Pick of the Week

"Decoy for Terror" (A.K.A. "The Playgirl Killer" A.K.A "Portrait of Fear) 1968- A deranged artist kills and freezes women for the sake of his art. Not only is this fun Canadian schlock, but 50's-60's teen popstar Neil Sedaka (famous for..."I love, I love my little calender girl..! Yeah, yeah,yeah!) breaks into song several times.  Best Scene-The artist has frozen a girl as a statue posed with a strung bow and arrow. Guess what happens when the power goes out and the room warms up?

Film Crew Slang

"Bracketing"-Shooting the scene several times with different F-stops/T-stops to create a range of exposure effects.
F-stop-The amount of light transmitted by a lens based on a simple mathematical calculation. Focal Length of lens divided by the diameter of the aperture.
But different lenses will take in different amounts of light depending on the number of elements in them. So two lenses with an aperture of f4 may actually allow different amounts of light to pass through them. One might create a brighter image than the other.
T-stop-Similar to F-stop but a T-stop is measurement of the actual amount of transmitted light for a particular lens as opposed to the theoretical calculation of an F-stop.
T-stops are used mostly in the motion picture industry.

Dialogue Greatness

"Repo Man" (1984)- 80's Punk Rock sci-fi classic from the warped mind of Director Alex Cox. We'll take a look at Cox's "Straight To Hell" (1987) a little later

Parnell (mad scientist) : Ever been to Utah? Ra-di-a-tion. Yes, indeed. You hear the most outrageous lies about it. Half-baked goggle-box do-gooders telling everybody it's bad for you. Pernicious nonsense. Everybody could stand a hundred chest X-rays a year. They ought to have them, too. When they canceled the project it almost did me in. One day my mind was full to bursting. The next day - nothing. Swept away. But I'll show them. I had a lobotomy in the end.


Otto: Lobotomy? Isn't that for loonies?


Parnell: Not at all. Friend of mine had one. Designer of the neutron bomb. You ever hear of the neutron bomb? Destroys people - leaves buildings standing. Fits in a suitcase. It's so small, no one knows it's there until - BLAMMO. Eyes melt, skin explodes, everybody dead. So immoral, working on the thing can drive you mad. That's what happened to this friend of mine. So he had a lobotomy. Now he's well again.

Film Crew Slang

Subjective Angle: Slightly different than a Point Of View (POV) shot. A subjective angle shows the point of viewpoint of a specific person in the film. Common examples are the view through binoculars or a gun site.

2 special anniversaries!

Exactly 70 years ago today, Casablanca premiered at the Hollywood Theater in New York. Please join us in sharing this image across Facebook in tribute to one of the greatest movies of all time.  Just one of the many great films we show in our class!  Also Happy 90th birthday to the HOLLYWOOD sign.  Like everything and everyone else in Hollywood it's getting a facelift!

Camera sells for millions

http://www.photography-news.com/2012/11/leica-m3d-camera-used-by-picassos.html

Madonna Concert in Miami--contributed by Jay Shropshire

 

IMAX camera on Libra stabilization head suspended from the boat's on-board crane.
Contributed by cinematographer James Neihouse

Film Crew Lingo

Macro lens- A specialized lens that extends far enough to bring very close objects into focus. A good macro lens may reproduce and image at a 1:1 ratio.

IMAX camera prepped on Libra head for great white shark shoot.
Contributed by cinematographer  James L. Neihouse

This is HILARIOUS!! And after reading it a couple times, I have to think that Tom Hanks really did type this out himself! This is his type of humor...I love it!

Contributed by Full Sail Grad Christopher J. Miller

Dialogue Greatness

The Big Steal (1949)
Jane Greer to Robert Mitchum: What I like about you is you’re rock bottom. I wouldn’t expect you to understand this, but it’s a great comfort for a girl to know she could not possibly sink any lower.

Film Crew Slang

High Key- An overall brightly lit scene with few shadows. Low contrast.
Low Key- High contrast lighting with many shadows and areas of darkness.

Director of Photography James Neihouse shooting Endeavour for "HUBBLE 3D" IMAX feature documentary.

Walkie Talkie Radio Etiquette

Tips for Proper Radio Use:
*Be professional
*Always use your name when identifying yourself. Common practice is to say "Go for ____(your name)".
* Keep your voice low when taking on the radio. Most crew will have ear pieces but keep your voice down. Especially when around actors. Just because they are not in front of camera does not mean they are not working.
*Know that anyone could be hearing your conversation.
* If you need to have an extended conversation (or private) take it to another channel. Do this  by telling the other person "Go to Channel___". For really private talks it's best to ask them to meet you in person.
*Production Assistants (P.A.s): If someone higher up than you has their radio battery go dead, give them yours and get yourself a new one. Same if their radio breaks.
* Always say "copy" meaning that you heard and understand. Without a response, people wonder if you heard them or not.

Common Radio Codes:
10-1: Going to the bathroom doing #1
10-2: Going to the bathroom doing #2 (It's not to be gross, just saying that it will take a little longer than #1)
10-4: I have heard and understand
10-20 or 20: Location of someone or something as in "What's your 20?"
"Copy": I Have heard and understand
"Do You Copy?": Did you hear me? Do you understand?
"Radio Check": Say this if you are not sure that your radio is transmitting or working. The proper response is "Good Check". If you hear someone ask for a radio check....respond!
"Stand by": Means that I am busy at the moment and will respond ASAP.
"Flying In": Always respond when asked to bring something or someone to the set. It lets them know that you are on it. Also lets us know that multiple people are not attempting to do the same task and wasting precious manpower and time.

Contributed by Joe Wheeler

Contributed by Full Sail Grad Jay Shropshire

Film Crew Slang

Tech Scout- No it is not a nerdy Boy Scout! A Tech Scout is the process of going to a potential shoot location to figure out the logistics and details of how to best accomplish the shots. Key Department Heads from the crew will go together...UPM, DP, Gaffer, Key Grip, Transportation Captain and any others that are needed. In photography and video it is sometimes referred to as a Site Survey.

Film Crew Slang

"Golden Time"- Double (x2) Overtime pay. This is a Production Manager's nightmare! Crew loves it of course. It's been a very long day and now... $$$$ Cha-Ching!!!

Dialogue Greatness

Addams Family Values(1993)-Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
(Gomez Adams referring to a girl popping out of the cake at a bachelor party)
-"Was she in there before you baked it?"

Contributed Steadicam Operator and Full Sail Graduate Tim Yoder