You Calling Me Short?

"The Brain Washers" (2002), Short animated film directed by Patrick Bouchard -  Two chimney sweeps are injected into a man's skull to clean house. Strange, a bit gory and definitely odd, this Canadian claymation is a well crafted journey down the rabbit hole. You might consider it a dark, ethereal "Robot Chicken". Find it at the National Film Board of Canada website www.onf-nfb.gc.ca

Radio Talk

Walkie talkie radios are used as a primary source of communication on a film set. Slang for a radio is a "Walkie. Important note of etiquette and efficiency: You should answer all radio requests by repeating what was requested and then acknowledging that it is on the way. In other words, if the 2nd AD asks you for a cooler of water, an extra radio and a director's chair brought to set, the reply is: "Copy, a cooler of water, an extra radio and a director's chair, flying in". You have told them that you are getting everything requested and that you have acknowledge that it is "flying in" a.k.a on it's way. Before flying in, you also quickly make sure that the cooler is full of COLD water bottles, check the radio to make sure it transmits and receives, and bring an extra radio battery in case anyone needs it. Communication and efficiency are the key. I've used an example of a request a Production Assistant might receive, but the etiquette is to be practiced by all crew, no matter what department they are in.

A guy walks onto a film set

Q: How many Screenwriters does it take to screw in a light bulb? 

A: The bulb is IN and it's staying IN!

Ouch

Hot Set- After the master shot is complete, everything in view is now "Hot". Don't touch or move anything lest you mess up the continuity of future shots. A chair in the wrong place, a closed book that was previously open, a missing ashtray etc.

Master Shot- We film a master shot to capture all of the key dialogue, action and plot points of a scene. Usually it is a somewhat wide frame (but not always). Once the scene has been established in this way, we can shoot coverage, the many and varied specialty shots to enhance the edit and tell the story.

TCM has horror for everyone

TCM is running classic scary this weekend and beyond. A few suggestions:

The Haunting (1963) Robert Wise directs a chilling script based on the Shirley Jackson novel, “The Haunting of Hill House. “ There have been many imitators but this is the real deal. Creepy.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) A black comedy/horror about revenge. The cast includes multiple academy award nominee Joseph Cotton and the great Vincent Price.

Diary of a Madman (1963) Vincent Price as a police detective who kills a murderous criminal only to be possessed by the evil spirit that haunted the man.

Martin Scorsese Presents Val Lewton: Man in the shadows (2007)  I have never seen this documentary and can hardly wait. Scorsese produces and narrates a film about the poet and novelist turned horror director, Val Lewton.

Check the TCM schedule for multiple listings.

Pick of the Week

"The Re-Animator"(1985) Directed by Stuart Gordon
Med school student Herbert West experiments with re-animating dead tissue. His professor dies in the lab under weird circumstances and Herbert is forced to continue his "re-agent"work at a new university. Gore and humor propel us through a Frankenstein/Jekyle & Hyde/Zombie hybrid flick based on an original story by master of horror H.P. Lovecraft. On a relatively low budget this picture provides excellent production value, performances and direction. It is deftly designed for hardcore horror fans who revel in the absurdly gross. Popularity led to a series of re-animator films. If you enjoy "The Evil Dead","Dead Alive" and the "Living Dead" films, "The Re-Animator" belongs in your Netflix cue. Happy Halloween.

A guy walks into a film set

Crew jokes are a staple of the industry. There are many jokes and many versions of the same ones. Once you are no longer "green" on a set, they tend to make sense. Lets ease in for starters:
How many Stuntmen does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Five. One to screw it in and four to tell him how bitchin' he looked doing it.
How many Camera Assistants does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Five. One to do it and four to tell you how they did it on the last job.
Are you seeing a pattern here?

I LOL'ed when I read this. It's too true! 4-6 were a motto a close colleague and I used to say all the time. Laughingly of course!

Indie

Bellflower (2011)- Two drinking, smoking college pals build muscle cars & modified weapons hoping that Armageddon happens. Their goal? To rule the roads just like in their all-time favorite film "Mad Max". That's enough for me...I'm in.

Film Crew Slang

M.O.S. Slate / "Bursting the Slate"- When shooting film without

recording sound you can slate the shot before we actually shoot it. A

quick "burst", turn the camera on, wait a beat and then turn off with

the slate (clapper board ) in frame. No clapping the slate for sound necessary.

No respect

"On Halloween, parents sent their kids out looking like me!" 
Rodney Dangerfield (Comedian/movie star best known for "Caddyshack"1980)

Pick of Last Week

I failed to post a movie pick last week so this will have to be a doozy. "Perfume"(2006). The story of a man born with super human olfactory senses. Jean-Baptiste's sense of smell is better than a red bone hound on the hunt for Dexter Morgan. Jean grows up to be a perfume expert seeking the "perfect scent". His search leads to unmentionable depravity.
"Perfume"was directed by Tom Twyker (Run Lola Run, The Princess & the Warrior), perhaps the David Lynch of Europe. His films are worth any aficionado's attention. Kudos to baby Jean-Baptiste in the opening scene. A star performance for sure. That kid must be related to the child in "Trainspotting". Enjoy.

Film Crew Slang

"Kit Rental"-Personal equipment or supplies that crew members charge the production company for as part of their deal. Hair/make up supplies, carts, rigging, etc. are all potential kit rentals.

Old Hollywood

"Old Hollywood: Silent Stars, Deadly Secrets" on Biography Channel today 10am.
If you thought the silent stars were corny and innocent...think again. A litany of scandal, debauchery & murder in pre-Hayes Code tinsel town.

Vietnam Documentary

Currently viewing The Anderson Platoon (1967) directed by Indochine War veteran Pierre Schoendoerffer.Shot in Vietnam in1966, it is a portrait of 33 GIs led by black West Point graduate Lieutenant Joseph Anderson.  Schoendoerffer follows them for 6 weeks through search and destroy missions, downtime and back in again. It won the 1967 Academy Award for Documentary Feature and several other prestigious awards including Cannes.

What's Up Doc?

  "That's All Folks!"
The Man of a Thousand Voices
-Epitaph on Mel Blanc's Gravestone
(Hollywood Memorial Park; Hollywood, California)
 

Halloween viewing

October 29th 9:30 PM	Martin Scorsese Presents, Val Lewton: The Man In The Shadows (2007)
	This TCM original documentary looks at the imaginative producer who fashioned a lasting body of beautiful and unsettling films on meager budgets. Dir: Kent Jones October 31st 11:15 PM : TCM Night at the Movies: Horror (2011): Hosted by stephen king

Halloween

Oct. 30th on TCM

9:30 PM	Martin Scorsese Presents, Val Lewton: The Man In The Shadows (2007)
	This TCM original documentary looks at the imaginative producer who fashioned a lasting body of beautiful and unsettling films on meager budgets. Dir: Kent Jones October 31st 11:15 PM : TCM Night at the Movies: Horror (2011) Hosted by Stephen king

Halloween is near

Chef: I've seen this kind of thing before. It's the living dead. Observe.
( he pulls a patient's arm off)  

Eye Doctor: Mr. Phillips was in here for a routine exam.

 South Park, Pink Eye episode(1997)

Film Crew Slang

Hollywood Stand-up-When an actor rises from a seat a little more slowly than normal. It gives the camera crew a little help following the action. Camera gear can be very heavy & bulky, especially when following the actor in close.  The Hollywood stand-up is one of the ways an actor "dances" with the camera crew to make a shot work.

On SundanceCHannel

Fri Oct 21	10:00 PM	GODS AND MONSTERS
	The story of James Whale, the director of FRANKENSTEIN and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, in the time period following the Korean War. Whale is homosexual and develops a friendship with his gardener, an ex-Marine.