SLAVKO VORKAPICH

To conceive the nightmare 3-D sequences in The Mask, director Julian Roffman turned to the Serbian born artist Slavko Vorkapich. A master of montage and double exposure Vorkapich, now semi-retired, was put in charge of designing and story-boarding these 3-D sequences for The Mask. After experimenting in the 20's with film as a pure visual medium in shorts like The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra ('28), Vorkapich began creating elaborate montage sequences in the 30's and 40's for many Hollywood films like Mr.Smith Goes To Washington ('39) and Meet John Doe ('41), often having complete control over the sequences.

For The Mask the Vorkapich 3-D sequences featured hordes of frogs, mice and iguanas, in addition to tanks of black ink! Roffman was worried. It was going to cost a fortune and the budget couldn't stand it. The sequences were dropped, however the contract with Vorkapich was set in stone. Vorkapich had to receive credit for the hallucinogenic imagery in the 3-D sequences of the film. And he did. Roffman, confused, questioned Vorkapich. Why did he want to retain credit for work that wasn't his and could potentially come out poorly. Vorkapich replied "You are a driven man. I trust you."

At least some of Slavko Vorkapich's mark was left on the film, and that's the imagery in this poster of the film. The ghost like image of the woman featured is no where to be found in The Mask, but it is prevalent in this clip of Vorkapich's work from a film called The Furies.

The Furies (1934)



The Life and Death of a 9413: a Hollywood Extra (1937)