VFX History: Slit Scan

VFX History: Slit Scan

Graham Quince April 28, 2026

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How did 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation create mind-bending visuals decades before CGI? The secret is Slitscan, a terrifyingly complex technique that literally turns time into space.

In this deep dive into VFX history, I explore the origins of the Slitscan technique. From its humble beginnings in 19th-century strip photography used for horse racing and mapping, to the genius of John Whitney and Douglas Trumbull, we look at how a mechanical slit, a long-exposure camera, and patience created the most iconic trippy visuals in cinema.

I'll cover:

The Stargate Sequence from 2001 imagined by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke, then made real by Doug Trumbull.

How Bernard Lodge adapted both the technique and a Rostrum camera to create Doctor's Who's title sequence.

John Dykstra's method for the jump to hyperspeed for Star Wars.

ILM's John Knoll pushed the concept even further, creating a three dimensional version to stretch the Enterpise and then also created the famous look of warp speed, with it's rainbow stars.

Bonus Section Then, just to torture myself, I recreated the Slitscan process (or is it Slit Scan?) inside Adobe After Effects, using the echo effect and essential graphics.

Download the project file here

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