The Wizard of Speed and Time Original Short 1979

[theonetruebeast]

Mike was a freakin genius...thanks so much for posting =)

[KendrickSF]

When I was a nerd teenager in the mid-70's, this short played to packed houses at every sci-fi and Star Trek convention for a decade.

Pirated 8MM film prints and VCR copies were around, but they were expensive.

[MrUnidyne]

Remember, all you kids born after 1990, this was made without any computers! All the special effects were either stop-motion or done on a multi-plane camera Mike built from an erector set (Yes, really!)

[jilpoke]

@MrUnidyne :  You mean....you had to WORK??? to get this animation???

[FieryAshes]

@jilpoke You're an ass. Do you realize how long this probably took?

[jilpoke]

@FieryAshes Yes I do. It is a tounge-in-cheek comment. I watch my kids and grand kids put together animation without getting out of their chairs. They don't struggle with errors.

[TheBladeJunker]

Thanks for the posting, I've seen the full length movie he made later but I hadn't seen this short. :)

[jfjnpxmy]

It's okay, I guess.

[dreaddog]

Mike Jittlov is a Genius!

[FrankHoboMaster]

Has anyone else notice that Jittlov's the one who holds up the 9.7?

[johanlinsson]

7 people don't want to find their dream..... : (

[tianlin]

I first saw this in 1979 at the Laguna Beach Animation Festival, and couldn't get it out of my head for MONTHS. It is fantastic, and I'm so happy to have found it here. I'm not sure why I thought about it today, but glad I did.

*happy dance*

[Tartanist]

I loved this movie.

It was too bad it turned into a case of life imitates art. Mike got stiffed by the producer. The same guy who played the producer in the film.

[Kuroneko388]

I started going around on the net n letting ppl know about his wonderful films, so there will more demands for a DVD release. Will any of u do the same? I went on Fanfiction net to spread the word.

[Kuroneko388]

I smile everytime I c this. His films r just great :)

[sadade32]

did somebody put something in my drink or what just happened?

[Anonymouzor]

i want those magics...

[PoulsenFilms]

some say Jesus Christ, others say Mike Jittlov

[LowellV100]

@PoulsenFilms I say Ray Harryhausen

[Dukeoftruth]

Legendary animation! Every frame is amazing.

[The5secondninja]

Fuck Avatar, this is where its at

[LowellV100]

@The5secondninja I wouldn't say that. Neither would Jittlov. Neither would Disney.

[The5secondninja]

@LowellV100 im just kidding. but you gotta admit avatar was a pretty bad movie aside from its special effects and design

[LowellV100]

@The5secondninja Yes Sir. No question about it. Kinda Glad Ray lived to see it. Truthfully, I thought Avatar was a masterpiece. (Not Kidding)

[TheHardhickey]

i looked for this and i found it thank u very much im going to get the movie .watched it a long time ago its real gem of a movie

[ashproductions]

Oh my GOD, I've never SEEN THIS BEFORE!!!!

Only the full length movie!!!!

This explains everything, hehehehe SOOOOO GREAT :D

[6thstreetradio]

Absolute classic. I can't believe the full-length film isn't available in any form on net-flax. The industry has obviously censored this piece of work.

[antdude]

I have seen this somewhere. Was it shown on America's Funniest Home Videos decades ago?

[SnowboarderBo]

Jitlov fucking rules. 'Nuff said.

[ravenofno]

I remember my t\professor showing this in our film production class in 1978-ish and RAVING about it.

..I agreed.  Wonderful!

[ImBobTheWhale]

...what? 0:42

[ImBobTheWhale]

...what?

[semyofpearls]

I remember seeing this for a Disney special on special effects. Before the stop motion section, they had also done a sequence with MJ moving slowly, as another effect one could do with straight camera filming.

Too bad they won't put that out on DVD.

[LisaMarli]

One of the truly awesome animators of all times. We love you Mike!

[dirklittle]

Man this is a flashback to my past, I am stoked to see this again!

[fairportfan2]

I wish i could find the *real* original version - the one that he did for the Disney program segment promoting "The Black Hole" - it had some other stuff that's not here, and the part that is here was slightly different ... and, in my opinion, somewhat better.

[mthai66]

@fairportfan2 I saw the original premier of this at Boscon 79. Awesome.

[fairportfan2]

@mthai66 I missed that - but at Boston Worldcon (1980?) i ran into Jittlov in the lobby at like 2AM and had a chance to talk to him for most of an hour. I asked him how he did the frisbee "flying saucers" in "Mouse Mania"... and he told me.

I love to point those out to people who do stop motion themselves, and explain that that whole sequence was done in-camera in one pass...

Jaws drop.

[mthai66]

@fairportfan2 Park Plaza Hotel?

[fairportfan2]

@mthai66 Sounds right. It was, after all, thirty years ago.

Talking to Mike Jittlov i remember clearly. Name of thehotel - not so clearly.

[cackalackymovies]

Genius.

[Tripp393]

Stars motherfucker!

[artgoat]

I never noticed before that it was MJ who got beat up for the 9.7

[manfromkapow]

I met Mike Jittlov years ago. He was an eccentric genius! For those who don't understand what they're looking at. Understand this. NO CGI HERE! This was all done in camera one frame at a time!

[ksgant]

I remember seeing this on a show on USA network back in the late 80's that went on almost all night on Friday's and Saturdays: "Nightflight". They would play music videos and short little movies like this, it was pretty trippy.

[BobbyJEL101]

I must be too young to understand whats so funny about this

[fairportfan2]

@BobbyJEL101 No trick printing, no CGI (didn't exist) no complex mechanical effects - done 100% in the camera on one strip of film.

And that includes stop-motion animating his own face as he sings.

[MrUnidyne]

@fairportfan2 Not only was everything done in-camera, but he built his own multi-plane camera unit for $200, mostly using an Erector Set construction toy kit.

[fairportfan2]

@MrUnidyne Ummm - was that the camera for this, or are you thinking about the "Jittlov-Berry" animation stand he used for the "Animato" short with the Pet Clark song?

I've had a couple of chance to talk to him, and he told me how he did a couple of things - particularly the "flying saucer" frisbees in the "Mouse Mania" short - when i point out to people that know something about stop motion that that sequence is a single pass/in-camera take, their jaws drop.

[ffotograffic]

@fairportfan2 How many times have you copy and pasted this same comment?...Jaws drop

[carpenoctem66]

The four people that disliked this video should be removed from the Earth. this is perhaps the most indescribably brilliant things ever made! Everyone should know about this!

[REGIFISHY]

Every single person in the world needs to see this short. Simple, yet BRILLIANT!

(And the catchy song at the end.)

[darkcoeficient]

Pure genious!

how did they do it?

[humminalong]

@darkcoeficient --Mike did stop action and some use of cut-outs and I don't know what else... nothing on computer of course.

[Magigic]

The most... Messed up Video i have ever seen... But... Dam funny :P

[azkaban777]

That's MIke Jittlove..guy's a Genuise?!

[marctbecker]

Well, that was the best thing I've ever seen.

[dreaddog]

Pure Genius!!!

[FrigidDeath]

That`s quite the wizard.

[theotherwaldo]

I remember watching the news when they announced that this short movie won a prize. Then they showed "The Wizard of Speed and Time". The news staff just looked at each other, then said, "We have to see that again!"

So I got to see it twice that night.

[MisterFiend]

Damn, I haven't seen this in twenty years!

Sometimes I love YouTube.

[tacotacosanchez]

Three of my college roomates had identical green robes made up for Halloween one year. It was one awesome wizzard fest.

[swamibluesky]

Brilliant!

[caitbrennan]

I would give this a hundred stars if I could. Fantastic movie, the feature is likewise brilliant. The world needs more Jittlov ASAP!

[FrankHoboMaster]

@caitbrennan Honestly, I'd watch this a million times before I'd watch 'Her Morning Elegance/ Oren Lavie'.

[TheSeptemberSessions]

Ca gère ! =F

[HDridr2000]

The Wizard is running about the same rate as our national debt is climbing..

[mthai66]

I heard that joke at Boscon in 1979. Fail!

[mthai66]

I also heard "Never hatchet your counts before they chicken"

[hygrow]

epic

[THUNDERROCX]

WHOS THIS NOOB

[Realalover]

NOOB?!!?!?!?!?!?!

NOOB!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING A NOOB!??!!?!!!?

mike was THE MOST SERIUS ANIMATOR THERE HAS EVER BEEN!!!!

mike has been doing animations since before you were ever an itch in your daddy';s pants! and he's done it all on his own!

[MrUnidyne]

Mike has done stop motion, cel, pixilation, puppetry, all using animation equipment that HE BUILT BY HIMSELF! Check out the feature film and you'll see the multi-plane he built using an Erector set!!

[liljohnnotbigjohn]

@Realalover kinda like saying Bruce Lee picked up a little boxing somewhere... or Tchaikovsky must have had lessons. >.<

[Altasren]

Mm, takes me back to my SF conventioneering days nearly thirty years ago now, when we'd all loudly chant the countdown in the film room ... nostalgia.

[mthai66]

@Altasren BEEP... "Play 'Evolution' backwards!"

[godzzla]

What a great little film. Fantastic.

[waterguyster]

This guy came to my college in the late seventies and told us how he made these clips - long before CG. He was awesome funny! I 'm glad I came across this again.

[BanjoOz]

Whoa! Talk about nostalgia! I remember seeing the "full length" movie on VHS as a rental when I was a kid (I literally remember nothing about it apart from the theme music, the Wizard's appearance and "speed running" and the title)... I had no idea this started life as a (very cool) short! I've gotta track it down again now (even though I agree that the CONCEPT is probably far cooler).

[jojo8329]

Thanks. I was privileged to meet Mike at a sci-fi convention in Anaheim way back. He was trying to raise cash for the movie, so he was selling empty reals and film. I bought his rejected 16mm film of the same title with his autograph and address. Again Thanks!

[cjharrisman]

i loved this film when i was a kid, the 1987 film i grew up with, who ever posted this vid, thanks, A+

[TimReed22222]

Great to find this classic again!

[jmkrieger67]

oh, wow. this has been one of my favorite freaky shorts for years... never thought I'd get to watch this again! thanks for posting it!

[dechha1981]

Obscure 80's movie. Not easy to find, but I remember it. Not even because the movie itself was that good, it's not actually, but the IDEA of a Wizard of Speed and Time is a very interesting one.

[mixmedia101]

i want a gold star. :/

[scottandrewhutchins]

Mike Jittlov is amazing. I wish he made more films.

[wonderboy2402]

Interesting.

[robbiereindeerlover]

wow!

[GHLIII]

I love the scene clacker or whatever you call it. Sweet, beautiful -- he did more sophisticated work later but none more affecting.

[LeoCameloSjm]

It's the Mike Jittlov in Time giving the score and he gives only 9.7? uahuahuahau ... this guy is hilarious ...

[cortexvisual]

wicked!

[f00ky3w2oob]

I only discovered him by pure coincidence with wikipedia.

I think he's my new hero =P

[Barshki]

so awesome

[ata1anta]

Gawd I haven't seen this in AGES. Saw it at Sci-Fi cons in the dark ages (ie: 1980's)

[johnnycya1]

He takes her to the Hollywood sign and then gives it to her in the form of a cardboard sign.

Ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaa. WTF?

[888kan888]

She already had the sign, she wanted to go to Hollywood, as in hitch a lift but the wizard took her instead.

[johnnycya1]

Yeah I figured that out the second time I watched it.

[JohnnyWeedSeed420]

The man has talent, i like when he stops and spins around all fast before he takes off again.

[XNo1XLuvzXMeX]

wow how does he run so fast? =)

he sounds like a motorbike lol.

He must be Jesus! all hail. lol.

yes coolape69 this is only really enjoyable if you're on drugs. lucky you.

[LoveCraftForumDoSepa]

1:38 ROFLMAO!!!

[JohnEvansChaoseed]

That's also Mike Jittlov holding the "9.7" sign, of course. ;)

[Ikegnik]

This man is a genius.

[RyaZila24]

this is some good stuff

[CoolApe69]

I watched this when I dropped a couple of hits of acid. It was the best 3 minutes of my life.

[clubkatze]

hahahaaa.

[COMALiteJ]

I heard that he offered to do the SFX for the "The Flash" TV series of the early 1990s. Too bad they didn't take him up on that offer. The effects would've been MUCH better (they were little more than extended motion blurs as it turned out) and cost WAY less (each episode cost $1 million to make — in 1990 dollars! — a MAJOR factor in its cancellation).

[ecscottindiana]

I watch this daily. It makes me smile!

[sparc77]

I remember first seeing this in the late 70s at conventions in the 80s. Fantastic for a small independent artist!

[firedragongt]

Saw it in the late 70's...at a convention in the 80's...? You saw it in the late 70's in the 80's? The heck?

[sparc77]

Not the whole thing. Just the short clip that was done in the film studio with the cameras, film cans and lights. It was on TV. I don't remember the exact date, but just the general era. There really WAS a TV special about the worlds greatest special effects.

[zillabob]

Yeah, brilliant. I saw this at Sci Fi cons in the 70's and early 80's(real film!). ANIMATO and TIME TRIPPER are also amazing. ANIMATO got quashed thanks to Petula Clarke catching up with it, and the use of her song "I Know A Place", at least I was told that.

[TurangaBLEU]

This documentary is based on a true story.

[UXM425]

THIS IS REDONKULOUS

[dreamlightmedia]

that is actually pretty incredible if someone of low budget can pull that off

[afnaste]

Is Wizard and Jittlov's other brilliant shorts available anywhere? I have the Wizard movie and don't like it as much.

[Grafwichmann]

I think that the run was refilmed, but the song sequence was not. The song itself was altered, though.

[sparc77]

Agreed. The running sequence was extended/appended and altered quite a bit. The singing part, though only had a change in the music....easy enough so long as the timing remained the same.

[JohnnySwitchblade]

Did they have to refilm the whole thing for the feature film? Even the musical sequence?

[Usnarl]

Mike Jittlov used the orginal film for the "wizard Song" but did a remake on the music.

[CoolApe69]

I managed to find a host on BearShare with the original 1979 song and downloaded it. Very magical tune.

[Hellsinger667]

it was here ones befor but got deleted.

glad to see someone uploaded it again :)

[tuttt99]

Jittlov is a Genius!!

[JohnEvansChaoseed]

Awesome! I'm glad this is finally available on YouTube! Mike Jittlov is a true innovator.

[DenshaOtoko]

kick-ass!

[vladioan]

super! bravo!