Jim Henson stated, "My whole approach to this film is visual. The test screenings of The Dark Crystal had the Skeksis speaking a language based on ancient Greek and Egyptian, specially created for them by linguist Alan Garner. We also did some composite work, which was very unique in that we did some superimpose of creatures that were matched into positions with some special holdout mattes that gave us a slightly ethereal feeling. In addition to the matte paintings, we did several key miniatures which were matched in with live-action foregrounds and with cloud tank skies. We decided to build the Dark Crystal Castle in two miniature sizes, one about 10th scale and one about 25th scale so that we could build a fairly large landscape with mountains and terrain and put the castle in the middle. We knew we would have to have some miniatures, some matte paintings, a lot of optical composite work and some blue screen work. “We started with special effects very early on. In addition to the state-of-the-art puppets, special visual effects also played a crucial role in bringing the world of The Dark Crystal to life. (The puppets were controlled through a variety of radio, mechanical, electrical and hydraulic systems.) All of these artists performed their craft on sets that, although scaled to the puppet's size, were built up off the floor to allow them enough clearance to operate their characters unhindered. While the puppeteers who operated the main characters were drawn from the ranks of the Muppeteers, the Mystics and many of the other creatures were brought to life by a specially recruited group of mimes, actors, dancers, acrobats and clowns. The Dark Crystal was filmed at the EMI Elstree Studios near London. It was here that creative supervisor Sherry Amott assembled the 60-member animatronic fabrication group who sculpted, molded, sewed and cared for the project's elaborate puppet cast. In July 1979, Henson moved the project's pre-production planning from New York to London, where he could simultaneously supervise production of the fourth season of The Muppet Show. Once Henson and Froud had developed their ideas into a storyline, David Odell was commissioned to write the screenplay. Not only the general look of the world - from skies to the landscapes - but down to the smallest details which included things like knives and forks, pots and pans, the everyday minutiae details of the creatures of that lived in this world. I was responsible for the conception of an entire world, a world that had never been seen before.
Whereas the Muppets are very simple bold shapes, what I designed was very complex and complicated. “(Henson) was, I think, looking for something different to the style he had been working in and it's interesting to discover how different it was.
Henson immediately contacted Froud, who agreed to act as the project's conceptual designer. Henson was beginning to visualize the creatures that would inhabit this world of good and evil when he discovered The Land of Froud, a collection of drawings by Brian Froud. When Jim Henson began work on The Dark Crystal in 1977, he had no story, just a sense of the kind of fantasy world he wanted to create. Jim Henson, Gary Kurtz and Frank Oz during the filming for The Dark Crystal. The two must battle the evil Skeksis and save Thra. On his quest to The Castle of the Crystal, Jen meets Kira, another Gelfling. If Jen succeeds, the world will be saved but if Jen fails, the Skeksis will rule the land forever. Jen is sent by his dying master on a journey to heal the Dark Crystal. The last Gelfling left on Thra, a male named Jen, was saved and raised by the Mystics. Due to the prophecy, the Skeksis hunted down and killed all the Gelflings. A prophecy was written that stated if a Gelfling healed the crystal, the world would be renewed and the UrSkek would be reunited. ”ġ,000 years ago the crystal cracked, and the spirits of the UrSkek were divided into the peaceful Mystics and the evil Skeksis. Then strife began, and two new races appeared: the cruel Skeksis. For a single piece was lost a shard of the Crystal. A thousand years ago, this land was green and good, until the Crystal cracked.
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