George Ebersole

I found a tongue in cheek YouTube vid of how to make one out of sewer line PVC. The down shot is that it works only for things like GoPro and small consumer SD cameras. Since the neighborhood (and thankfully my home) were not washed away by a torrent of water flowing through the neighborhood, I'm official inspired to make something. I'll keep you posted.

I just got an automated Flood Warning phone call from the Marin county offices, and it specifically told me not to go down to the creek. Kind of hard to do since said creeks runs right behind my backyard. But it got me to thinking, I've been meaning to get some footage of the creek, but have been reluctant to get my camera near the water. I'd like something more than a splash bag, but I don't want to shell out a $1000 plus or more for something I may use only once. Has anyone here ever built their own water housing for a camera? Did you hit TAP plastics, or use something else? Thanks for any reply.

I'm just glad no one mentioned Snakes on a Plane nor Sharknado ... how stuff like that gets made I'll never know.

The two deferred gigs I did were professional enough. Chapman dolly, Arri BLIII, Mole Richardson lights ... the whole nine yards. And the footage on both looked very decent, in fact it looked impecable. The fact that neither project got picked up is a shame. But everyone has a dream, I suppose. Some are made manifest, others aren't, and that's just the way life is. The first one I ever did way back in the 90s, was about what various couples did on the 4th of July in San Francisco. We shot a sequence about some woman who didn't know what she wanted and was tryhing to emotionally snare an artist after a one-night stand. Crane shots, tons of lights, ever so subtle dolly moves ... but all the professionalism in the world doesn't sell a film, so no paycheque. I did a number of rock videos too when I was a youngin. Same deal. I think one client was actually arrested for some charge, so again no money. It was good experience, and I'm not sorry I did any of those jobs. I'm not sure I'd do it now as a middle aged guy, will and body just aren't there unless it's something or someone I really believe in. thanks for the replies. Very insightful.

I think fans are always forgiving of films, but they do always notice stuff no matter what it is. Corporate video and commercials can probably get away with a lot more.

I never understood the controversy about "Showgirls". I mean isn't there more tawdry stuff produced for the so-called "adult video" market? Forgive my ignorance on the subject, but I've never seen the movie, just bits and pieces of it here and there.

One more update, some of the animation from the 60s and 70s is smooth out. It's not quite Disney, but is a bit of improvement over the original animation from companies like Hannah Barbara or Filmation.

I admit it. I went and saw this in the theatre ... and I don't care who knows! :D

Godzilla movies.

Well, now that the whole thing's going to get shut down, I merely shrug my shoulders at it. I'm almost of the opinion that the Victorian saying "Children should be seen and not heard" has some weight to it. Oh well.

Oh sure. And YouTube's way more out of control than the IMDB. Way back in the mid 80s I knew a couple of guys at Cal Poly who were well connected in the computer industry. The net was mostly universities then, and they were telling me it was going to public soon. I shook my head because I knew what was going to happen, especially if it went international. And now sure enough every website with a forum needs a max-strength can of "troll be gone". I'm just surprised it's taken this long for anyone to realize that instant communication from everyone with an opinion isn't necessarily a good thing. In fact it's down right obnoxious.

The comments on Variety and other industry sites have really gotten unprofessional and just downright rude and nasty in all forms. Blatant racism and sexism and any other "ism" you can think of mixed in with the foulest language possible, to me, says that the news industry is probably going to rethink how it tells news, and who it lets react to the stories. Before all magazines and papers had letters to the editor. But now any foul mouthed kid with a phone can slam anyone or anything he wants, and get away with it. David; I think they specifically said they're shutting down their message boards and private message.

Well, if you read the follow up paragraphs, it looks like what they're saying is that they've got lots of other forums that most of the users actually use, and that only a "passionate" minority use the actual website forums.

Long overdue. I don't know how much the IMDB rakes in, but if they had only hired an office full of full time moderators, and required real world IDs to confirm membership, they would have saved themselves a lot of headaches. I can't believe the amount of libel and other flat out lying by people of all ages that takes place there. When the new Ghostbusters' movie hit the screens the racism and sexism and just flat out abuse of the cast and crew was mind boggling. I could not believe what I was reading. People claiming to "know somebody" or claiming to be some actor, or claiming this, that or the other thing, it has been one giant mob rule session. It's like a middle school without any teachers or security. "Lord of the Flies" kind of thing. Everytime I go to post there more often than not some guy (usually a male) zooms in with some comment that's just in flagrant violation of the rules. I'm sorry to see it go, but at the same time, I'm actually not that sorry.

I haven't read the entire thread, but my feelings on 3D was that it was stupid from the start. Go to any art museum, and what do you see? You see paintings mostly. Some sculptures, some other things soo, but it's mostly relatively flat 2D renderings of whatever it is. What you don't see are dioramas on any scale. Oh sure, go to a natural history museum and you'll see recreations of animals in their natural environment, maybe some extinct animals and our ancestors, but it's there to give you an idea of what those creatures are or were like. Ditto with film. If you want 3D, if you truly want​ 3D, then go see a play. Like I posted a few years back on another 3D thread, there was a better technology than todays being developed in silicon valley out of some garage by a couple of guys. The news' piece ran on KNTV Channel 11, then an ABC affiliate (Now NBC I think). Their technology didn't require that you wear any hokey (or just plain dumb) glasses, but had the signal from two televisions or two cameras weaving an image together on one TV. Instead of the images seemingly like they're in three dimensions in front of you, the reported described the effect as "looking out a window". I think the reason that technology never took off like today's 3D is because 3D doesn't enhance the movie experience. You're there to see a great story, maybe some cool visuals, but mostly you're there to see the characters and have your values confirmed in one form or another. Who gives a flying-F if it's in 3D or not. Just me.

Thanks for the replies. Yeah I was testing this person to see if they were serious. If she (or whoever I was exchanging PMs with) had a serious idea and drive to go for it, then we would have been exchanging real world information. I asked them a few questions about what kind of idea they had or what kind of film they wanted to make ... in general what their feelings and concepts were for a film of any kind. But it's like I got nothing. Truth be told as big as a scifi fan that I am, and have been since before SW hit the screens in 1977, I was never a big nor "true" Star Wars' fan. I just didn't buy into the whole spiritual message of the film, though I thoroughly enjoyed it as a cinematic experience. I think 1977 Star Wars was groundbreaking as a film in that it injected much needed energy into my favorite genre, and showed that you could still make good fun films for all ages. But I'm not "in tune" with anything beyond the movies. I wouldn't know where to start with a Star Wars' fan film, notably a budget for decent SFX space shots. But, I thought if this person was serious, then I might get asked for some personal info, they might give me their agent's contact info, tell me what they were working on and so forth, and in return ask me what I was working on. But I got none of that, much less anything in the mail. But they, and someone here on this website as well, did point me to the Fan Film website you guys provided, so that was something. And yeah, I wouldn't expect anything job wise to come of it. If I managed to crank out something half way decent, then I would put it on a reel and tack it onto my resume. In short nothing, quite literally, ever came of this exchange. And when I confronted them about the game server incident they just replied "peace and love to you my friend". Whatever. Like I say, if this person was truly serious, and we were exchanging info and everything else, and with the Star Wars fan film info (and maybe some form of registration for their next festival) secured, then I might have shot a little five to ten minute deal. And if I thought it was good enough, I might have put it on my resume. It's too bad. Over the last four or five months I spent a lot of money getting my skills up to speed, and where I didn't think anything serious would come of this, it did remind me of all the phonies I met way back when when I was gripping and PAing a lot. Oh well. Again, thanks for the replies. It helped me vent my spleen yet once more.

I exchanged some private messages on the IMDB with someone claiming to be Aubree Miller, the child actress who starred in the two Ewok films that aired in ABC some 20 plus years ago. She, or whoever, stated that they wanted to make a Star Wars' fan film, but were afraid of a lawsuit from Disney. She also mentioned that there was a SW fan film contest (which someone here mentioned), but was still apprehensive. I gave this person some rudimentary advice about doing some corporate video or commercial work if they were serious about getting back into acting, but it didn't seem to register. I asked this person to send me a treatment to my old address down in the San Mateo / Foster City area, but nothing ever came. I then prodded them, but still nothing. Then someone on a game server a couple weeks back addressed me using the name of the production company I asked this IMDB user to sned the treatment to. I'm fairly sure it's some hacker just having fun, but again making my life miserable when continued violations of privacy. BUT, if it had been someone from some popular scifi spinoff film, would you make a fan film as something to add to your reel?

Oh really? How cool. I was just wondering, but it's still a thing. Ages ago when I was in film school I asked for a print of the student film we worked on (super-8), but the guy acting as producer said he didn't know how. Then one of the professors mentioned contact prints, but that (in those days at least) it tended to degrade the source footage or something. Or at least that was my thought on it. Cool. I'm glad I asked. Thanks for the replies :)

Interesting. Thanks.

Does Koday still do "contact print" copies of super-8 movies? Is that still a valid method of making a copy of a super-8 film, or is it all digital these days? Just curious.

JD, I'll be sending you a private message.

This commentator has some observations on Kurosawa's shot design. Opinions?

I was. But there's a third party in the industry that keeps yanking my chain. As I stated in another thread, my big plan was to get some personal business at home straightened out, get a full time job, finish my degree, then graduate back into it by working on local corporate video. That was back in 2005. I've gone through a series of harassments, including my phone being hacked, that's pushed me back further and further. And when I think of the current crop of movies on the market today, what it takes to get them made, why I chose film, and the occasional key grip or gaffer who took verbal jabs at me, it's like I don't miss it. All I ever wanted to do was to shoot shorts and distribute them via computer network. That was back in 1983 or 84, but I wasn't sure if the technology would get up to speed. So, I miss shooting stuff with small groups of friends or crews that knew one another, but I don't miss the egotistical temper flare ups "I'm a genius, pay attention to me" BS. Professionals don't act that way. But given the number of instances I've seen it happen, I wonder how many real professionals there are.

I don't miss being on a set.

I have to admit, I've never liked the industry for a lot of false stress induced by what I will brutally call lazy work ethics by some crews; at beginning of a production there's lots of time and money, so there's a tendency to be more casual. Then come crunch time when a first edit has to be out the door and you're still shooting the final scene, people cut corners and lose their cool. And then all those "we'll fix it in post" comments come home to roost when your editor is trying to make magic happen with the footage, and more tempers flare off the set. That was my pet peeve. When I'm on a job I try to get things done as soon as possible so I don't have to stress and worry about it later of whether I did it or not. I've been fortunate enough in that I did connect with some good production houses, but in the past it was like sometimes the most famous/renown names in film had the "lazy gene" kick in, causing flare ups later on. But guys who just pop off ... it's like they got some neuro science in their gray matter that isn't working right or something. It's really weird.