best for the simple reason that the induction ‘beam’ flows INTO the gun while the ‘lightning’ component is flowing out.

I’d already spotted this by step-framing the first movie on VHS before the sequel came out, so the moment Venkman ‘lassos’ a Scoleri Brother in GB2, it took me out of the willing suspension of disbelief for a second, wondering why they’d changed the direction of stream animation.

Alex

3

The fact that a change if direction of a cgi laser us what suspended your belief in a movie that has the statue of liberty walking is … I dunno what.

4

It’s the domino theory of story-telling.

Well, number one, they were hand-animated opticals, not CGI. And I don’t feel laser is accurate either, but to address the heart of your comment rather than quibble semantics…

A well-plotted movie, like the first Ghostbusters, will begin you in a grounded place of familiarity and take you step by step through to the more outlandish things, like a giant Stay-Puft marshmallow man.

But even before I consciously knew that the special effects were now by ILM instead of BFC, I picked up on the differences due to my familiarity with the first film. I couldn’t step-frame the sequel sitting there on the first matinee, so I didn’t immediately notice that they now flowed outward, but the fact that a previously-sucked-inward beam was now lassoing a ghost belied the change in direction, and indeed the change in effects companies and their approaches.

By comparison, the Statue of Liberty sequence and all of the most unbelievable story elements build gradually to that finale. Does the walking Libby seem rather abrupt and cheesy in the television commercials that played ad infinitum in the Summer of '89? Yep. But within the structure of the movie, told in linear progression, they take you through the steps, each domino striking the next, until you as an audience member are willing to accept it.

Now, I personally came home from two back-to-back matinees of GB2 on its opening day, the 12:00 and 2pm showings on June 16, 1989, to find a copy of the script in my mailbox, a gift from James Van Hise who had been adapting the comic book version for NOW. (He’d previously warned me he would not be able to share it contractually until after the movie opened, so he cut it very close!)

A few days later, I took the script with me to show to my Radio-TV-Film professor at college. He flipped it open and turned immediately to the line, “The bathtub tried to eat the baby!” which sounded absolutely ridiculous as he recited it aloud.

That moment gave me a very deep respect for Sigourney Weaver as an actress, to make such a silly line sound so visceral and emotional in the movie. It was also my first inkling into the domino theory. You know how they say if you drop a lobster into boiling water, it will fight to get out, and the meat will be tough? But if you put it in tepid water and slowly raise the temperature, it doesn’t realize what’s happening, and will die contented, with very tender meat.

If you jump to the end of the movies and see Stay-Puft or Libby walking through Manhattan, your brain will fight, trying to get out of that abruptly scalding pot. But if you sit through them in linear order, with the absurdities slowly cranking up the heat, you’re more likely just to take these things as they come.

And your brain will be so tender and succulent.

Alex

5

Mmmm, braaainnnsssss…

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I always loved the Real Ghostbusters streams the best, probably because they had more force and power to them. It was like you could actually defend yourself with the proton pack wand. The movie ones were great although as much as I loved how the sequel streams tried to copy the cartoon’s streams it would have made more sense to stick with the red streams from the first movie. The Extreme Ghostbusters streams are absolutely horrendous to watch. Apart fro the strobe flashing that can induce epileptic fits the ‘extreme way cool’ multi colours don’t fit in at all with the animation. You really have to enjoy pain in order to get excited when they used their proton guns, hair dryer or whatever.

7

Oh wow, didn’t know that somebody had printed my Peoplebusters design onto a T-shirt. Any clearer shots? :slight_smile:

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It’s not my photo, I did a google search for Ghostbuster zombie. If you do the same you may be able to track down the original location of the photo.

9

Natural, predictable and expected. That’s what it is. Suspension of disbelief is better preserved by something outlandish, than it is by something that is only slightly wrong.

Example #1: Superman 4. A super-strong man who can fly and fire laser beams from his eyes? Yeah, cool. Said man talks in space without wearing a spacesuit, and an astronaut hears him? Unacceptable.

Example #2: Evolution. Nitrogen-based creatures which can evolve billions of times faster than anything on Earth, disregarding the law of energy and mass conservation? Yeah, cool. Figuring out a weakness of said creatures with a periodic table and a completely made-up rule? Unacceptable.

Example #3: The Matrix. Being able to overcome physical laws with one’s mind? Yeah, cool. Disregarding the second law of thermodynamics in a world where we aren’t even sure whether it applies? Unacceptable.

And so on.

10

Given the fact thats its basically a electrical fishing rod, I would say the ones from the first movie, but i like the rgb ones better

11

I always liked how you could melt through doors with the RGB streams. Definitely a very handy tool. :wink: