Lost In Space Found On Dvd

Emedia Professional, March, 1999 by Philip De Lancie

As for "Science Planet," Paddison says, "That was a joint venture that we did with Intel, and it once again explores all of the science fact behind the science fiction. Each major plot point in the film that has to do with science fiction is broken down in a factual way. For instance, the entire crew of the Jupiter II is put into suspended animation for their flight, so we go into what the current status is of cryonics."

To make it more convenient for users to access the various ROM elements, New Line turned to Interactual Technologies of Mountain View, California. Interactual's PCFriendly software is a framework, launched when the disc is inserted into the drive, that offers a coherent navigational metaphor--in this case, a TV with a remote--for accessing disparate DVD-ROM content. It also evaluates the user's system, looking for DirectShow or other proprietary DVD Navigator modules. The program is not currently available for Macintosh DVD delivery, though according to Inter-actual's Todd Collart, plans for Mac support are "in the works." Collart says the program ensures proper playback of DVD-Video components in a DVDROM drive by providing "a layer that essentially interfaces directly with each of the different navigators that users may have on their PCs." The company offers DVD publishers a software development kit and support services for bringing content into the PCFriendly framework. And in the case of Lost In Space, Interactual is handling all customer support related to the ROM portion of the disc.

PRODUCTION PROCESS

The inclusion of all the various added components on the DVD arose in part from factors specific to Lost I, Space: the public's continuing fascination with space plus the current nostalgia for '60s TV among Boomers and their offspring. But it also reflects New Line's perception that Lost In Space offered a better opportunity than other films in its home video line to make a big splash in the new format. "We were committed to putting a lot of special features on this from the beginning," says Evans. "New Line's catalog doesn't really consist of that many high special effects features, so when we had something like this we knew we really had to go for it, and dedicate a lot of energy and resources to it."

High-level support within New Line was a key boost for the DVD team, because it ensured the cooperation throughout of those in the feature film production chain. According to Mulvihill, "everybody involved in the production, both corporately and creativity, understood from very early on that Lost In Space was more than a theatrical asset, it was an asset that was going to be used in various forms."

The challenges in creating the additional features turned out to be less technical than logistical, particularly because of the day-and-date release requirement. "Lost In Space is one of the most ambitious DVDs ever done," says Evans. "Because of that we had to start real early in the process. We were committed to a theatrical release date of April 3, more than a year in advance, so we knew pretty much when the video release date would be, and we had to start working on the DVD as the movie was getting ready to come out in theaters. On the set-top side, we worked with an independent producer, Mark Rance, who is real good at figuring out what he has to work with in terms of timeline, budget, talent, and cooperation. So the production process went pretty smoothly."