In this installment of Film Making tips, we’re going to finish up our list of terms. Please note, there are a lot more than these. They’re just some that I felt you should know.ND – Neutral Density is a type of gel or filter that decreases the light level while not affecting the color temperature. ND filters are commonly used on exterior shoots on bright days.PA – Production assistant. The PA is the lowest position on a set and usually acts as a gofer for everything from food to supplies.Par – The term PAR refers to a specific type of light bulb (parabolic reflector bulb) where the reflector is sealed into the bulb such as a household flood bulb.Power balancing – The process of balancing power on a generator that has multiple phases. General rule of thumb is to keep all legs within 50 amps of each other.Prep day – The day before principal photography where the electrical staff organizes the equipment, the truck, and all of the gels.Reversal film – Also called positive film (as opposed to negative), reversal film captures the actual image instead of a negative version of the image. Common slide film is an everyday example of reversal film.Room tone – The background noise of the room when no one is talking. The soundman must take about 30 seconds of room tone to make sure that in post-production work (such as an ADR session).Scrim – Used to cut the amount of light from a light without diffusing it. Usually consists of a steel frame with a tight weave metal grid inside.Selective focus – Using an aperture setting to provide shallow depth-of-field thereby keeping only the selected actor or object in focus while blurring the foreground and background.Soft box – Light box fixture that casts a soft warm light. Soft boxes are often hand-made by the DP and are used to provide flattering wraparound light for the actor’s faces, eye lights, or light reflective surfaces.Soft focus – The image captured is diffuse and slightly fuzzy. This technique generally uses a special filter and is often used either for a dream sequence or to soften the lines and wrinkles of an actress or actor.Video village – Location of 1 or more monitors that show the camera image. Often set up for the director to examine framing or when a small set is being used and a minimum of personnel can be near the shooting.Wall plate – Also called a pigeon plate or nail-on plate, a wall plate mounts to a surface with nails or screws and provides a mount for a light fixture, camera, or clamp.Wild track – Sound footage that is taken without accompanying film footage being shot. Often a wild track is extra dialogue (such as ‘Look out below!’) that occurs off camera and will be added in post-production.There you go. I hope you find these useful.
Monthly Archives: August 2011
Pet Lovers Sanity Guide II
Im writing this for pet lovers who care, and I know, like myself, there are many out there who are very close to their pets. Pets as Ive mentioned before, are always there for you, good friends , that never complain.
If youve read some of my prior publications , I last wrote on my experience with pets, and how many had lived a shorter than normal life , and I offered tips for pet lovers everywhere, with hopes you can learn some critical , simple things for your pets survival, from my own unfortunate experiences.
My last publication touched on my Golden Lab and how important nutrition is for pets everywhere.
My next shock experience with pets was with my Doberman, named Scarlet. No, dont jump to conclusions, not scarlet fever, but yet another good companion I remember well, that needed special care for a very unique illness.
At this point in my life I had moved to northern California, in the coastal Redwood trees.
Now, so what, big deal, but another unique pet lesson learned. Scarlet was great, big hearted, certainly not an attack Doberman as portrayed in many movies, but a very friendly, peaceful companion, actually I was a bit concerned owning a Doberman, but found from many people they are certainly loyal, and only trained to be mean.
One day, I noticed her daily pattern had shifted a bit. Now, I was fortunate, she was free to roam the mountain land without a rope or chain, a free spirit at that.
I watched her closely for a few days, and things started to become more obvious, less food, loss of a few pounds, more sleeping during the day and night, which started to be of real concern.
Well, of course at this point I was more sensitive after my Golden Lab passed away with Cancer, so I didnt wait long to get help, yep, right to the Vet. Well what happened next was a second jolt of unfortunate news.
I learned, after reading all those books on care, preventive steps with animals, and so on, what did I miss. The Vet had taken x rays, blood tests, etc, just like a person at the doctors. It made me realize how similar your pet is to us humans.
I spoke with the Vet., he couldnt get into details until all tests were done the next day, and could pin point the cause. OK, very professional, but I didnt sleep that night, come back tomorrow, and we can confirm the findings, was difficult to accept.
Well, take note, another rare unique experience you might learn from. I did return the next day, and met the Vet, which right away I read the body language, not good. Well this was a new one on me, Scarlet had three yes 3 heart worms which had drilled three holes through her heart. Now I had never heard of Heart Worms, what they were, what to do, etc. Living in South California, I never heard this before, similar to colder regions, where Fleas cant survive. Well, again, here I was, what is the bottom line I asked. I was ready for anything this time around.
I had a few options, which was good, and then difficult, such as put her to sleep was one. Enough said. There was the option to remove the Heart worms, but very dangerous for Scarlet, frankly it was a dose of poison, and she may not recover, or result in a heart attack.
So, where does this Heartworm come from. This was like making a serious family decision. I decided since she had such strong spirit, it wasnt her time, and the Vet reassured me, worst case no suffering. So I went for this option, lets attempt to fix the problem and save her life.
Amazing, but within weeks, she slowly showed signs of recovery. I could read her signs just from her eyes, everything is going to be OK, dont worry.
Gosh, another painful experience with pets, although the right decision was made, Scarlet went on to live past 14 years old, which is abnormal for Dobermans, typically 9 to 12 years.
I had made the right decision this time, but certainly is a tiring experience, the thought I may have possibly avoided the entire episode.
Last, where do these aweful parasites come from. Well as strange as it may be if you dont know, mosquito bites. Possibly from the region, wild animals, etc. Its worth reading up on.
If I had only understood this, and living up north in the forest was different with a new set of rules for Pet Lovers.
Living in a lush Redwood forest sounded great, but in fact was a different environment. There are preventive things that can be done to protect your pets from many unique cases like heartworms, as in this case.
So, from experience, just a few tips for Pet Lovers everywhere.
One, dont assume anything, read up on a few how to guides for a preventive approach caring for your pets.
Second, dont wait to the last minute if you see a pattern shift in your pets daily habits, diet, sleeping, activity in general, but head for your nearest Vet, and get professional advice or help.
Third , I last touched on how important a pets diet is, and overall nutrition. I cant emphasis this enough, just like people, watch the diet, daily activities, exercise, just as you would for yourself.
Take these real life experience tips, and apply them to your pets overall health condition for a safe and healthy life. Enjoy your pets to the fullest. You will feel good about their health, and taking the responsible approach for their future.
I hope these experiences have helped pet lovers out there. At least get some ideas on how to take care of, and at least recognize a pet in distress.
Orange Celebrity News – Brit Awards 2010
And what better star to watch than our favourite Lady Gaga, who dominated with wins in the international categories for Best female, Best Breakthrough Act and Best Album for The Fame.
Of course we couldn’t mention Lady Gaga without checking her monster fashion. Whether you think the woman is a style maker or a style hater, she certainly knows how to make it on the red carpet. Tuesday found her posing as some kid’s Christmas dolly angel in giant white tiers of gathered cloth topped with a mad candyfloss barnet, the unholy hair union of Marge Simpson and the Bride of Frankenstein.
But no, GaGa’s appearance would not be complete with at least two outfits and she didn’t disappoint, ripping off swaddles of white tulle during her performance to reveal some kind of one-armed, one-legged lace jumpsuit. Only the Lady could grapple with the demon child of a cello and keytar in fungal growths of lace and make it look stylish. Yeah, and the fierce booties. Love it.
Having sold eight million albums and 35 million singles in the last 12 months, we can’t say it’s a surprise that Gaga swept the awards show. Indeed, her label manager Akon has said that her success has pretty much retired him from singing! After several failed deals and years struggling to make it, Akon saw something great and picked her up on his Kon Live label. I bet he’s now laughing all the way to the bank.
Speaking of retirement – winner Lily Allen continues to feed the celebrity news rumour mill by threatening to retire at 24 with her standard poor-little-starlet routine. The Daily star quoted Allen as saying her performance at the Brits was “the perfect way to say goodbye” and that she wants to focus more on personal life and other business ventures.
And what a ridiculous good-bye! Allen opened the show riding on stage on a giant glitter bomb with a Best of British troop of fierce nannies and pop-bankers in bowler hats and Union Jack boxers. Mary Poppins would not approve.