Comments on: Dreamworks and Bad Astronomy

By: patschican

patschican — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 03:36:23 +0000

Oh leave Dreamworks alone, for the love of Hugh*. They made Galaxy Quest, one of the funniest spoofs ever.

Guy Fleegman: I know! You construct a weapon. Look around, can you form some sort of rudimentary lathe?

* Hugh Grant — he’s dreamy….

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:09:48 +0000

@Jess: But… Dreamworks did that too! There ARE stars in the dark part of the crescent!

You don’t see them on the video due to the bad quality but if you look on Google Images and find a high res of their logo you’ll see the stars there.

By: Jess Tauber

Jess Tauber — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:30:57 +0000

You think this is bad, Bad? In one of the episodes of ‘The Universe’ show aired in the last year or two they have a crescent moon/planet (I don’t remember which) WITH STARS SHINING THROUGH THE DARK PART. Shows like this often have really idiotic graphics in them. Too bad the folks they interview don’t get to look at final cuts before airing.

By: h2opolopunk

h2opolopunk — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:08:35 +0000

I had noticed that before, but it never really struck me as strongly as with you. It’s all good… thanks for letting all of us know about it.

By: GoatTuber

GoatTuber — Wed, 28 May 2008 19:03:45 +0000

Don’t forget that the kid doesn’t have a reflection in the water. Don’t beat yourself up though, you spotted the bad astronomy in the video, you just missed the bad oceanography.

By: DragonGirl

DragonGirl — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:22:17 +0000

Hmm…actually… As an animator myself, I don’t think those are errors. The opening scene is not supposed to reveal itself as a reflection until after the fish hook hits the water. If it showed a proper reflection of the clouds then the jig would be up from the start. Since the clouds aren’t properly reflected, there’s no reason the moon should be and considering how short the segment is, it might create unnecessary visual dissonance…it might look funny when you aren’t spending any time thinking about it. As for the lighting on the clouds..the clouds seem to be lit by the moon itself. It is the focal point after all so everything reads back to it. Being able to see the sky through the disc of the moon is irrelevant. In this case, the moon literally is a crescent.

I don’t see any errors here, just carefully chosen artistic license to maximize the impact of a few seconds of animation.

By: Smith

Smith — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:36:20 +0000

BTW, in Transformers you missed the part when Barricade punches Sam and Sam lands onto nearby car and somehow Sam survives all that.

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 28 May 2008 07:57:02 +0000

In regard to crescent moons: so far the most creative use I saw was in Disney’s “Treasure Planet”: the long camera move revealing the “crescent moon” to be a crescent-shaped space station.

Yes, i’m easily amused. Why?

By: J.J.S. Boyce

J.J.S. Boyce — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:42:23 +0000

Doesn’t it look like the clouds are actually passing behind the moon? That would be the worst example of bad astronomy, I think.

By: L Narcomey

L Narcomey — Tue, 27 May 2008 23:54:16 +0000

On the topic of movies, Phil said he was dying to see “Sunshine” about a year or so ago but said the local theaters weren’t showing it. I love “Sunshine”, and dammit, I want him to scrutinize it!

By: hale_bopp

hale_bopp — Tue, 27 May 2008 23:32:40 +0000

I can’t find it online anymore, but years ago The Onion had a story headlined, “Man Refuses to See Movie With Physicist Friend”. My students insisted that they had changed my name to protect my identidy.

By: Charlie

Charlie — Tue, 27 May 2008 23:21:47 +0000

Relax, it’s pretend. Go with the willing suspension of disbelief.

By: Robert Madewell

Robert Madewell — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:33:18 +0000

Did anyone notice the “alien” moon in the Bugs Bunny/Michael Jordan movie (I forgot the name of it)? But there was a shot of an animated moon (supposedly Earths moon), that had totally wrong features.

Has anyone ever tried to pick out constellations and asterisms in animated starry skies? I usually find that animated movies have alien skies too.

By: John Shirley

John Shirley — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:28:19 +0000

Oddly, I noticed that long, long ago. Probably the first time I saw their logo. And I’m a really rough critic in movies — I blurt out scientific inaccuracies, technical blunders; which is why I watch movies now in the privacy of my own home.

But it occurred to me early on that one of the key parts of the DreamWorks name is the word “Dream”. And we know how realistic those are.

I can fly in my dreams. Dodge bullets, travel to distant stars with warp drive, relive the past, see the future: all the great things about dreams.

I think this one — and only this one — should get an honorary Approved by Bad Astronomy stamp. =-)

By: Cat Smith

Cat Smith — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:24:54 +0000

I have to say the only thing i spotted was the stars on the disk of the moon of the still image.

By: Pete

Pete — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:59:22 +0000

Phil, since the reflection is clearly in a terrestrial pond, it has NOTHING to do with Astronomy….send for the Bad Geologist!

By: Mark Martin

Mark Martin — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:56:48 +0000

I’m always afraid that kid will slip down too far and impale himself on the horn.

By: Thomas Siefert

Thomas Siefert — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:43:35 +0000

Yeah, and it’s the bell that’s called Big Ben….

By: Bryan

Bryan — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:38:16 +0000

I think you’ve stumbled upon the reason why so many people don’t want to listen to scientists these days!

By: Lugosi

Lugosi — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:12:00 +0000

That’s an especially difficult catch to make since the reflection and and actual crescent moon never appear in the same frame simultaneously. The fact that someone actually noticed the discrepancy is indicative of someone with W-A-A-A-Y too much time on their hands, and in serious need of a date.
That said, this also reminds me of an unfortunate memory of my own that I’m still trying to live down….
Years ago a group of us used to get together once a week to watch Star Trek Voyager. I once made a comment that the show’s producers had a great eye for detail since, during the opening credits, you could see the ship’s reflection as it traveled across the rings of some planet. Ever since then I have been subjected to ridicule whenever we passed anywhere near a mirror.
The same group now gathers to watch BSG. Needless to say, I’m keeping my yap shut about any other observations.

By: BicycleRepairMan

BicycleRepairMan — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:04:17 +0000

@ BA: You can see stars in the crescent on the image of the logo you posted(but not in this video)

By: IRONMANAustralia

IRONMANAustralia — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:55:03 +0000

Hey Phil, you have got to apply your skeptical skills to, ‘Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull of Infinite Suck’.

I’ve been telling everyone else not to see it, but I’m sure with your keen skeptical eye you might be able to see one or two science errors, (along with the artistic ones).

Maybe you could get Novella to give George Lucas an MRI while you are at it. He’s mentioned those “man lives without a brain” tabloid stories on the Skeptic’s Guide before, but I suspect this one might just turn out to be real.

By: RawheaD

RawheaD — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:15:52 +0000

@Budget Astronomer

The bigger problem is, if the moon is lit on that side and it’s vertical, it would have to mean that the sun is also above the horizon, which should make this entire scene daytime, rather than night time.

By: hale_bopp

hale_bopp — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:43:33 +0000

Hale-Bopp’s Rule : As soon as you show off how nit picky and anal you are, 10 people instantly materialize who are EVEN MORE nick picky and anal than you.

I also saw Indiana Jones…turn off brain and disregard any knowledge of how the world works and you will enjoy it.

By: Reed Braden

Reed Braden — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:37:49 +0000

The stars in front of the moon aren’t in the video, but they are in the still image.