Kitts Windows

[pezze87]

I had a question aobut one thing I never understood: how did they let Kitt make dark his windows?

[cloudkitt]

Uh, do you mean how did KITT do it? Or how did they film it?

In the show, KITT's windows probably had a similar technology to those glasses they have now that will change to sunglasses when in bright light. And with an electric charge KITT could alter their tint.

In filming, I dunno, I assume that they had a second car with tinted windows and used the magic of camera-cutting. But I could be wrong about this one.

[PBH]

In filming, I dunno, I assume that they had a second car with tinted windows and used the magic of camera-cutting. But I could be wrong about this one.

From what I can see, they shot the car with clear windows, then simply tinted/blacked out/covered the windows and shot again ensuring that the camera didn't move. Then, they simply dissolve from one shot to another. Through the camera, the windows may have looked like they were actually black, but it may just have been cut black cardboard quickly attached with tape. No need for a 2nd car. Ah, the magic of TV!

If you watch K.I.T.T. vs K.A.R.R. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azwpd_Yjjmk) you'll notice that when K.A.R.R. reveals he has John's girlfriend inside, this "dissolve effect" is noticeable as K.A.R.R. is slightly lowered from on shot to another, likely due to the weight of the passenger that was not in the car when it was being shot with the blacked-out windows.

[Lost Knight]

^ What he said. I was waiting for someone to be able to explain it properly. You can also tell in "K.I.T.T. Vs. K.A.R.R." that there are tints/cut outs pasted onto the windows when Mandee is inside K.A.R.R. at the peer and trying to pound her way out, as some sunlight leaks through when she hits the glass.

[Skav]

In KITTNAP, the scene where KITT is taken away by the bad guys, that car had proper tinted windows.

You can easily tell this.

[PBH]

In KITTNAP, the scene where KITT is taken away by the bad guys, that car had proper tinted windows.

You can easily tell this.

They had a few techniques depending on what the script called for.

They may have had a car with tints in the scene you mention, but this was not the case in the scene that I mentioned as it would not work with the effect that the needed to create.

[Crumbling Down]

I think they had a tinted trans am for most scenes but since the car with the tint on it may have not always been available, they used cardboard cutouts as mentioned above.

[cloudkitt]

Exactly, they undoubtedly did have a car with genuine tints, but cardboard for KARR, or something quick they wanted to do.

I wish my car could tint windows on command, that could be really cool.

[pezze87]

Thanks for all te answers, I ever doubted that in reality it would be possible (at least in the early '80s) to tint the windows.. Thank you all!

[CJaguar442]

I think kitt had some like Electrochromic smart windows. I found an article from http://www.howstuffworks.com

"Electrochromic windows darken when voltage is added and are transparent when voltage is taken away. Like suspended particle devices, electrochromic windows can be adjusted to allow varying levels of visibility. They are not an all or nothing technology like liquid crystals.
Electrochromic windows center around special materials that have electrochromic properties. "Electrochromic" describes materials that can change color when energized by an electrical current. Essentially, electricity kicks off a chemical reaction in this sort of material. This reaction (like any chemical reaction) changes the properties of the material. In this case, the reaction changes the way the material reflects and absorbs light. In some electrochromic materials, the change is between different colors. In electrochromic windows, the material changes between colored (reflecting light of some color) and transparent (not reflecting any light).

At its most basic level, an electrochromic window needs this sort of electrochromic material and an electrode system to change its chemical state from colored to transparent and back again. There are several different ways to do this, employing different materials and electrode systems.

Like other smart windows, electrochromic windows are made by sandwiching certain materials between two panes of glass. Here are the materials inside one basic electrochromic window system and the order you will find them in:


Glass or plastic panel
Conducting oxide
Electrochromic layer, such as tungsten oxide
Ion conductor/electrolyte
Ion storage
A second layer of conducting oxide
A second glass or plastic panel
In this design, the chemical reaction at work is an oxidation reaction -- a reaction in which molecules in a compound lose an electron. Ions in the sandwiched electrochromic layer are what allow it to change from opaque to transparent. It's these ions that allow it to absorb light. A power source is wired to the two conducting oxide layers, and a voltage drives the ions from the ion storage layer, through the ion conducting layer and into the electrochromic layer. This makes the glass opaque. By shutting off the voltage, the ions are driven out of the electrochromic layers and into the ion storage layer. When the ions leave the electrochromic layer, the window regains its transparency."

http://www.howstuffworks.com/smart-window4.htm



When switched off, an electrochromic window
remains transparent.

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[pezze87]

now THAT sounds really interesting!! Another step to create KITT in reality... But, to turn back to my question, did this function exist yet in 1980s?

[Crumbling Down]

I cannot be so sure if it existed at the time of the show. It's hard to say when it first came about but I know some higher end cars have self tinting rear view mirrors and windows now.

[AusKnight2K]

It never ceases to amaze me how advanced and ahead of their time the concepts and ideas on Knight Rider were.

So many modern day cars are coming out with all these things, no doubt inspired by the brilliant imagination of Glen Larson and the writers at that time ...