The special effects of the 1997 American military science fiction action film Starship Troopers were initially developed by visual-effects company Tippett Studio and Sony Pictures Imageworks (SPI).
However, the scale of the project and management issues at SPI led to many of the required effects being delegated to several other companies, including Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Boss Film Studios, Visual Concepts Engineering (VCE), Amalgamated Dynamics, and Mass.
[6][5] Headed by Ken Ralston, SPI would lead to problems for the production of Starship Troopers, with their contributions falling months behind schedule and those effects that were completed not being of sufficient standard to the filmmakers.
This was ostensibly because the special effects were so far behind schedule that additional time was needed to complete production, although other Sony films, Men in Black and Air Force One were moved into the July dates as they were also seen as more commercially viable than Starship Troopers.
[10] The location featured extreme weather, with very warm days followed by frigid evenings that took a toll on much of the on-site equipment, requiring various replacements to be flown in on a regular basis.
[22][10] Alongside the weather conditions, filming in Hell's Half Acre took its toll on the crew, with respiratory illnesses, exhaustion, and heat stroke from wearing heavy costumes in the 115 °F (46 °C).
[28] Another, more-easily accessible location, Barry Barber Ranch near Kadoka, South Dakota and the Badlands National Park, featured little vegetations and smooth, undulating landscape, which could serve as Tango Urilla, where Rico (Casper Van Dien) battles an enormous Tanker bug.
[39][24][2] Based on Verhoeven's requested aesthetic of hard-edged creatures that were not at all cute, but fast and vicious, Hayes developed many of the final designs with input from Tippett, although movement was not accounted for at this stage.
[44][41] The Warriors serve as the ground-based infantry, possessing hardened shells and sharp claws and a beak for attacking, based somewhat on crickets, cockroaches, praying mantis, and staghorn beetles.
[41][1][43] The plasma bugs are designed as genetically altered tankers, being slightly larger, greenish-blue with yellow stripes measuring about 85 ft (26 m) tall, described as the aliens ultimate weapon.
Hayes based their designs on stinkbugs and fireflies, and Tippett identified a similar real-world creature that repels enemies by mixing two fluids internally that is discharged from its anus.
Tippett described how Verhoeven thought of the creature as a "Godking, Cthulhu-type thing ... he does the nasty job of sucking people's brains out, so there are some human sacrifices happening."
Tippett had been pleased with how the dinosaurs animated using the DID in Jurassic Park had turned out, but believed Starship Troopers would give them an opportunity to improve the results and enhance the technology further.
Richardson set twenty-eight 50 gallon drums filled with high explosives and a plastic back of raw gasoline over 2,500 ft (760 m) in a long valley at Barry Barber Ranch.
The barrels were left open on one end so when ignited the flames would exit horizontally, suggesting the forward movement of the 100 ft (30 m) fireballs moving nearly 300 miles per hour, representing explosives dropped by the Earth forces.
[51] ADI manufactured two 28 foot long hand painted and detailed fiberglass shells which joined to form the full scale tanker bug back.
[51] A dozen separate silicon molds with fiberglass jackets, ADI cast 12 positive pieces for each sand beetle, one head, one body, six legs and various mandibles and spines.
The main beetle used in the scene, dissected by Van Dien and Richards, was packed with ultraslime and methacyl, plus molded pieces of tinted silicon and foam latex to suggest the bugs intenstines.
[56] The bulk of these effects, the 120 shots performed by SPI involved about 270 staff throughout development and focused mainly on scenes in orbit above alien worlds, space battles, and dropships travelling through the atmosphere.
[18] Verhoeven provided ongoing input on the designs, based on what he thought futuristic spaceships would look like, being less streamlined due to the lack of air resistance in space, and taking some influence from compact combat places, such as the de Havilland Mosquito used in World War II.
"[57] He suggested they should be more like aircraft carriers or oil tankers and for the battle scenes to be like car chases with "supertankers", so action was filmed closely and choreographed to have the protagonists avoiding exploding obstacles around them.
[57] The collision between the Marshall and Yamamoto ships, among other similar sequences, Anderson filmed multiple spaceships simultaneously with motion control systems to make their work more efficient to meet the timescales.
Pete Clynel and Paul Jessel animated the decks collapsing, timed to lights set up to mimic explosions, and combined with live action pyro effects from 4 in (10 cm) to 100 ft (30 m) tall.
[59] ILM mainly worked on models and motion control photography, including the launch of Dizzy's coffin into space, orbital Klendathu scenes, and a docking umbilical.
[63] The fleet training vehicle operated by Carmen was a semi-operational prop, manufactured under the supervision of construction coordinator Stacey McIntosh and foreman Karen Higgins, from steel, plastic, and wood, and weighed nearly 2 short tons (4,000 lb).
[65] Close up shots of Carmen in the cockpit were filmed on Stage 29 using a hydraulic gimbal rented from Warner Bros that allowed the fleet trainer, when placed on top, to be maneuvered at various angles.
The gimbal could tilt at a 20-degree angle using a system of hydraulic rams on either side of the bridge, meaning the front end of the Rodger Young could be raised about 25 ft (7.6 m) in only a few seconds, creating a dynamic action for the actors instead of them pretending to throw themselves around.
Live action footage of Richards stepped onto a full-scale train replica was filmed at the LA Convention Center, and VCE built a digital environment around the prop.
Effectively an industrial-use projector used normally for trade and sports functions, provided by American Hi Definition Inc.[85] The fictional Morita Rifle is the standard weapon for the Mobile Infantry.
This was slammed onto Van Dien's thigh, from which Tippett Studio was able to make a CGI tip penetrating the leg, and an open wound prosthetic was created by Kevin Yagher Productions.