6 ms·

Ridiculous User Interfaces In Film, and the Man Who Designs Them

48 points by nreece 17y ago

warfangle 17y ago
If you want an overly complicated and busy (with no regard to usability) UI, just go for Enlightenment ;) In other regards, I like the choice of Ulrich Schnauss on his film reel. Big fan. Good coding 'tunes.
- zurcociremer 17y ago
  I love Enlightenment. Used to show it off to friends during presentations just for kicks. ;) Other than that it's pretty usable, though takes a while getting used to.
jrnkntl 17y ago
The real portfolio url was on HN two days ago. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=971844 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=971844 and the link: http://blog.coleran.com/category/portfolio/screendesign http://blog.coleran.com/category/portfolio/screendesign
- sten_ben 17y ago
  And a post was up on rockpapershotgun this monday: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/11/30/tapitty-tapitty-tapitty-on-screen-computing http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/11/30/tapitty-tapitty-t... Who started all this one may wonder.
  - andreyf 17y ago
    I think he did an AMA on reddit two months ago: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9lsp2/i_create_those_fake_fbi_screens_and_crime/ http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9lsp2/i_create_those_f...
ckuehne 17y ago
Funny. The German in the Bourne Identity UIs is full of errors and fake words. Then again, it is still a lot better than the "German" spoken by Nazis in Hollywood movies.
- rbanffy 17y ago
  ACHTUNG! ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENPEEPERS! DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FÜR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKSEN. IST NICHT FÜR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HÄNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS. ZO RELAXEN UND WATSCHEN DER BLINKENLICHTEN. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinkenlights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinkenlights
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
lt 17y ago
There's something that always amuses me in movies and series: something happened/is about to happen, a taskforce is created and they're running software very specific to that thing right away, with graphics, simulations, etc. Who writes all that? No one ever mentions the programmers that save the day.
rbanffy 17y ago
I have to disagree on the ridiculous part. They are all busy and dense, but they are not ridiculous per se when detached from the movie they came from. Sometimes, you have to convey a very large amount of information in a very confined space. The glass-cockpits in planes are a good example - very dense displays that require some training to use. And, once it works, there is little reason not to make it look cool.
- gaius 17y ago
  Some of the best interfaces I have written have been in good old-fashioned curses. If you need a "dashboard" for a complex system for a skilled operator, you can convey an awful lot of information in a maximized xterm on a 1280x1024 screen, it's dense but it's not "cluttered" if you lay it out and use colour intelligently.
  - rbanffy 17y ago
    Sure, bit it's useful to convey some information in graphical form. Many of the constructs he employs (progress circles, use of color gradients to indicate data age) are really good. The main point being, complex data doesn't have to look ugly.
- sdh 17y ago
  ridiculous as in technically absurd. I don't think he meant the design was ridiculous. at least that's my interpretation.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
genieyclo 17y ago
Did this guy do an IAmA on Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9lsp2/i_create_those_fake_fbi_screens_and_crime/ http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9lsp2/i_create_those_f... ?
sp332 17y ago
The guy who made the interface for Minority Report is actually commercializing it. http://vimeo.com/user922585 http://vimeo.com/user922585
Luyt 17y ago
However, the user interface of the Sentry Gun the marines used in Aliens II was very realistic: http://www.inetres.com/gp/sf/aliens/sentry02.jpg http://www.inetres.com/gp/sf/aliens/sentry02.jpg
- aarongough 17y ago
  Dead link...
  - Luyt 17y ago
    Really? For me it still works. Anyway, I've made a mirror copy: ftp://motoom.net/pictures/alien-sentry02.jpg
Nosferax 17y ago
A much more interesting user interface used in a movie was developed by Oblong (see John Underkoffler). I am talking about Minority Report ;) They are making it into a real UI. Check it out : www.oblong.com
systemtrigger 17y ago
I'm looking forward to Iron Man 2. Teaser: http://mahoski.s3.amazonaws.com/ironman-big.jpg http://mahoski.s3.amazonaws.com/ironman-big.jpg
- youngian 17y ago
  I really enjoyed the UI stuff in Ironman. It was futuristic to be sure, but a lot of it struck me as interfaces that, given the technology, a brilliant inventor might actually use. And I'm pretty sure there was an implementation of tabs, pads, and boards (http://design.cca.edu/graduate/uploads/pdf/IA_PARC_Ubicomp.pdf http://design.cca.edu/graduate/uploads/pdf/IA_PARC_Ubicomp.p...) going on there.
wlievens 17y ago
I often think that UI's for some real software should be closer to film depictions, not the other way around.

48 points by nreece 17y ago

If you want an overly complicated and busy (with no regard to usability) UI, just go for Enlightenment ;) In other regards, I like the choice of Ulrich Schnauss on his film reel. Big fan. Good coding 'tunes.

zurcociremer 17y ago
I love Enlightenment. Used to show it off to friends during presentations just for kicks. ;) Other than that it's pretty usable, though takes a while getting used to.

jrnkntl 17y ago

The real portfolio url was on HN two days ago. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=971844 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=971844 and the link: http://blog.coleran.com/category/portfolio/screendesign http://blog.coleran.com/category/portfolio/screendesign

sten_ben 17y ago
And a post was up on rockpapershotgun this monday: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/11/30/tapitty-tapitty-tapitty-on-screen-computing http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/11/30/tapitty-tapitty-t... Who started all this one may wonder.
- andreyf 17y ago
  I think he did an AMA on reddit two months ago: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9lsp2/i_create_those_fake_fbi_screens_and_crime/ http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9lsp2/i_create_those_f...

ckuehne 17y ago

Funny. The German in the Bourne Identity UIs is full of errors and fake words. Then again, it is still a lot better than the "German" spoken by Nazis in Hollywood movies.

rbanffy 17y ago
ACHTUNG! ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENPEEPERS! DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FÜR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKSEN. IST NICHT FÜR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HÄNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS. ZO RELAXEN UND WATSCHEN DER BLINKENLICHTEN. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinkenlights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinkenlights

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

lt 17y ago

There's something that always amuses me in movies and series: something happened/is about to happen, a taskforce is created and they're running software very specific to that thing right away, with graphics, simulations, etc. Who writes all that? No one ever mentions the programmers that save the day.

rbanffy 17y ago

I have to disagree on the ridiculous part. They are all busy and dense, but they are not ridiculous per se when detached from the movie they came from. Sometimes, you have to convey a very large amount of information in a very confined space. The glass-cockpits in planes are a good example - very dense displays that require some training to use. And, once it works, there is little reason not to make it look cool.

gaius 17y ago
Some of the best interfaces I have written have been in good old-fashioned curses. If you need a "dashboard" for a complex system for a skilled operator, you can convey an awful lot of information in a maximized xterm on a 1280x1024 screen, it's dense but it's not "cluttered" if you lay it out and use colour intelligently.
- rbanffy 17y ago
  Sure, bit it's useful to convey some information in graphical form. Many of the constructs he employs (progress circles, use of color gradients to indicate data age) are really good. The main point being, complex data doesn't have to look ugly.
sdh 17y ago
ridiculous as in technically absurd. I don't think he meant the design was ridiculous. at least that's my interpretation.

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

genieyclo 17y ago

Did this guy do an IAmA on Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9lsp2/i_create_those_fake_fbi_screens_and_crime/ http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9lsp2/i_create_those_f... ?

sp332 17y ago

The guy who made the interface for Minority Report is actually commercializing it. http://vimeo.com/user922585 http://vimeo.com/user922585

Luyt 17y ago

However, the user interface of the Sentry Gun the marines used in Aliens II was very realistic: http://www.inetres.com/gp/sf/aliens/sentry02.jpg http://www.inetres.com/gp/sf/aliens/sentry02.jpg

aarongough 17y ago
Dead link...
- Luyt 17y ago
  Really? For me it still works. Anyway, I've made a mirror copy: ftp://motoom.net/pictures/alien-sentry02.jpg

Nosferax 17y ago

A much more interesting user interface used in a movie was developed by Oblong (see John Underkoffler). I am talking about Minority Report ;) They are making it into a real UI. Check it out : www.oblong.com

systemtrigger 17y ago

I'm looking forward to Iron Man 2. Teaser: http://mahoski.s3.amazonaws.com/ironman-big.jpg http://mahoski.s3.amazonaws.com/ironman-big.jpg

youngian 17y ago
I really enjoyed the UI stuff in Ironman. It was futuristic to be sure, but a lot of it struck me as interfaces that, given the technology, a brilliant inventor might actually use. And I'm pretty sure there was an implementation of tabs, pads, and boards (http://design.cca.edu/graduate/uploads/pdf/IA_PARC_Ubicomp.pdf http://design.cca.edu/graduate/uploads/pdf/IA_PARC_Ubicomp.p...) going on there.

wlievens 17y ago

I often think that UI's for some real software should be closer to film depictions, not the other way around.