Sixteen years ago, 2001: A Space Odyssey was launched into the cinematic firmament - a glimmering enigma which, among other things, promptly established a new aesthetic, as well as a whole new set of ground rules for motion picture special effects. Nearly a decade would pass before Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, using computerized motion control photography and advanced compositing techniques, would begin to close the technological gap established by 2001. When Arthur C. Clarke published his much anticipated sequel 2010: Odyssey Two in 1982, it was reasonable to assume that it would soon find its way onto the screen, with the full force of contemporary state-of-the-art movie magic brought to bear on its complex effects requirements. Rising to the challenge were producer-writer-director Peter Hyams, futurist designer Syd Mead and visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund. From actualizing a Russian interplanetary spaceship to devising an authentic-looking representation of Jupiter's turbulent surface, the 2010 effects unit fulfilled the demands of the production and in the process established a fresh new look in simulated space photography.