UFO defiantly features a vast array of memorable vehicles and equipment. With the puppet series now ending for Century 21, it now meant that the model unit could be vastly expanded across the entire Sterling Road studios. The added space meant the scale of the visuals could be increased, reaching new levels of realisation, which would have been necessary to match the live-action footage. Under the supervision of Derek Meddings, with Senior Director Jim Elliott and effects units being directed by Bill Camp and Shaun Whittacker-Cook. Some of the full-sized vehicles had been constructed for Doppelganger by Derek Meddings, including the futuristic cars driven by Straker and Foster throughout the show. These cars featured large new body shells on Ford Zodiac running gear, which was apparently very difficult to drive and for the driver to see through the windshield. They weren't even road legal and so some of the shots had to be filmed down private roads. Meanwhile, the blue personnel-carrying SHADO jeeps were built around Mini Mokes, which were adapted from vehicles created for Doppelganger.
The spectacular vehicles of the series made in miniature designed by Meddings and Mike Trim. Perhaps the best-remembered vehicles in the series were the Moonbase Interceptors. Trim's initial design was based on one line description in Identified's script, having a tough, utilitarian look with a single missile mounted at the craft's front, which was one of Trim's designs to actually be rejected by Derek Meddings. His alternative, a little more polished design, is arguably regarded as one of the best vehicles on any Anderson series; such as Thunderbird 2, SPV, the Angles, Eagles and Stingray. Skydiver is another wonderful craft designed by Meddings, and like the Moonbase Interceptors, has a great launch sequence, with small air-bubble generators were placed in front of the camera, filmed behind a wand set elements were agitated with fans to simulate water movement,. SHADO's mobiles were, on the other hand, designed by Mike Trim, were so convincing that viewers at the time, and even today's standards, could not tell whether they were either models or real life-sized vehicles! Love all the vehicle's drawings. Interesting to see them to what they actually ended up like, or what they actually could have ended up looking.
This also helped by the skilled detail of the forest settings. And now for the UFOs themselves, Derek Meddings' design (remembering that this spaceship operated on completely different principles to human technology) was held up on wires, with the UFO themselves having a see-through Perspex dome revealing an inner section with outer paddles that spun via an internal motor. The effects were shot at high speed and then slowed down X 3 as seen in the finished episodes. As for the UFOs, they were shot being spun like being glided along instead of turning sharply at a right angle. The exterior of SHADO Moonbase was designed by Mike Trim, being far keener on buildings than Meddings. The Moonbase was built up of a central section linked with four domes, whilst Meddings added the detail of a launch platform for the lunar model. For the opening titles, a teleprinter is used whilst Microgramma, designed with the sheets only with upper-cases back in 1952 by Alessandro Butti and Aldo Novarese for the Societa Nebiolo type foundry in Turin, is used for cases like the opening episode titles or on vehicles.
Microgramma had been on the first Thunderbirds feature film Thunderbirds Are Go as well as the last five episodes of the series. This was also seen on Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, The Secret Service, Space: 1999 and the movies Thunderbird 6 and Doppelganger. Other films that used this include 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Andromeda Strain (1971), THX 1138 (1971) and Dark Star (1974), as well as the Star Trek feature films The Wrath Of Khan (1982) and The Final Frontier (1989). The Microgramma matches the futuristic style of the Anderson shows. The visuals also re-used the old techniques from the older puppet shows such as filming underwater shots with the visuals behind a tank filled with water designed for Stingray, Much like for the aliens' helmet - dyed green water in between the glass and the actors
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UFO: The Vault
Non-FictionGerry Anderson's UFO was the first big budget British live-action television series of a secret government organisation named SHADO (Supreme Headqauters Alien Defence Organisation) combat a dying alien race who have come to Earth in order to survive...
