CineMagic #06 (1980)

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/cinemagic-06-1980 1/36

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


Kenneth Anthony ' s

Produ cer. ' Bulletin

Board entry, Winners '

Moon , features many

Intere s Ung s pecla '

effec . . . . Here, . n ar ·bltrary nYtte is

uaed to matte ·ou t th e

day -t ime . ky a . d , . ,.the roc:k plies

bilckground . ppear . s

dl.t.ilnt 1.,,00m,ou,, ·

taln • . I t Is evidentfrom thla photo thilt

• great de . l ofc re .Uve energy wentinto m.klng thi. film.

NCC-Il[

Tim P.ce of Fillls

Church, Vlrglnl . , con ·

s t ructed this full ·

s la e repl lc . of the

St . r Trek. shutt le

cr . f t for Trelclcleil ,

• mo"le by Tim D."I• .________ I t'. the best St . r

Trek. prop we 've e"er

s een . Mr. Pac e h .s

. I s o c on . OUcted the

robo t c hiln.cte .. fo r.n aU · robo t roc:k ·and ·

roll b .nd , which will

b e s een h t . futureIsaue of CINEJIIIAGIC.

"-""--I......is_'s_

aotlde._

with a 5 •

of his Iau:lI -"cre .u- .

Bndy bu"'

some w ort!. f..-TV .He cre.t.e.d _

of the .U e_ ......

were s een on Pr.

jec! U .F.O. Ki rk

Is currently bu syproducing hi s own

f ilm , As t ronaut ,

w h ic h will fes tu re

bl s ta lents .swr i k r director. asw tU_ - t l e u prt:ist... t_' _' e s ;p!o r . . . .• I i l t . " . . ,pMr.

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


CONTENTS

Editor's 4 Bench __

An effective alternative to full

makeup and facial appliances is explored in this detailed how-tofeature.

FUmmakers'18 Forum ; ; ; ; ; ; ; : : : ' ; ~ ~

A regular department devoted,toreaders' commen ts about film

making, their problems andsolutions.

TheInvhilble

Wino 22 Returns _

an "invisible man" to move

objects on a set? Try this method

used by a pro filmmaker.

Producers' BuUetinBoard

Transitions:Bastc

=ques26 The art of getting your films from

here to there, with a look at some of

the classic examples of Hitchcock

and others.

Number 6

All theClrc:ults

Money 30 CanBuy _

--

asy, inexpensive les that can addthat special magic to yourelectronic special effects.

Books _ 32 Books for filmmakers-valuablesources of information and

techniques for the filmmaker.

CinemagicMarket- 33 place__Classified advertising andannouncements.

Close-up _ 34

Foreground miniatures are one of

the most powerful tools available to

the low-budget filmmaker_

C!NEMAGIC'6 J

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


~ Editor's

(c;;/liJl.i:W BENCHssue - 6

PubU.hedby : - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -O'QUINN STUDIOS, INC.475 P2Irk Avenue South

New York, N.V:l0016

PabU.be . .

Norman Jacobs/Kerry O'Quinn

Founder of CINEMAGIC and

Editorial Con.ultant:Don Dahler

Editor-In-Chief:David Hutchison

De.lgn Director:Cheh N, Low

De.lgner:Robert Se fcik

A••oclate Editor:

John Clayton

JIIlanaglng Editor:Bob Woods

Editorial Contributor.:

Kirk BradyBob Heath

Britt McDonoughKenneth Walker

Art8taff:Laura O'Brien

Leigh Grau

Aa.oclate PuhU.her:Ira Friedman

A• • atant PubU.her:Rita Eisenstein

fo r Adv<rti. ing Info,,,,,,,,,,,,: Ir. Frirdman. Ri .. Ei.."..t.in(212) 689-28J()

CINEMAGIC Is pYbli.hed bi.mM thly by O'OO INN

STUDIOS, INC" P. rk ..wen""' South, Ne .. York. NY10016. ISSN #0090·3000. Thi. i. I .. ..., Number 6,Volum.. L Content i . 0 Copyrigh t 1960 by O'Q{J INNSTUDIOS. INC. "'II rlgM. r ..,rvt<l. Reprlnl 0' reproduc

t i ~ n in 1>0,1 or In .. 'I<>le ,. iU'lOUt written pe,ml . on from

,he publi ...,,. is ' ' 'ictly o , b i d ~ n CI NE ....AGK accepts

no ,eop<>nsibility for unsolic ited ma nuKf lpts, phot"",0< DIM, mote ,lolo, Dul if f, .. ",,,,,,, . u b m l l 1 . l . a ~ a « n m -I>Onied by • ..,If·add, . ...d •• en . "I"I"'. , ....y ... 111. . . . . . .d" " , ly con.kJ."rd .J'Id. If """"" ' ' 'y . -. turned.Product. a(lveUi..,d are no ! ""cuurily et><Io,.. .d by

CI NEMAGIC. • n<! an y .. . . e. pre.""<l in editorial cop)'

are oot """" .. . ily tho .. 0/ CINE./'V.,GIC. ~ b o c ' i p t

It's ContestTime!

1'1. ny of you have written asking about the annual CINEMAGIC Short

Film Search. Last April, STARLOG and CINEMAGIC j udged entrantsfrom our first competition and announced the winners at Balticon inMaryland. This year, we are pleased to announce that the second

annual Short Film Search will be conducted in association with the prestigiousSchool of Visual Arts in New York City.

Full details will be discussed in the nellt issue ofClNEMAGIC, but for the mo·ment you should kn ow that all amateur and semi·pro films in Super·8 or 16mm

of not more than 15 minutes in length will be accepted for judging. Al l entriesshould feature science fiction , horror or fantasy themes and can utilize live·action,animation and any special·effects technique desired.

It is not necessary to create a film just for this contest; it can be a film you areworking on now or have recently completed. However, i f you are just starting afilm, you should prepare to have it finished by early September in order to qualify

for the judging. Awards and cash prizes wil l be presented to the winners at a galatheatr ical screening of the finalists in New York City under the auspices of

CINEMAGIC and The School of Visual Arts.

For a copy of the official rules and entry form , send a self·addressed, stamped

envelope (large "'10 size) to:CINEMAGIC/SVA Short Film Search-1980

475 Park Avenue South

New York, NY 10016

Return information will be sent in May.Remember, more details and helpful tips will be included in the next issue of

CINEMAG IC, as well as another look at last year's winners.

ra ' ,,", $8.99"""y".r(.i. I . " . )&li"",rdinU,S ,

and Mr . ico: f"""' gn . ~ b " ' r i p t i o , .. t l1.99 in U.S .

only. Ne'" ....b""lpllon . ,..,,,,,,,,.I.aOO ~ h 6 n g ~ of addre ..

. h o u l d b r n t d i r e < : t l y t o ; C I N E M A G I C , O · o . ~ l n r S t u d i o l _ - = ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ; ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ = - _ J"" . 47!> Park Avrnue Sou,h , N"", Yor k. NY 10016 ,

' - - - - ' ; - - ~ - ; " - " - ' - ' - . - - - - - - - - - - - - '

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


THE GUIDEBOOK FOR FILMMAKERS

The authoritative guide to Super 8 is backin a newly revised edition. With the latestequipment and prices, the latest systems

and techniques for serious users of theSuper 8 medium.And ... a sturdyspiral binding!

second edition

TIw comptel:.hands-on gu d .

SPECIAL OFFERTO CI NEMAG ICREADERS: THE

HANDBOOK THAT WILLHELP IMPROVE YOUR

SUPER 8 CRAFT.

Get your hands 01"1 Super 8 now

with the complete guide, a $16.00 investmentthat will pay for itself hundreds of times!

Handbook of Super 8 Production-the book that gives you Super 8 aits best- is back in a newly revised edition. Gunther Hoos and MarMikolas have brought their complete hands-on guide up-to-date with thchanging technologies of SuperB proQuction-all the latest equipmensystems, techniques and prices are here, in more than 300 pages oinformation on everything in Super 8. And now, a sturdy spiral binding tmake the Handbook even handier!

You 've read about Gunther Hoos and Mark Mlkolas in IndustriaPhotography, Audio-Visual Communications and Super B Filmake

where their reports have helped thousands of serious Super B filmproducers improve their craft. But have you seen the reviews for thHandbook?

"The Handbook's 312 pages contain Just about everything there is tknow about the craft and business of SuperB filmmaking. It deserves thattention of anyone seriously interested in the present state and futurprospects 01professional Super Bfilm production." -Matlhew Fleury iMillimete r.

" It's only the biggest, longest , heftiest, fullest, most firmly packecompendium of information about the gauge ever to greet our unbelieving eyes. " - Del Hillgartner In Filmmakers Newsletter .

"The most comprehensive book on Super 8. The authors, who ar

among the most knowledgeable of SuperB

fi lmmakers, describe thequipment that Is available, tell how to select what 's best for an individual's needs, and describe how to make inexpensive subst itutes. Morimportantly, they detail how to usethe equipment to i ts bes.t advantage.is an amazing compendium of Information, much of it unavailablelsewhere, making this a book that is fJ. must for any serious Superfilmmaker". -Elinor Stecker, Camera column, The New York Times .

The sec ond edition of Handbook of Super 8 Production is ready foyou. Use the coupon bel ow to order yours today!

r-----------------------INEMAGIC DEPT. C8

CIO O'QUINN STUDIOS. INC.475 Park Avenue South

New York NY 10016

Here's my cash, check or money order for $16.00Send me my copy of the second edition

of HandbOOK of Super B Production

Pay able to " O'QUINN STUD IOS, IN C ."Checks must be payable in U.S. funds. Can adian orders ad done dollar. Other foreign orders add two dollars. No C. O.D.'s.

Name _______________________________

Company____________________ - - - - - - -Address ______________________________

City ____________Slale ______ - '-Zip ___

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


COVER STORY

LATEXMASKSAn effective alternativeto full makeup

and facial appliances.

By KIRK BRADY

Fll·head maskscrellted In latex

rubber offer the filmmaker an

alternative to tmditioOllI

makeup methods when com·plex lind elaborllte makeup designs areneeded. Letex masks elimiOllte theproblem of makeup continuity over longshooting schedules and reduce the timerequired for on·lOClltion makeup Ippllca·

lion to lIterlllly seconds.Masks lire not generally viewed as &c.

ceptable alternatives to IlIrge·budgetfilmmakers because they do not allowthe nmge of f&Cial movement possiblewith prosthetic appliance makeups.Among those filmmakers not fortunllteenough to have a makeup artist as partof their ~ however, the loss of facial

dexterity is usually felt to be a fair tnKiefor the time and continuit y problems101ved by masks.

The a•• eMethodologyThis article covers, in detail, the crell·

tion of fulJ·head latex masks. LIItex face

masks, or "half·mllsks, are also usefulmakeup altematives. Making facemasks follows the same basic pro-cedure, but is much simpler thlln mak-Ing full heads.

For those r ~ e r s inexperienced withthe materials and techniques discussedhere, it is recommended that you try

face masks for your first two or threecreations. Once you have gairied ex·perience, you can easily move up to fullheads

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


Tbl . l•• if e cast Including shouldersof the s ubject. Wben the Ufe c . s t I,comp leted oU cboy I•• plied. to

rougb out tbe . . . . .k design. The011

cboy I . built up on th e life cast , . lso

caOed the .r .. . ure . until the

lJCu lp tu re for the . . . . .k Is completed.

There are bascially five steps increating latex masks. Each of these

steps should be patiently studied andcompletely understood before attemp-ting to "p lunge" into mask making.Gaining familiarity with the variousmaterials prior to using them on yoursculpted "masterwork" will help youavoid ruining you r creation due to ig'norance or misunderstanding.

The five steps are:1. Making the armature2. Designi ng and sculpting3. Mold· making4. Casting in latex5. Painting end adding hair

JIIIa king the Arma tu reAn armature is simply a guide or

"platform" to wh ich you apply modelingmaterial and sculpt. In the case of full ·head masks, the doser the armature ap-proximates the size, shape e.nd propor·tionsofthehumanhee.d, the better. Withfe.ce mesks, the armature need onlyrepresent the fe.ce itself, dividing thehead vertically behind the ears.

The armeture wil l show you where theeyeholes and noseholes should be andwill help to insure that the mask is la rgeenoug h to wear. The armature will alsohelp beginning sculptors develop a fee l

for the correct proportions and sym·

Below : Th e .r . . . ure (Inside the

.cu lp ture) .n d sculpture . r e sit t ingon a heavy ·duty " bo:ty Sus .n" which

allows full 360° rotation of the

sculpture . T hb procedu . . . . .. .ke sworking on the . c ulpture much more

comfortable .n d b easier than mov ·In g . round the sculpture yourself or

contltantly turning the heavy arma ·ture / sculpture. Lazy Sus . ns areavall .ble a t most dep.r tment s tore s ,gift s hops and large hardware s tore s.

metry of the f&Cial features.Armatures range from the ready·

made profesiontlol models, which can bepurchased from sculpture supplyhouses, to simp le styrofoom wig formsavailable in variety stores. The mostwidely used type of head armature is a/ifecaslof a real human head. Created inplaster and moun ted on a stable plat·

..form, a well·made life cast can be usedfor creating hundreds of masks.

To get started on your life cast, youwill need the following materials:

Prosthetic AlgInate or M.oulage:these materials are negaliue castingmedia which can safely be applied to the

face.

Plaster Bandages: available atdrugstores and less expenSively frommedical supply companies. These arerolls of surgical gauze (non·sterile) im·pregnated with plaster·of·paris.

Casting Plaster: 3imilar to pla3ter·of·

paris, but much harder and more ac·curate.

Threaded Lead Pipe: one·inch by16·inches, used to mount your life cast

on a pipe stand.Other Materials: a rubberclown skull

or bathing cap, several cheap bristlepaint brushes 1" and 2" wide, a measur·ing cup, plastic spatulas, sewing thread,

newspaper.

This IA the flnlsheel sculpture. readyfor spnylng with Cry.tal Clear. Care

must be taken to avoid undercubl

t h . t c ould c .use the sculpture to

become s tuck In the plaAter mold and

could ruin the .cu lp ture . About

20 ·25 pound. of oll·b• • cboy . r e re 'qulred fo r .cu lp t lng one medium · to·large head, I t Is a good Idea to usevlAual referencea • •uch as sketche8,of the creature you. want to create.

You will also need an assistant and awi lling subjectwho will agree to sit calm·

ly for about 30 minutes while you makethe negative impression. It is best to

work on spread newspapers to simplifydean·up later.

Begin by having your subject seatedcomfortably with his head in a natural

upright position and wearing the rubbercap. He should also remove his shirt sothe neck is easily accessible. Avoid sub·jects with thick mustaches or beards.Negative impression materials (exceptplaster) will not stick to eyebrows or

eyelashes, but beards and mustachesare a complication 10 be avoided.

Some mask makers use prosthetic

alginate while others use moulage as anegative medium. These two materialsaccomplish the same end result, but dif·fer in how they are activated and in the irlimitations. Which to use is a matter ofper30nal preferenceeond avoilobility.

Proathet ic AlgiDateAlginate is the material that dentists

use to make impressions of the teethand that plastic surgeons use when tak·ing impressions for surgical prosthetics.Alginate comes in adry, powdered form

and is mixed with very cold water. Thewater is poured onlothe powder and stir·

red with a spatula or fingers. It takesClNEMAG/C"6 7

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


This t . completed water-clay dam . Caat back half ofsculpture f ln t . note smaU by gulde deprea.loos. U_.s01alI brush to clea . up _m b, . washing away eJlcea.water clay. Ke y guides help line up mold front and backhalves.

The back hal l of th e mold ha s been completely c u t In

plaatet- . Remove the water·cIay dam by peeling away fromthe . . . l p ~ an d b ad ·mold waU. Clean walo . cia,. frum

s c u l p ~ with c:ameI ·baIr brush and water. Important:SmearV-U- 00 back mold edge so molds will .epars te .

about three and a half cups of powder forthe face and three and a half cups for theback of the head.

Alginate powder is mixed equal partswith water. It sets very fast- in about fiveto seven minutes-so it is best for oneperson to do the face and an assistant to

do the back of the head Sim ultaneously.The colder the water, the longer the set·ting time. About 50 0 F (measure with aphoto thermometer) will g ive you six to

seven minutes. The thick mixture is

spread immedia tely by hand on the sub·ject all over the entire head and neck.

From this point on, working withalginate and moulage is the same. so theprocess of activating moulage will be

discussed before proceeding.

MoulageMoulage comes in a congealed form

which has been grated intosmall chunksabout a quater.inch square. Unlikealginate, this material can be used overand over again, provided it is cared forproperly. Tocovera whole head requiresabout six pounds of moulage.

To activate, the grated moulage isheated in a double boiler (one with anenameled finish is preferrable, but not

essential). While heating it on a stoveor

hotplate, stir the moulage until it isre[ldered the consistency of not·too-

8 C/NEMAGIC·6

thick cake icing. After cooling on abrush for a few seconds to the point

where it is comfortable fo r the subject. it

isspread thickly .As long as the moulageis kept heated, it wi ll not set. A smallamount 6f water should be added to theheating moulage from time to time to

thin it out. Read the label for detailed in·structions.

Applying theNegative Material

Both alginate and moulage are ap·plied. starting at the top of the head. andworked down over the back of the skulland over the face, under the chin anddown the neck. Be sure that all of thecrevices near the eyes, nose and ears are

covered down to the skin, avoiding airbubbles. Remind your subject to keephis face perfectly sti ll . The nose iscovered last, with holes left uncoveredfor the nostrils.

Both materials are spread on to athickness of no less than a quarter inch,and thi cker if possible, especiallyaround the ears. Note: Both material:!wilJ not stick to themselves very welLOnce the first coat has set, a second coatis not advised , since it is likely to

separate from the first coat and distortthe life cast.

Important : Before activating either

material for application, it is necessaryto lay a double strand of sewing threadover your subject's head behind bothears and draping down both shoulders.(Drawing - 1) Stick the thread in placewith a small band of Vaseline jelly. Afterthe negative casting material is set andthe mother mold is complete. thi sthread will allow you to cut the negativematerial in half from the inside· out andseparate the halves. Without this threadin place, your negative cast will be verydifficult to remove.

For face mask armatures. negativeimpression material is applied over theface, neck and behind the ear only.dividing the head vertically in half.

The Mother MoldBoth types of negative·impression

material are very fragile and will not support their own we ight. Beforecutting thecast in half with the thread. you must firstreinforce it with a "mother mold" madeof plaster bandages.

Cut the plaster bandages from the rollin to 12·inch strips, four layers thick, andhave them ready and laid out before youactivate the negative impression material. Immediate ly after the last mou lage or

alg inate is applied and set. dip sue·cessive sections of the bandages into apan of warm water, wring it out gently,

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


" ' - - - ' U " 0 ~ p\ - - - w " n g " ' ~ dplas1:er bandage

Don't forgel to leaoe

the nostrils open soyour subject canbreathe!

Dntwing 2: Undercuta Must be Avoldedl

The black part of the IIJTDaturewill pre\lellt th e removal of th e

mold front haH.

annature

" w r o n g ~ dividing seam

"right" dividing seam _ - - ' \ - - - '

mold

front hillf

neck opening . Gently rotate the mold in

your hands so the plaster flows all over

the inner surface and up the neck. The

plaster will stick to the negative cast andwill slowly build up its thickness as you

rotate. After you have applied all theplaster that the cast can hold withoutsagging, begin mixing 8 second, thicker

batch. Repeat the pouring and rotating

process with successive batches ofpillster until the positive cast is aboutone inch thick all around.

Face casts ca n be finished by simplyfilling the mold with plaster after the first"splash" coat is applied and set.

Mounting the ArmatureTo mount the positive cast on the teCJd

pipe, first mix a thick batch of plaster.Hold the head upside down and pour the

plaster in through the neck opening so

that about three inches of it collects in

the bottom. Just before the plaster sets,push about one inch of one end of the

pipe into the plaster, keeping it vert de

with respect to the positive cast. Where

the pipe sticks out through the neck (at

least four inches must stick out), dose

up the neck ho le with more thick plaster,

centering the pipe. Don't bother to fill

the entire head with plaster. This would

make it very heavy and is not necessary

for strength.

10 C/NEMAG1C It6

Rlgbt: A bristle brusb Is u _ d to "splash 00" the

f1l"st3 01" 4 cu. ta of pl.stel" . A brusb will no t gougethe sculptul"e as _sHy ss s sJ"ltuls will . Above:Drawing It ] show. how to . vold covering the cut t ingth.-e.d. Dnwlng ·Z sbows how the "Wl"Ong s _m"

lockA mold to armatul'e by hooking over' it .

A f<!lce <!Irmature c<!ln be mounted on a

piece of one-inch wood. To tie the <!IT-

mature to the wood, imbed a piece of

wire in the wet plaster when you pour thelife C<!Ist.

Finishing UpNow remove the plaster b<!lndage

mother mold by first crllCking the

pl<!lster along the dividing seam by tap·

ping it lightly with a hammer and

screwdriver. Now pull the halves apart

slowly, but firmly. The negat ive cast (i.e.

alginate or moulage) will be destroyed

during this step. If you used mOUlage,

later you can grate the large pieces on a

cutting board with a knife, then put the

smaller pieces in a se<!lled glass ja r with

about one inch of water in the bottom.This will keep the material from drying

out and you can use it over and over.

Thro..... the alginate <!Iway after oneU'"'.

If the ears do not come out perfectly,

don't beconcemed, As long as the posi·tion of the ears is discernable you will

have no problems sculpting over them.

Designing .n d SculptingNow that you have an armature, you

are ready to begin sculpting. Place themounted armature on a heavy-duty

" lazy Susan" tumtable (available at large

hllrdware stores). With it you can rotate

the sculpture 360 ° lind easily get to all

sides. You will need 20·25 pounds of ojl

base da y (Le. plasticene modeling day)to sculpt a medium-to-Iarge head. To

prepare the armature, wipe the plaster

surface with a thin coating of Vaseline.

This will make sticking the day to the

plaster surface easier. Once the entirear·

mature is covered with clay, the rest is up

to you and your sculpting ability. [t is

very helpful to use visual references,

such as photographs and drawingsdepicting the creature you want to

c r e a t ~ . These pictorial guides will in ·

spire you to do your best and will give a

goal to work toward.Begin sculpting by building up a

rough general shape of the design withyour hands and fingers. Finer details are

accomplished with various sculptor's

tools. A great variety of sculptor's tools

are available at art supply stores. Buy

several types-wire loops, wooden

chisels, rakes, etc.-and experiment,

One very useful "trick of the trade"

which will give your sculpture a "finish

ed" look is the textured rubber pad. This

pad is used in ' the final stages of

sculpting to stamp or imprint a texture

onto the surface of the day, such as skin

pores, reptile skin, etc. You can make

the pads yourself by painting a three·

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


I!

!

inch round area on 8 textured surface(such liS an orange, plastic luggage,

bi!l,sketball) with six to seven coats of liquid latex. You will wlInt to have 8 variety

of these pads on hand when putting the

finishing touches on a sculpture.

M.old ·M.aklngTo convert your clay sculpture into aIZltex mask, you must now make a !I.VO-

piece plaster mold of the sculpture. Aswith the armature, you will be making anegative ellst of your subject (Le. yoursculpture), only this time the negativecast will become a permanent tool and

an end-product in itself.

If made properly, the plaster mold can

be used to make dozens of duplicatemasks, allowing you to create

"makeups" for literally an army of

aliens, demons or whatever your wish.Making a mold can take all day, so be

sure to begin early in the day.To get stZlrted on your mold, you will

need the following materials;Casting Plaster: It's cheaper to buy

it in lo o·lb. bags than in lO·or25-poundbags. Two brands-Hydrocal andHydrostone Supr-X-are very hard andvery aC1:urate. Dental stone is also effec·tive (your dentist will be able to get it foryou or you can order it from your localdenti!ll supply house: see the yellow

Left: _vera l coat . are buHt up with .ucce• • ve _ l eh e . o f

pWte r . The f l r . t coat should be m.laed thlllDt!ll' than suc·

cesslvll _ t cbe s . ThIs wlll.-ecluce sir bubbles and Imperfec ·t lons In the outer skin of the mold. 1"Iop the sides and bottom

of the bucket after the p . . te r .. mlzed to release ....r bub ·bles from the plaster . Allow _ cb coat to comple te ly_t

before adding aoother coat. Above: a -boit handles are add ·ed after the p.. te r Is 00 l e s . than tw o Inche. thick. Thehandles make It _s l e r to move the mold after the p"s t e r hasaet. Mount the Mndle n _ r the nutslde of the neck and be

sure to apply plenty of plaster over the aocbor of thehandles to prevent them from pulling out. After about thethird coat, a spatula u n be u_ d to allow fsster sppllcatlonof thicker pla.ter.

pages). A plaster with a 3D·minute set·ting time will allow you 15 minutesworking time. Do not use plaster·of·paris, as it is very soft and a mold madefrom it will not hold detail underrepeated use. It is also weak, st'ructurllll·ly, and molds made from it mlllycollapseunder the weight of the volume of rubberit will be required to hold.

Water·Base Clay: Ten poundsshould be enough. As long as it is kept inan air·tight container, itcan be used overi!lnd over again.

Clear Acrylic Spray: Krylon"Crystal Clear" is a good brand.

Also: Several two-gallon plasticbuckets, two two· inch cheap bristlebrushes, two wide·blade plat ic spatulas.

Vaseline, newspaper, one nylon cargostrap with a rat,het-type buckle.

An assistant will also be of great helphere. Mold making is a very messy andtedious process. yet requi res much concentration. so before starting, be sure

you hi!lve everything you will needalready laid out. Also be sure that youfully understand what you have to do. It

is during this step that perfectly goodsculptures can be damaged or ruined.

To prepare the sculpture. spray theentire surface with "Crystal Clear." Givethe sculpture a good healthy coating to

insure that the da y is com pletely sealed.

Be careful to avoid over.spri!lying-thisis indicated when the coating sags or

runs.

Erecting the D••Since you ar t making a two·part

mold, the sculpture must be divided into"front" and "back" halves. This divisionis accomplished by erecting a "dam"

made of water-base day along the vertical median of the head, running either

along the outer edge of the ears or justbehind them.

The dam wilt be constructed from

several interlocking 8·to IO·inch longsections about one and a hal f inches talland about a half.inch thick. These sec·tions are made by nattening the day

with a rolling pin and shaping the sections with an X·acto knife. Guide keysshould be pressed into the soft day sections with the test tube, the handle-endof a wooden spoon or a burned·outeditor bulb. These shallow, rounded intentions will help you interlock the twohalves of the mold later.

Working with one section of dam at atime, press the bottom edge gent ly ontothe sculpture. Dampening the sectionswith a small amount of water will make

them stick better to the oil·base day. By

adding successive sections and blend·ing the i!lbutting edges with your fingers,

CfNEMAGIC"6 11

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


•

Once I• • CCNlt o f p l• • er is _t he b.tvea are _pal ' l l ted

10,. Qlll t lo_ly prying the seam. !"Iote the painted edge of

the back mold ulled to help locate the seam for _ p a n t i o D .

!lIght: Dnlwlng ·3 shows some other examples of undercut.t lng. ( Jodereu" can alao be fonned around the neck . Le• •

serloulI, bu t stil i t o be avoided, a re unden:u b behind

the sculpted tee th ! ranga, under sharply hooked noae . andImtlde eye aockeb , noatr i l . an d ears. Plug these holeswith 011 clay whereve . potIalble.

you will work around the entire head ,

eventually dividing itcompleteJy . Withe

small camel-hair brush and water, washoff any blobs or smears of Wilier-baseda y which mi!ly hllve gotten on the oil·

base day. The cleaner the seam be tween the dam and the sculpture, thebetter the seam on your mold will be.

Completing the Back HalfNow give the bK k -side of the clay

dam and the edge of the sculpture nearthe dam a final spray of "Crystal Clear"to rePltir any water dllrnage to the fi rstcoating. and begin mixing a batch ofp laster for the initial "splash coal" As

before, the first batch should be mixedsomewhat thinner than successive bat·

ches. This will redu«: air bubbles andimperfections in the "outer of the

mold.

Sift dry plaster into about two cups of

water, stirring slightly with a rubber ki t·chen spatula to break up any dumps.Minimize stirring as much as possiblewill cause the plaster to set faster. Addplaster until the surface beings to look

like a drfed up river bed (If you make theplaster too thick. don't add water to

compensate. this will only create evenmore air bubbles).

When your plaster is mixed, tap thesides and bottom of the bucket to

12 ONEMAG/C" 6

release air u b b l ~ and begin brushing Iton the sculpture with a cheap bristlepaint brush . Work steadily. leaving nopart of the back side of the sculpture un·covered.

While the first "splash coat" is setting.dean your brush and begin mixing thenext batch, adding slightly more plasterthis time to make it thicker. When thesplash coat has compielely sel lind ishard, begin brushing on the secondcoat.

After about the third coat. you can ap'ply a thicker mix of plaster with lI5p(ltulain a "trowel·like" manner. The first threecoats applied with the brush will protectthe sculpture. A more vigorous lIppllcli'tion is possible with a spetulll and wi I get

the job done much faster thlln II brush.Build the plaster up to about a two-inchthickness over the entire back of thehead. Be aware of protrusions on thesculpture like homs and long noses andbe certain these are &dequlltely coveredwith plaster.

After the mold is at lellst two inchesthick, you may want to imbed a IlIrgeU·bolt or wire "handle" near the outsideof the neck to facilitate lifting and cllrry.ing the mold later. Be sure to apply plen.ty of plaster over the "lInchor" portion of

the handles to prevent them from pull.ing out.

mold

~ /2.

The s haded portion of the mold·ed ob)ect PreYeIlts th e remoyaiof th e bottom mold baH.

......

• If vou kt!ell the abo¥e sba.dedu eM filled w i t h ~ . undercub

Complet ing the Front H.lf

After the last coat of plaster has set onthe backside, remove the day dam bygently pulling it from the hardenedpillster. Using a camel·hair brush andwllter. dean all residual water·base day

from the scu lpture, being careful not to

gouge it. Gently blot away any excessw ~ t e r this wllshing leaves with pepertowel lind stll rt smearing Vaseline on thefacing edge of the plaster mold. Usinganother small brush, work the Vaselineas dose to the surfaceof the sculpture as

you can.The Vllselineservesasaseparll'tion agent which will allow you to partthe halves later. It s easy to overlook thisstep in the confusion of plastering. so be

very mindful of not forgetting it. Forget·ting it will seal your sculpture lind

mllture in the plaster mold, necessitltt·Ing destruction of the mold and result·ing in severe damage to your sculpture.

To apply plaster to the front half. laythe sculpture over on the back halfof themold. being sure to support the back·side mo ld with your hand when tuming itover. Without this support , the back halfmay s e p a r ~ t e from the sculpture. Byhllving the front half pointing stfllightup, gravity will be in your favor and will

m ~ k e plastering much easier. Repeat

the SlIme procedure followed in pillster·

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


Th e ba c ll mold gene n lly re l_.e. lr .... T he ··bump. · ·

o n the b ack ·mold e d ge are key guide . . " o le O·bol .. .

ing the back half. Note: ~ mold·makers find it useful to paint an iden·tification line in black acrylic pa int alang

the outside edge of the back moldbefore plastering the fron t. This will helpyou find the same when separating the:

halves later.

Finishing Up

After the last coat of plaster has set ,gently pry th e mold halves apart. Startthe separation by setting tilt: entire mold

upright and then gently forcing ascrewdriver into the seam. Work slo'4'ly,moving along the entire seam and neverforcing the screwdriver too deeply orprying too hard in one place. USUlilly theback half will come of f first. If the front

half will not release immediately, bepa.llenll You may have to dig out the day

sculpture around the edge of the moldwith sculpting tools and pour hot waterinto the mold to release the front half. Byalternately digging day away from tkemold, lidding ho t water and tw isting themold, it will eventually break suction.Don't mar the delicate inner surf&c:e of

your mold by frantically digging out

dey-be patient. It may even benecessary to chisel away part of the er·meture If you have inadvertently createden undercut.

If It becomes necessary to chisel of f

part of the armature (i.e. ears, sides of

the head or sides ohhe neck). use II ham·mer and screwdriver and be extremely

Cdre{uJ. not to chop into the surf&c:e ofyour mold. Clay left on the mold surfacewill serve as minimal protection fromthe chiseling. Remember. the armatureClln easily be repaired, since it is only aform to work on and detail Is not impor.tant. Repa iring a badly dllmaged mold

surface is f 1 ! I I ~ l satisfactory.Once the sculpture and ermature

have been remo\-ect from the mold , youmay notice that smell blobsor r s o foil·base dllY lire on the Inner surf&ee ofthe mo ld. These should be removedright away by the gentle application of

warm water with a soft brush. Extremely

tough clay residue can be loosened withasmall amount of "safety solvent" (a car·bon tetrachloride substitute) and a smallbrush.

Small "air bubble" indentations in themo ld sun&Ce can be repaired by filling

them with wet plaster. A small camel·hair r u ~ can be very useful for making

neat repairs.Finally, blot or sponge the entire sur-

face with warm water and a soft cloth to

wash away any "Crystal Clear" or oily

residue. Use the water liberally so all

foreign matter is cleansed from the sur·face. Allow the mo ld to eir dry for 24

hours before going to the na t step,which is sea ling mold halves together.

C• •

Ung 10 Lalell:Before you c lln cast or "pour" your

first mask, you musl put the mold halvestogether and seal the seam from the In·side. (With face masKs, you lire nowready to cast in rubber.) The key guidesyou put In the clay dam will now be of

help.Once the halves i re properly align·ed, use a one·inch·wide nylon cargostrap with e ratchet·type buckle to holdthe hllives together. Next, mix up a"crellmy" batch or plaster (small batch)lind, with th is mold sitting "neck up ,"

reach in the mold and spread smallamounts of plaster IlII aiongand into the

inside seam with a small pain t brush oryour finger. Be sure the plaster is forcedinto the seam and that all excess is wipedaWlly immedialely. If the excess is stub-born, dip your finger in some water and

w a ~ the excess of f tke mold right away.Be neat and work carefully.

Oncetheentire inner seam is 5elIled in lthis manner, you can pour your firstmask without any fear that tilt: rubberwill leak through.Yoo mayhave to repairthe seal from time to time, so get in thehabit of checking the seam for cracks.

For all intents and purposes, your

mold should be considered to be per·

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


.Join th e rront and back mold halvesand secure them with a nylon strap.You can now seal the entire inners eam with plaster by using a amall

brush and your ringers. The keyguides that were put In the clay

da m will help you aUgn the two

mold halves. Be sure that theplaster is rorced Into the seam

and tha t al l excess is wiped away

Immediately.

manently sealed.Depending on the size of your mold,

you will need from three to five gallonsof late;w; rubber for casting. It is better to

have too much rubber on hand than not

enough. This large amount of rubber isneeded because this is a "slush mold"

process and the rubber must fill themold to the brim. The actual mask itselfwill consume only about one or twoquarts. so you will beable to make lots of

masks from a beginning stock of fivegallons.

For face masks. less rubber is required. In fact. it is possible to "paint" theinside of the mold with successive coatsto make your face mask.

As implied, the rubber is simply

poured slowly in through the neck until

the mold is filled. Let is stand for 45-60minutes (longer if cold and/or humid)and then "pour it off' (i.e_ pour the unused rubber back into its original container). If the seam does leak, the leakmay be plugged temporarily from the

outside by jamming oil-base clay into

the leaking area.Keeping all your rubber in one Ii!lrge,

wide·mouth container is recommendedsince funnels and gallon jugs are verymessy.

Once the excess is poured off. i!lllowthe mold to drain in a "neck-down" posi-

14 QNEMAGIC"6

tion for about 10 minutes. The c!lsting is

then allowed to air dry or "cure" forabout eight hours, depending on thelocal humidity and tempeT!lture. Rubbertakes longer to cure in cold and humid

climate conditions.After allowing the first pouring to

cure, you wi ll pour a second coat. Thiscan be poured of f afterstanding just for afew minutes. Sometimes a third coat willbe needed, depending on how thick youwant your mask to be. You can check thelhickness by peeling back part of theneck aW!ly from the mold after curing.

Do not allow the first coat to com

pletely dry before pouring the secondcoat_ If the first coat has any thin spots.or holes, the second coat would then runthrough these holes and create an im

perfect "double flush" on the outer surface of the first coat.

Avoid using "pure latex" or "100%

latex." as it will take forever to build up adecent thickness_ Latex that has "filler"

added will build up faster and be firmerafter curing. There are many latex formulationsand each has its own peculiarities. At the end of the article, I will listthree addresses where latex filler can bepurchased.

Once the mask is completely curedafter several pourings, you can carefullypeel it away from the mold surface and

Both surfaces sbould be thoroughlycleaned with wann water to removeresidual clay and Crystal Clear. In -spect ro r and repair all' bubbles andother Imperfections on the mold' s

surrace. Allow the halves to air dry

ro r at leaat 24 hours. Oily r _ iduecan be removed with a sort clothan d warm water . Be sure to cleanthe mold thoroughly to avola 1m ·perfectlonsln the latex mask •

pull it out of the mold through the neck.You'll know it is fully cured because as it

dries, the rubber turns a dull yellowishcolor and shrinks slightly. The shrinkingcauses the mask to "pull away" slightl yfrom the inner surface of the mold.When removing the mask, gently separate the facial features from the mold surface-nostrils, eye-sockets and ears willall be a little difficult to pull free. Gentlytugging will eventually work them free.

Painting

After taking the mask from the mold,sprinkle the inside of the mask with asmall amount of baby powder. This will

make it easier to put on and will keep it.from sticking to itself. Also, stuff themask with loosely packed newspaper to

help it maintain its basic shape. The rubberwill need tOCUTea little longeronce it

becomes fully exposed to the ai r on allsides. The following day you can trim

any "flashing" with scissors, cut out theeye holes and nostrils with an X-actoknife and grind down any remainingseam with a Dremel mota-tool.

Masks are best painted with an ai rbrush. Inexpensive mode ls are available

at hobby stores and art stores. These canbe powered by "canned air," eliminatingthe need for a compressor. If you areplanning to go into mask making in a

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


This Is s completely cured. mask .. It comes from themold . Successive pourlngs bull t .p th e mask'st h l ck_s , &clAson sn d sn X·scto knife sre used to trimfl-rw.g sDd to cut out ey e hole•• The maak caD ao w H. I r·bru.hed.. I f the ma.k I . to hIIv. hIIlr, l t u n be .pplled. f ter palatlng •

Allow tb e fll"at I . . . . . "pourlng".to sbad fOI" 45 ·6 0mlnutea snd then " pour It orr ' . s shown In the photo.The . . . horse srr .ngement mak_ bsodllng lsl"ge molds_sler , Small molds c.n be poured off by hand or by.uspend1ng them from n f t e , . by rope.

"bigway" or fyou o l h ~ r kobbies re-quiring an elr brush, now would be agood time to buy e small electric eir

compressor.T h ~ r e lire basically three ~ ofpeint which clin be used on latex masks:acrylics, lacquer and a mixture con·slstlng of rubber cement, pelnt thinnerand un iversal colorant. ElIch type has itsown advantages and disadvenu,geswhich will help you to decide which type

is best for your purposes.Acrylic paints mix and clean up with

we ter. They are easily mixed with eachother for di fferent shades, and they wil l

work fairly we ll in an air brush whenproperly m ixed. Acrylic peints do , however, tend to rub off mesks end will even

crack If peinted on too thickly. Therougher the mask is treated, the moreacryl1c wil l rub off. Careful handling end"touch·ups" as needed will help you

meinte in a Qood· looking job.La<::quer p!!I lnts lIrt" much mnrf! Pfl{·

manent than ecrylics, but since they erepetroleum -based,dean·upand thinningis done with lecquer thinner. l.bcquerand Jacquer thinner must be used Inwell·vent ilated areas, they are extremelyflammable. A respirator mask Is neces-sary when air.brushlng with lecquer.These paints are availeble in smell bott les lind in a variety of colors from tax·

idermy supply companies.The obvious problem with the third

type of peinting is the tricky formull l for

getting a good mixture. 1nere is not setrecipe for mlxing rubber cement andpaint th inner since there is no consistency in the viscosity of r s a l colorants.A universal co lorant Is what paint storesuse to mix their peints. It comes in tubesand is every concentreted substance. Toget varying s h a d ~ a good deal of experimenting is required. 1ne basic for·mula is to thoroughly mix the colorant

with a small amount of rubber cement.This mixture is subsequently thinnedwith peint thinner unt il it wil l successful·Iy go through an air brush. These color

dry slightly darker than they appear to

be when wet. It Is possible to dilute makethe formulaloomuch ,and this will causethe paint to flake of f. Properly mixed,this formula offers the best in long.lestingness and br illience of co lor sincethe paint ()Oe!Ilnlo the rubber.

In summery, acrylic paint seems to offer about best set of trade-offs for

most filmmaking situations. Those who

desire painting with capabilities for

harder weer should take the to leam

the i n t r i c l l C l ~ of the other paints.

Applying Hair

There are several kinds of artif icial

hair lIvailab le. Tne most commonlyknown is crepl! hair. Crepe hair comes

bra ided in one· oot and one·yard

lengths.' One Yll rd is more than enoughto complete most mask designs exceptpossibily a werewolf or wookie. Crepe isi!llso the cheapest hair i!lvi!lilable.

To p r ~ p a l r the crepe, unbraldstrend lind soak it in very ho t weter. Thehotter the water, the straighter the hllir

will becorT'H!. A f t ~ drying, bunch thestrllnds together end, from theends,pull

out dumbs in four· to six·inch lengths.Th is pulling will fluff out the ends endmake l ~ n d the sections easier. Withscissors, cut one end of the clump at theangle best suited for the part of the ~ di t is being lIpplied to. A good method is

to have several clumps prepered aheadof time end tr im the ends just prior to

sticking the ha ir in the glue.Contect cerT'H!nt works well for stick ·

ing on hair, liS does liquid latex. With II

small brush. pl!int I ribbon of glue i!lboute half·inch wide horizontally along theback of the skull. You must i!llways lIpplyheir from back·lo-[ronJ., with theforehead hairline being done last. Th is

wil l el10w each preceding layer to beneatly overlapped. To affix the heir,simply press the trimmed end of the haIrclump into a moderately thick ribbon of

glue while it is still wet. Tamp it in with

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


SecUona of hair lr ln .ned on One e nd a re pre.eaed Int.o a r ihhon of gl ... wlUo

the back end of a s m il ll brush . Hillr I. applied b y working bi lck to f ron t.

the handle·end of" sm,,11 paint brush or

orange stick. You will be able to slldeh"ir around some if necessary. But bythe same token. be careful not to

dislodge "Ire;,dy·"pplied sections whileworking on others. The glue will setcompletely overnight.

This same method can be used to ap·

ply the other types of hair. too. The othertypes are: NSD (Nylon. Saran, Dynel).Nylon Horsehair and several types of

more Mtur"l"n im,,1 h"ir. The two man·m"de typesare much more natural look·ing than crepe. but are much more ex ·pensive. They i!lre both stri!light. throughNSC is also available In i!I "curly" form.Animal hair. not as expensive as thesetwo. comes straight and looks verynatural. The only drawback is that it's

sometimes difficult to get. The onlyplace I have been ab le to find it is R.Quinn Stud ios in Arizona.

Beware o f Undercuts

The subject of undercuts is saved forlast to give it special emphasis. Anundercut occurs during sculpting whena portion of the i!lrm"ture is not suffi ·ciently built up with oil ·base clay andcauses the outer mold to be "locked" on·to the armature. (See drawings -2 and-3.) When this happens. It becomes

necessary to chizel pieces of f the ar·

16 ONcMAGIC·6

mature so the mold can I:.e saved , thuspossibly destroying the hard·bu ilt ar·mature. To prevent the armi!llure frombeing "locked" in the mold. i!llways be

sure to have at least one·quarter to onehalf inch of oil ·base clay covering allparts of the armature. Also. ere<:t theclay dam asclose as possible to the eXi!lctmid'point of the scultpure. Deep nostrilsand eye sockets and elabofi!lte ears canlikewise cause undercuf problems whencasting the mask in latex. Fill the nostrilsand eye·sockets with oil ·base clay; these"plugs" can be cut out Ii!lter.

Final Comments

Mak ing latex masks involves a widevariety of skills and requires !I proficien.cy in using materials unfamiliar to most

people. Advance preparation, closestudy fo the te<:hniques and thoroughorganization before starting each phasewill make your job eas ier and morerewarding.

While some may argue that lessadui!llwork is involved in using ordinary fi!lcialmakeup te<:hniques, anyone who hasever fe lt the pressure of getting "every-thing just right " when setting up a com ·plex scene for filming will welcome theease with which actors are tranformedinto alien beings by simply slipping on alatex mask. (J I

Supply SourcesUquld LaleJl:"Westwood Latex" (5 gal.)

Westwood Ceramic Supply14400 lom itas Avenue

City of Industry, CA 9 1744

" RDL 407 -S lush m olding latex"

R [ , D Latex Corp.

59 0 I Telegraph RoadCommerce, CA 90040

"P liatex Casting Rubber"(fliller is bought separate ly)

Sculpture House38 East 30th Street

New York, N.Y. 10016

C• •Ung PI.. erIt is best to find this locally

through ar t supply stores. It isavailable by mail from these tax·idermy companies (check your

local yellow pages directory forot her listings):

Penn Taxidermy Supply

P.O. Box 156

Hazelton , PA 18201

Van Dyke's

Woonsocket, SO 57385

Dental StoneYour local dentist can ge t this fo r

you, or check the ye llow pagesdirectory for dental supply com

panies in your area.

PLuter lIUl ....e .

Local medical supply house

Lacquer pUntaTaxiderm supply companies

Ac..,.UcP . . . eLocal art supply stores

Umve . . . Color . . eLarger loca l paint stores and some

discount variety stores

H. l r

R. Quinn Studios

950 West Grant

Tucson. AZ 85705

Theatre House400 West Third St reet

Covington, KY 41011

Paramount Theatrical Supplies32 West 20th Street

New York , NY 10011

MoulageParamount Theatrical Suppl ies

OUa. .eClay

Local ar t supply stores. Clayola

gray-green is a good clay.

Sugge.ted Rud lng

Molding and Casting and PlasterCasting {or the Sludent Sculptor.Both of these books are available

from Sculpture House.

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


THE PUBLICATION YOU'VE BEEN WAmNG FOR!

STOP

MOT ION

AN IMAT ION ,..

FROM THE PEOPLE WHO I ..OUGHT YOU " nl..M MAGIC"

ALL IRAND HEW MATERIAL! HOT A REPRINT.

Stop moIon anlm.ltoon IS ~ r:i the most popuIiIf forms 01 spec..,1dt«ts too::»y,

ar'Id thIS SpeCial Edton wIll show you, In ~ V I S I 1 Slep-by-srep detail, how to create

the: an lfT\(llKl1l models ci your d reams and how to tilt smooth, prdes·SIO!1a l results you' ll be proud ofl

ThiS SpecI,,1 £dltlOl1 IS the: answer to a r ~ for "rt')Q"le I1terested In rMlt<ngSlop-motlOll fdms, or for fans cJ thIS ~ t«l'lOlQUt: who w¥lt to Ie6rn thesecrets cI how tt all werts!

STOP NQTION ANIMA.TION ~ U f e s cortrWors who know the ea5!eSI., mostw O I ~ wtJ'fS to get f.,.,161C, f ~ f ~ from 'fOUl' iWWIMtlOfl P'o,ects

JOHN DODS - Wt/I knc:IY.n dI1>fTI<llOl' 01 thE: GRcx:; films, a master

scu/pl:or, 5"od creator d tht: /lIMen 11"1 the uPCOfl'llng

fe.llure film, N I G H T ~DAN TAnOR - Emmy -nC'"Htltt SIXO<)I effects man whose optJC'"

and VISUlII work has daUled Viewers from coast to"',,,

DAVID U :NWICK _ Awllrd- ......nfl'"9 "" 'm.ltOf who;e fi lm, TI-IE rIGHT

GAME. CO"lt/lll'lS II'lOroble Slop m O t l o n / l l ~ ~ 1 O f lmatte wOI<

<md rTkIny others b\:t Bob Young, ErrU D F<lOIlO. RIck «!tirone, lind Wil l Vin ·tori ProductIOnS.

STOP MOTIOH ANIMATION it your_M e uide to crClti"9 models

an d MrMtion df t t ts! r i t t ~ n in , deer , ~ . , , . . t o - f o l l o w fonn,t (with p I ~ nof photos), nen Is whit you ' ll Ie.,n:

• " II / Socket A r m ' t u r ~ s A r ' \(w SImple 10 m a ~ e dur.rolE:

skeletons fcx your mode ls - Ir iS lectmql.le h(!S never b«n pubjlShed

before!

• Sculptj", In Clly: All models begin In clay. r1OIoY you learn how

10 Ildd realIStIC d r t ~ o I to your sculptures.

• Mold;", Your Model: The newest lechmques, InclucWls VIrtually 11'1-

desu'uctdble ~ moIdsl

• S u r f l l C ~ GMIgc:s fo r Smooth Animltion: ~ r ~ l l e a d I n g ~ n m ' W l l o r s st'ae

lhelr secretS lind tiPS WIth you 50 lhal you Cdn pul preclSlOO 11'1 your

IInlrnirtlng skills .

• How To Build Your 0vvT1 Surface Gl!U9f! .• R ~ i l r P r o j ~ c t i o n Simple. bIIsK: lechruques fOf iId(Mg b<lcksrounOs to

yQ\Jr miniature ~ n l m ~ sets.

• .M8ttCI in Animlltion: Hc:l'N to c o m ~ n e live <ICl1On WIth stop mOllon~ ~ O ' T " o I ! n

• ~ AnitNtion : A discUSSIOn 0( StyIiZdtlOO, Reilhsm. GrMY.

Speed fcx hfe·hke results.

• Stop-Motion In $ p K ~ Frllme-by-frame spKI':Craft dfects, comblNogreM·prOjeCtlOn. IIlterl"lc)(e f r ~ m e rnattlfl9, an d sl<lrfleld compo5<tes.

THE MOST COMPLETE, COLORFUL HOW-TO

GUIDE ON STOP MOTION EVER PUBLISHED!

A BEAUTIFUL, QUALITY

PUBLICATION FEATURING:

• HEAVY Q·PO INT VARNISHED COVERSIN FULL COLOR!

• 8 FUU PAGES OF COLOR PHOTOS INSIDE!

• OVER 100 PHOTOS IN AlL

• EVERY PAGE ON GlOSSY PAPER{Imported From England}

• 52 lARGE 8th )( 11 PAGES

• AFFORDABLY PRICED FOR ALL

FILMMAKERS!_..,I - - ~ n d - ; ; ~ ; E - ; ; ; ~ ~ ~ ; E S

DEPT. SMI 12 MORAY COURTI BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

I 21236I I cnclose $5 .50 fo r cilCh copy of STOP

IMOnON ANIMATION,

PLUS ,

I AGE (U.S. &CanadII Only) 7S 'I U P S ( f ~ e - , M J r e D e p e n c l l l O l e : ) 1.50

I ForelSl1(U .S. FundsOnty) 2.00

Tot'" Enclosed

u.s. FUf'oLlS ON.Y PAYABlE TO (NMA ENTERPRISES.

Sl ....TE

; ; " " " " O V ~ " , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - L - · - - - - , - - - - - - · - · - - · - · - - , - - - - - - - - - - - -

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


Filmmakers'

EORUMA. Hls. la . d f ! l ~ r U D f ! l D t devoted to r _ d e n ' comments about 'IlmmaIdDg, the i r problel l l la an d s olution•.

Looking fo r ....t e . ?· . . Where do t find liquid !lilt)!? I

have never seen it In any hobbyshops, etc.

John Renzel198 Mt. View Ave.San Jose , CA 9 1527

· . . I'm new at filmmllking and I""tiS wondering where to ge t

foomed IlIlex, liquid tole![ an d

Pliobond.

Slade Simon

32001lkv\ewLewIsville, TX 75067

S<naIt quantities0( IJquid andfoomlng Wex compounds areauail1Jble by mall order from

AIoorJe Company. Inc., 32 West2W1 St., New Yorlc, N.Y. 100 J I.Write forCtHreni price5. UuyerqUBfllil/es of oaming compounds

an d liquid compound for slush

molding or bfush coaling lIIl!.

aoailable from RCD LltJex Cotp.,5901 TelegrlJl)h Road . Commerce.CA 90040. R£D se/L<i In gallon IoUan d INger. So if you OIlIy need t

smallamount, 11]1 A/cone.. Plio-bond is av.!JIable 11/ larger hobbyand hardware stores.

Foaming Problema· . . I've tried every way Jcanthink of to get my liquid IateJol to

fOllm, bu t I ain't get it to work.

Cou ld you suggest an easy

method I could use?

Jim Fortner1520 Llndgate Dr.

Kirkwood, MO 63 t 22

Liquid latex does flO( {fRJm. Yoo're

thinking 0{ foam latex. which is

usOO/tl cenairr types 0{ casting. u.quid Ialex is simpW applied to amodel or potll"€d into a mold aItd

allowed 10 dry

Eye Problema· . . In the film I am presentlywork ing on, The Cylinder. there

are two aliens. The aliens will bemasks. la m encountering one

diffkulty In Ihe completion of the

masks. The eyes must be the

~ s m o Of" tinted type that ~ i I Iallow the actors to see out of the

masks but no one to see in. In

CINE.MAGIC ·3 , John Dods said.!h e Nightheas(s eyes were resin

with a little red d ~ In them."

rve tried this, using fiberglassresin and food coloring, but the

18 ONEMAGIC1t6

eyes were too dllrk to see ou t of

clearly. If you could, please tell

me how to get the effect.Nick Streit

4724 W 97th PI.Oa k Lawn , IL 60453

We Moe flO good answers forthis one. If .'IIly readers Ci.'lll helpNk:.k. please write to him. We"d

appreciate a copy of your--can for SF OrlglnaUly. . . Many of your readers appear10 be interested In stop-motlqn

an ima tion. so why not have li n

article on how·to-make skin detailfor your models-such as making

scales and building up muscles.Much has been w ri tten on arma·

tures, but very little info is avail·

able on skin detail ing.

While scanning oYer your Producers' Bulletin Board. I noticed

one thing missing from many of

the announcemenlS-Ofiginality!!!

Many entries (not ...11, thankfully)

were: a) a parody; b) II spoof: or c)a downright rip·off. Some were

even U5in.g characters from Sial"Trek. if you could stoop so low!

What hils of our serioous Interest in science fiction_let

IIlone crell livity? Being an ama ·teur filmrTlllker myself, my main

gOllI Is originalit y. When I catch

myself using li n Idea or devk'e

that has been used before. I try to

chllnge it or write It ou t of my

script completely. If these unori·

ginal amateur filmmakers are to

become the write rs, directors lind

special·effects artists of tomorrow,

I fear for future moyie audiences.Jeny Brown

P.O. Box 4614Spokane, WA 99202

See Jerry Brown., entry . , /his

Issue's Producers' Bulletin Board:

Beyond the B ll1Ck Wall.

Condenser Lensfor Printer. . . CongratulatiOns! John Cosen·

t ino 's Aerial Image Printer makes

yet another professional techni·

que /IYllllable to the "amllteur""

f ilmmllker. LlIst year I purchased

;:In old Omega enlarger for thelow price 01 $25. No w I find that

the enlarger's two condenserlenses /Ire worth much, much

more. AlreiKIy, I can envis ion

lasers, rn.aUed ph oto cut-outs of

models, rn.aue paintings and

rn.any other visual enhancements.Kurt Filmore

36 6 N. A lta

Dinuba, CA 93618

Starfleld -In.-DepthBackgrounds.. .Du ring the opening theme

sequence of Slar Trek (the TV se·ries), they show a SllIrfield In

depth. How is this done? rve al ·wllYs used black velvet with

Christmas lights for a slllr

background.

A lbert Ki m

52 Willow LaneTeneny, NJ 07670

To achieve your stllrf"Ie/d·In·

deplh :sequence, /h i shool a stll'

Iionaty Slat("teId.. Use a blade veIuetbackground will1 small hole5 pun.

ched in 11 and IIghl. 1/ from behindwl1h a slrong light source. ThIs willlook more reali$iiC than OvisImas

Iigha. A{ler you have shot yourstatiorwy stdJ(lCid, backwind and

reshoolthe stlJJ(ldd, bulthl5 lime

zoom . , as you shoot. &ckwlnd

Radiation Burns

. . . Here is a photo of II person

with " rlldilltion burns:' This effect

Clln be IIccomplished by milling a

batch of Kooll unneyored gelatin

;:Ind applying it to your skin. Youhaye 10 work fast b e c a ~ s e the

gei ll t in sets fast. I colored the

gelatin red and then dllbbe<l it on·

N1d reshool . , this manner severa

times. Use differenl slN(1dds each

lime to gel. the besl resulls. Youcan do this by tuming!JOUf star·fleJd bockdrop In II different direc·tion fo r each b«Jcwound shot. us

ing a different s;de o f he dolh fo r

/he top each time. If you plan /0

supctimpose a spaceship Into the

scene. leave /he cenlerof /he star·

fiekt black so /IllIl1he stars won

show through /he ship.

EWA JIlatte BOll. . . n ON(MAOIC "4 , In the

Reyiew section of the magazine,

there WiS$ a review of the

EW, ..SK8 Kompendium MatteBoll . I would eppreciate II if youwould giye me a name and ad·

dress where I could cont&et theCOmptmy that manufactures this

matte boll .

Charles Mastrandrea

2403 Ram ona

Kalamazoo. MI 49002

"The EWA Kompendium Malle Bo K

i$ IIl)ailabie from Ha/mar Enter·

prises. PO . Box 793, Niagra FllUsQ ,lario. Canada L2E 6V6.

to my face. Fo r best results cove

It with some f lesh-colored mllke·

up. You can make II "bulging

e ~ with a half of II p ing pongball .

Mark Pederson

21 J8 Chestnut St ,

Orand Forks, NO

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


Rean.tlc RocketExh8u.t• •• While filming Spa n Obit,

we encountered severel common

problems, SOfTIe of which we ....erelIb\e to solve. Here's 1I techniquethet ....orks well fo r simuill tingsplICe$hip eng ine flllmes:

TlIke household cotton ballslind glue them into the rocketengine exhausts. When the glueI .. " d ried. pull ti l<!' co tton b.ock.

slowly to stretch the cotton out

end bring it to e point. Next, selup Ihe splIce·flight ShOlllnd set 1I

blower at the nose of the rockel.Set the blower on high power endfor ce the lIir down elong lherocket from nose to 1111 1. Th is is 1I

ffillistic effect. For colored filIme,die the cotton in food coloring.

HMH Productlons1108 Sheffield Cour t

AIL!lmonte Springs, FL 32701

Dirty Work• •• 1enjoy bui lding the modelkits from vllrious Sf movies. liS

well liS designing lind bulkling

my own models. The biggest problem I have found is in "dirtyingdown" the models to obtein 1I

realist ic result. WMt is the bestwey to do Ihis?

Grllham Jo rgensen17 Wynette St .Pennington, 50 13South Austrllllll

The F:TV Model Book, pubiished bythe Chillon Book Company In RlId·

nor. Penn5ylViUl/a. deuoces an en ·tire dulpler10 model piJlnJlng and

wealhering mn01ure models ofsp«eShips I:t1Id other celestial

toehides. See /he review in /he Iaslissue of C1NEMAGIC.

Ogden' . Two Suns• •. Being Ii photogrepher .....hobuilds and photogrephs modelsIn whatever free time I an find. Ian rellily apprecillte the L!llentlind hlIrd wor1< thIIt wenl into the

photo of the splICeShip

Ogden in the filmmekers ' forum

section in CINEMAGK: -4 .However. close observlltion will$how that Ogden must Mv e twoSUTlS-the shlIdows on lhe shIp

. fait in the opposite direction fromthe shlIdows on the buildings!

The re is a book on the marketIhat explains the whew ·to·s" ofphotographing SCIIle modelsre lilistially .... ith correct lighting.depth at fie ld. etc. I'he book is

ailed Phologrll(1hy (or the ScaleMadder, and it WIiSwritten by

Pieter Stroethoff. The book ispublished by Dfllke Public.etions,N.V . N.Y. Che<;k It out !

Keep up the good work ,Rllnd(lll!

Jllmle Murray115 6 N, Plaz.a - 2Omaha, NE 681 5 4

New FUID Club· •. Iem stertlng e film club Inthe Norfolk ·Virginie ~ eree.hope thet other Cl'tEMAGK:readers In my effil wil l contactme 50 thet we cen get together

lind ~ c h a n g e idellS end possiblyget into c»produclng films. In-

terested fIImmekers an con tactme li t:(804)380-6279 or write tome li t my addres:s bekJw.

"""_thew W. S<.obsinsky

86 J is t St ., Apt -A·3

Newport News, VA 23607

EerieTIUe.• •• Here's lin a s y . ~technique thet will add an eerie

effect to the title 01 your film: pu t

e pan 0( werm _ Irder yourtitle when you se t up to fin\ it ;

then pl!lce some dry ice In thePlIn. Billowing clouds .. l lorm.Film the clouds. then bbI. chern

lIwey to revell l the title.George ClImpeiJu24072 RosewoodTaylor, """148180

NewAMPA• •• A new OfQllniZ.lltion for(lmetelJ r filmmekers is be.1g

esteblisned. The r ~ailed Ameteur Motion Picb.reA5SOCilltion (AMPA). pnMde

such strvices es e monthtynewsletter and film COI'ipetJUonSfor its members. The oIl'Iycriterion for Joining the OtgatW.8·

tion is tM ! you mUSl hBve com-pleled III le(lst one film In WiY 01

the following a [ ~ , . ; i e n C I e -fictiOn , fenteS)'. horror or

suspense. The film must hBve.

runn ing time of el lea5t threeminutes. Interested penoonsshould write to:

Amateur Mol lon ~Assocllltion CAMPA)147 Hathaway Rd .DeWitt, NY 13214

AlulDlnum Foil Armature.

• . .Mi'lny of the creetions in ourfilm, The Collectors, ....ere only efew inches L!l1I and were mede out

01 dey. In order for the models to

MId their shllpes under the ho t

lemps end repellted hIIndling inour production we first con·structed the creetures' ermaturesout of (liuminum fall. This technl ·que works very well for SffiIIIlmodels beaiuse cley tends to

and weeken under hot IIImps lind

repeated hlIndling. The

aluminum foilermelure is veryas)' to meke and withstands con·.slderllble use if well made andarerulty handled.

The monster shown In thephoto hlId ,n Importent part inour film. A thin leyer of cllly WIIS

put over the rough elumlnlJm foilermetures and then the modelWllS e COlli of PlIinL Thehead had no movelIble PlIrts, 50 IIwe s herdened, sep!lrllte from thebody, In an oven. The !!!Celes onthe creeture 's back are WilSe

materllli from (I dril l press.The technique of using II thin

lIIyer of cilly over lin (liuminum

foilerma ture works very well . Thecllly won't crack under the hotlights lind Clin even be molded asyou go IIIang and bend thecreetures limbs during the pro ·cess of b ringing him to l ifethrough the magic of animation.

Steve HusUng1072 6 EI TIburon Ave.founL!l ln Va.lley. CA 9 2708

New Zeliland SF FUm.. . . A friend lind I lire both avidscience· iction fllns and we lirecurrently working on II SF film,on lin emlile ur basis, In our freetime . Here Is e photo from the

production of our fi lm. entitled I,Robol. Tne film is lin adventureinvolving the overthrow of a robotwho WIIS long llgo left In com·mend of the .....orld by lin advanc·ed SOei'lIy thlIt was (lleingdestruction. The leaders of therevolt lire two renegadeIIStrOrlllUtS .... oo lead (I band of

or9llniud fugi lives. Al l of the (lC'tors (Ire lIdults. The cost numbers

20. We lire including mlIny1 ' ~ " ' I . ~ f ~ ~ I ' " ' ~ ' f i l mAlesL!llr Hunt2 2 Kowhal Rd .

rea li st ic sets, costumes ilnd ildu l tactors.Melrangl BlIy, Auckland 10New Zea land

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


Filmmakers '

RUMNew Lens System. • . As a commercial filmmaker

in Appleton, I often have tostretch budget dollars to come up

with sped!!1effects. I've inventeda number of vlsual·effectmachines and hold patents on

them. My la test work, however, isfor a new lens system for model

photography with sta ndardSuper·8 movie cameras. I call the

invention the Omni/ens, end have

used the prototype to film my

own modelwork. I'm now testingan improved version of the lenssystem, so the invention is still in

the development stage. Sincephotography is the main problem

for amateur filmmakers, I th inkmy easy·ta-use Omnilens wou ldallow better camerawork on small

miniatures. The model In thephoto, by the way, was shot wi thonly two IO().watt light bu lbs andone 300·watt fi ll lig ht. The lenswas able to give e super·long

focus for such close·upphotography.

Because the OmniJens system

is hand·made, it lacks color·corrected lenses and has a minor

cropping during movement ad·justments, but la m hoping to im·

amateurswoop the

models,

openings, even throug ha 18 Star WIllS. Because

of field, mattes could

to block th e frame an d

cou ld be f ilmed and dou-

00

even in·iii model

Je.81 6 W. WashingtonAppleton, WI 54911

Mr, Imes works in specidl·effects

. The development

will be

I ~ ~ ' : l ~ ~ i " ' ; ; ' - ; ; ; ; ; ; '

The Bee t School.?. . . 1\5 a junior in nigh school, Ihave no idea which are the bestschools for cinematography(specilll effects); therefore, couldyou ple8 se tell me which 8re th e

best schools for this field?Philippe. Thibault115 Greenmont Ave.Dracut, MA 0 1826

There is 110 "best school. "just as/here is 110 best. camera or best

anythingwithout answering thequeslion of what is best {orwhom

andforwhat There are too many

indJulduaJ vaJuejudgments to be

made. However, a good piace /0

begin is with a copy of TheAmeriCIII1 Film Institute Guide to

College Courses in Film andTe levision. The book lists graduateand undergraduate cowses atmore than 1000 institutions. and

can be. ordered prepaJd from: Book

Order Dept., Peterson's Guides,

P.O. Box 2123, Princeton, ru08540, (o r $9. 75. Te/J them

CJNEMAGIC sent you.

SynchlDg C.mer..nd Projector. . . The erticle by John Cosen·tino, '"Aerial lmege OpticalPrinter," In CINEMAGIC -4 wa sperhaps the most useful article Ihave rea:d on the subject.However, It contained a bi t of

mlslnformetion. On page 8,Cosentino states, '" . . . f the

camera and the projector weresimply turned on and left to runli t 24 fps the reSl.llt would befootage thllt pulsates in light in·tensity.'" This is not neceSSl1rily

so. I have refilmed hundreds of

feet of film without experiencingpulsating light by using the con·tinuous-run method. The pul ·sating or osclliating br ightness is

simp ly not that bad. I heve found

e way to remove whateverpulsating there is In thecontinuous·run method. Simply

adjust the projector so that it runsslightly f8ster than the camera byusing the variable speed control,if your projector Is equipped with

th is option. When the cameraruns at a slower speed than theprojector, the pulsating light is no

longer existant.Larry Li tton

P.O. Box 26539Tempe, AZ 8 52 8 2

ATrENTION

SUBSCRIBERSIEffective with the mailing of

this issue of CINEM AGIC, allrenewa ls. not ices of change of ad·dress and other Sl.lbscription in·quiries should be addressed toour new Subscriber ServiceCenter: CINEMAGIC,

Subscriber Services, P.O. Box142, Mt. Morris, IL 61054. (Jf~ BACK ISSUES

' 1- Backwind ingSuper-8 Film:Foreground MiniatureTechnique: AerialBrace Construction.

'2 -Spaceship

Mooelmaking; BloodMakeup: Smoke Generator; Light Beam Effects : Making an SF

Logo.

'3 -Robot Construc-tion; Developing anAnimation Style: FluidArt Animation; Elec-tronic Special Effects;

/t4-Aerial Image 0p

tical Printer:Construct ion: Wire Armatures: A-S Railing:More Electronic

Special Effects; Fogand Mist Effects.

1t5-Aeriallmage 0p

t ical Printer: Usage:Widescreen Super-8:Slit Scan Effects;Gleaming Eyes forStop-Mollon Models .

r ~ ; ~ ; : - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - lCheck issues desired.

CINEMAGIC DEPT .c e

clo O'Quinn Studios, Inc.475 Park Avenue Sou th

New York , N.Y. 10016 DEPT . 53 .Add poSlage and handling 10 your order: $.60 forone issue: $1.00 for two ; $1.40 for three issues ;$1.80 for four: $225 for five Issues : $2.50 lor six .

NAME

ADDRESS

D '1-$3.50 DD '3 - $3.00 D

D '5-$3.00

Quantities Limited

112-$3.00114 - $3.00

Making MiniatureL : : : : : : : : : : : : : : = - _ ~ e ~ , ~ , : , , - - - _____ . i . _ ~_________ _ ~ ~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _

20 C!NEMAGIC-6

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


You've been watching movies ever since you remember. You've got a

head lull of him Ideas Now Irs lime to roll your own - with a little help fromSUPER-S FILMAKER Filled WIth award-winning four-color graphics andexciting features and columns, SUPER-S FI LMAKER is the one magazineyou need to gel your Ideas onlo film conveniently and economically. Fromequipment to techmque to aesthetics. SUPE R-S FILMAKEA puis you in thedirector's chan

Your movlemaklng questions are answered by some of the besl knownnames, not only In Super-B, but In the world of film. You 'JI entoy well-writtenartICles on dlrectJng and screenwnting and e)(clusive interviews with thepeople who make movieS happen.

Every issue bnngs you money-saving lips and filmmaking techniques thai

can 't be found anywhere else. You 'll find in depth features such as:

:!< low-cost Special effects::: Super-a and Videotapes for home viewing>!< animation for home or school* beginner's worl<shop

'!< tipS from readers around the worldcamera and projector buYing gUideS

Whatever your foc us, you 'll gel a wholenew light on the subject of film - WIth asubscription to SUPER-a FILMAKER. Editedby film enthusiasts tor film enthUSiasts, It'S themagazine you need to keep informed about theworld of film. Screen your first issue free Withoutobligation - just send in the coupon now!

r - - - - - - - ' - ....- - - - - - - - - - ' "

r - - - - - - J oIIIIIj1 . ' ·f: r; • I . , . '-_ _ _ _ _ _ ,

IIIIIIIIIII

D YES, 1"0 LIKE TO SCREEN YOUR MAGAZINE - FREE!Please start my subscriplion rolling with the first issue free withoutobligation. Bill me for a year's subscription - 7 additional issues for atotal of a for $10 .97.(11 I don 't wish to subscribe, I'll just write "cancel"" onyour bill and return it.) Either way, the issue's mine to keep.

MAIL TO : SU PER-8 FILMAKER

P.O. Box 10052, Palo Alto, CA 94303

: ' " . A " " " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . .

I ..OORESSII CITY STATE ZIP

I Sub""'I)""'" O<J!_ !"" USA Add S2.00 100" C.Ma __ ><! » 00 to< ot""r ooun!r_!", o M 9 i ~ J ; n g an<) ",mil II US ing ~ f 1 " t I J " " ' " m-or.ey ",!lei '" A""',!Can Expftlu m<lM"\' "'_ No c " " ' ~ ordefl. pie... II "l PI..H _ me 1 ""It (I I,"u,,) 0I1h1 . . . . . DARKROOM PHOTOGRAPHY ....g.. " . tor $11 .97 . I, 2 ~ ~

______________________ _________

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


@mJ7MlrCLASSIC REPRINT

THE

INVISIBLE WINO

RETURNS

If a script called for glasses and a bottle to be moved about by"invisible" people, how would you handle it? Here's how the effect was

produced by a professional studio.

When we received an assign

ment to produce 8 winecommercial (the storybollrdis Figure ' I). we decided to

film it all in live action, not stop-motion,

frame by frame, as in puppetry animation

-which would have made It next to impossible to show the wine flowing into theglasses. It could have been done with di f·ferenl heated stri ps of twisted plastic. in

the coloror wine, frame by frame. But thatway we were just asking for problems and

tw ice the work. So we went ahead on the

assumption that 24 frames per second,

straigh t·ahead action was the best courseto follow.

The only optical effect that was needed

was the bu rn·ln star animation effect when

the two glasses touched during the toast,in frllme 0 of the storyboard: lind of

course the mandatory line, bottom

S(;reen, at the end of the spot.

The entire commercial was photo-

Figure I .

By BOB HEATH

graphed against a black velvet bock·

ground, and the rods supporting the bot·tie and glasses were painted dull black.

These rods came in from off·screen

through 21 fitted hole in the black

backdrop.

The biggest problem was to have thefreedom of movement in the mechanicaldevices we had to construct. rhe glasses

were the e2lsiest to manufacture. Figure

"2 shows how they were put together. Adisc, mlKle of aluminum , the same dia·meter 2IS the base of the glass ,was riveted

to a na t aluminum rod . Then the bottom

of the glass was glued to the diS(;. This was!1onewith both glasses, for operation from

off-screen, right and left.

To give a variety in cutting angles from

scene to scene, as the storyboard sug·gests, presente:d a littll!: more of a problem. To give the feel of 1 man and woman

really having their dinner drink, we made

two different bottle mechanisms. Figure

-3 shows the one we used !"or off·S(;reen

right manipulation (as in frame B of the

storyboard), which gave usa slight camera.!Ingle from the left side.

The wine pour in frame C of the story·

board presented an entirely new con·figuration to be constructed. Because this

sequence was one continuous take from

that pour to theend 01 thecommerdal, we

would have to bring the bottle·supporting

rod from the pouring position-an of fscreen left ho ld- to a perpendicular

resting position, as in frame D. With such

a large arc of manipulation (about 90

degrees), we would never be able to hold

the bottle on any firm axis, as if it were be-ing poured by an invisib le hlmd actuelly

holding the bottle normally. So we came

up with the configuration in Figure -4. It

had a lo t of freedom, and we could start

from the pour position and make a

smooth move to a rock-steady, final table

position.

Invisible man and womansitting at an Invisible

dining table. talking

about the wine_ Bottle

and tw o glasses on the

table.

Cu t to : The man Is pourIng the woman a drink,as she raises her glass(angle shot).

Cut to : Man pours

himself a drink as heraises his glass(front shot).

Continue scene andzoom In; they both makea toast by clinking thei rglasses.

Con t inue scene andtrack out ; simulate

drinkin g and zoomInto table.

22 ONEMAGIC"6

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


The t e r of a short, flat steel rod wasbrazed to a long steel rod. A pie<:e of can. Figure 2.

cave sheet copper was rivited to the shortflat rod. The boule was glued to the can·cave sheet. To give us stable, rigid actionand also freedom in rotation, the o n g ~porting rod was slid Into a bronze bearing,and in turn, this bearing was brazed to aheavy bronze door hinge, for north and

south tilt. The door hinge was screwtddown to the WPPOlt t;,ble behind theblack backdrop. For better control of the

pour of wine, a handle was brazed to thecenter of the long support ,od.

We wound up with firm control of thepour, rotation and the tilt, or resting of thebottle back on the invisible table.

The components for all of thesedevice swere manufactured in one day in ourstudio shop, and the next day we shot35mm live"ilction speed. The shootingtook a good part of one full day, with one

man working each glass and Mother

man at the bottle , We played a tape of

the soundtrack for synchronization pur·poses, and after we got the feel of the ac - FJgure 3.

tion, it went fairly smoothly.

There was one small problem that we

didn't foresee. When a take was made andwasn't toour liking,becauseofwine dropsor wine level in the glass, we had toremove the real wine from the glass. Andthere were many takes of each scene. Theglasses were crystal clear and we didnt

want to foul them up with finger prints. oreven tilt a glass that wasn't moving, sinceit was secured in position, Out the w i l J ~had to be removed from the glass, and thebest way was to siphon it out with II strav. .The crew couldn't do it , because of themany takes of each scene- if we drankthe wine, In no time at all we would have

been half smashed. Besides, the winedidn't taste that good after being underthose hot shooting lights. So we huntedaround the studio forartists and other per·sonnel to Siphon out the wine each time.before we could do a new take, Th is was

our biggest hold·up--waiting to makeanother take, while a volunteer siphonerwas found! And our siphoners wouldn'ttake any more than two glasses because

they, too, were working, and because ofthe taste o f the hot wine.

I can't remember a commercial that weall enjoyed more, from the standpoint ofjoking about the guy who operated the

"woman's" wine glass, to hunting upsiphoners. Funny. but when you need awino, you can never find one, (J f

Bob Heath has been worldng in /he

motion·picture (J.eid since 1954 and haspat1.icipated in JUS! about every phase 0(

(tim, He designed, animated and photo·graphed Ihe short feature The Critic (nar.

raled by Mel Brooks), which won an

Academy Award in 1963, Bob has

authored andpublished a book. Animationin Twelve Hard Lessons, and nutS his ownstudio In Orlando, Florida.

Figure 4.

90 '

glued

Q

C- - -:J

brllzed

glued

for r l l g e o f rotlltlon

~~ ~olted to table Q

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


Producers '

BULLETIN BOARDPlease forward announcements of ilm projects in cwrenl

production or near romplet lon to: ClNEMAG/C, cloO'Quinll Sludios, Inc. 475 Park Avenue South, New York,

NY J0016. Please include a photograph ofsome phase of

the production, if possible.

Journey to a lost Plane t . Scientist discovers a newplanet and nies to it in a spaceship. The crew meets manyterrifyi ng creatures a long the way. Producer: Banshee Films,Diredor/FX: Randy Zastrow. Spacecraft and sets by: Mark

Mettam. FX include: stop·motion end rear·screen projection.Running Time: 45·60 minutes. In preproduction. (RandyZastrow, 901 Drake, Denver, CO 80221.)

Super Squad: An Angry God In Paradise. A super

goes into action for the first time to battle an unbeatable

foe. Producer: Elbert B. Fnmklin. Directo rlWr iter: Elbert B.Franklin. Cast: Jeffrey Williams. Starlene Williams, DwayneT. Sparks, Derrick Patterson, Charles Patterson. Super·8.

color, sound. (Elbert B, Franklin , 481 1 Ho llybrook . Houston.

Tex. 77039.)

Youth Team Zenith episode · 3"Where·s My Will." The

story of friendship and the will to live. Producer: United Pro·

ductions. Director: Mark Schellberg, Cast: Mark Schellberg.

Chris Reynolds. Tom Robinson, Jeanne Gilroy, Mary Fitz·patrick , Tom Mulledy and Sandy Lipko, Super,8. co lor.sound. Running Time : 30 minutes. (Mark Schellberg. 1038Buena Vista. Tacoma. Wash. 98466.)

A l len Swi ft : Guard ian of th eUn lYerse. A Flash Gordon pastiche.Fay has been kidnapped by King

Nostantu and only the mysteriousTeknog knows the secret way for Allen

and Prince K8arn to get into CentralCity. Producer: Terence Mustoo for

Mansion Productions. DirectorfWriter:Terence Mustoo. SFX: Charles and

Terence Mustoo (Zephyr by Nicholas

Wilkes). Ca st : Graham Poulteney,Josephin Bruty, Patrick Stevens,

Nicholas Wilkes and Ian Wilkes.

Super·8 , sound. Running time: 20

minutes. (T,G. Mustoo, 10 Dee Close,

Upminster . England)

Beyond the Black Wall. SF fantasy. A man's search for a

legendary jewel takes him to 8 mysterious wo'rld where heencounters many bizarre creatures and faces incredible

obstacles. Producer/Directorl FX: Jerry Richard Brown. FX

include: extensive stop-motion animation. puppets.miniatures and matte paintings. Super·8, color, cassette

sound. (Jerry Brown, P,O. Box 4614, Spokane, WA 99202.)

Invils lon . A story of forb idden friendships, aliens and a

goyernmental flaw. Cast of 2 1. Producer: cast and crew.

Director: Br ien O·Connel. FX: Andrew Fano. Written by :

Philip Rich. B rien O·Conneli . Peter Gross. Min iatures: BrienO'ConnelL Sound: Joshua Gross. FX include: explOSions.

Super·B. color. sound. Running Time: 5· 10 minutes. (Brien

O'Connell , 51 Rose Ave . Great Neck. N.V. 1\021.)

24 O NEMAG/C "6

Children of the Night. A young man's fight against an

invasion of vampire· ike creatures from another world. Pro·

ducer: Ron Lash Cinema, Ltd. Dlrector/FX: Ron lash. FX In·

clude: stop-motion lInim.!ltion, mattes. miniatures. Cast: KenBriggs. Color. Running time: 25 minutes. (Ron Lash Cinema.Ltd., 1233 East 4th St., Suite 5, Meridian, 1083642.)

Last Chance. An alien comes to

Earth to check on our present m ilitary

capabilities because her planet is about

to explode. Arter landing, she ac:c:ldent·!!Illy encounters three boys camping.

Producer/Director: Mark Niemann.Cast: Doug Wright, Pam Jansen, Mike

Turner and David Crandall. Super·8

Color, Sound. Running time: Approxi'

mately 20 minutes, (Mark Niemann,

2210 Grovewood Road, Clearwater, FL

33516.)

Sabotage.. The story of three men who defy a computer's

orders ~ investigate a starship crash. Shock ending. Pro.ducer: Michael Kuge. DirectorlFX: John Kuge. Cast: John

Kuge. Michael Kuge, Peter Willig and Jorge Khuly. FX in.clude: stop-motion lInimatlon. superimpositions and other

camera effects. Super·B. color. Running time: 7 minutes,(Michael Kuge. 5828 S.W. 69th Ave., Miami, FL 3314).)

COlony, A lone scientist on a distant world in the midst of anuclear war must produce and transport a biologiclIlly ac·

ceptable specimen of his civilization to another planet sothat his civilization may be born again and continue. Pro

ducerfOirector/FX : Vinod Misra and Marshall Zewe. Script:

John Pella and Vinod Misra. FX include: computer graphics,stop-motion animation. mi"iature sets and animation

models, mattes, superimpositions, rear screen projections.

model animation, robots and spacecraft. Super·B, color,sound. Running time: \0 minutes, (Misra-Zewe Productions.

13501 Jamieson PI. . Germantown. MD 20767.)

Wlnne.rs· Moon, Four teenagers p ick ·

ed from around the world in a Junior

Science Contest win an all--expenses·paid trip to the Moon. Only after they

reach the far side of the Moon does the

realllfe·or·death contest begin. Producer/Director/ FX: Kenneth L

....,,'r.1!!

Anthony. Cast: Jonathon Ch iles.Patrick Briody. Beverly Larkin andPam Thaxton as the teenagers. Sup

porting parts played by adults. FX in·clude: animation of crash damage on

full·size set with actors. drawn background animation behind

models. mattes. Schuff an Box process. "sideways" sets for

gravity and weightless FX, main and steering rocket exhtJusts,

rolling horizon effect, rear'prOjection instrument displays.

hologram simulations. forced-perspective models behind life

actors and hanging miniature foregrounds in front of liveactors. Preproduction began fall of 1975. ElI:pected release:spring 19B I. 16mm color, sound. Running time: 100·120m inutes. (Kenneth L Anthony. 801 ·A So. Tancahua.

Corpus Christi. TX 78401 .)

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


TRANSITIONSBasic Editing

Techniques

The Art of Getting Your Film from Here to There.

As en all too technically

oriented fllmmllker, I've gonethrough several phases in thepast. There was a time when I

was obsessed with trying to get razor·

stwrp images. Then there was II periodwhen I tried for painstaking, cri tical preci·sian in my exposure readings. I'm current·lyon a Mutting

M

kick end soon I'll prob.ably be on a "fluid clImera movement"

kick .In a recent film of mine, one of the chief

problems with which I concerned myselfwas trying to lIffectsmooth, visually effec·tive tnmsltions between sequences. In going from sequence to sequence, the prob·lem is to make one image amy oversmoothly, logically and viSUlllly to thenext image.

Optical trllnsltions liTe liS old as thepioneering shorts of Georges Melies, whooriginated most of them. They clIn still behighly effective if used thoughtfully lind

with respect to the stylistic limits ind con·text of e film end its sequences. MostclImeras of all film gauges can make fllde·Ins end fade·outs (by opening or closingthe lens dlaphrll gm or by using II variableshutter), blur·outs end blur·lns (ending asequence by ceuslng the picture to blur,and beginning the next by slowly bringing

i t into focus) lind swish pans (panning thecamera to a fast blur to end one shot, lind

again, to a stop, to begin the next). la p

dissolves,where one shot(fade-out)disappears over lInother shot (fade-in) in a

simultaneous merging of the two, lirepleaSing to watch, but much fewer

cameras ere capeble of doing them,especially in Super-i t OpticlIl transitionsare the mechanical meensofblending m·

lIges. Many of the techniques to be dis·cussed further assume the use of these ef·fects liS part of the transitions.

Optical transitions, being the mostvisuelly obvious and stylistic of all, arecurrently outoffeshion in the cinemll. Thetrend today Is toward quick, "invisib le"" orInconsplclous cuts to l ink one sequencelnslMllly with another. Audiences, overthe years, heve learned to make the

26 a N ~

By BR llT MCDONOUGH

necessaryconnective IIssociatlons lind do

not need " u n n e c e ~ r y " trensitions. MostlIudiences will ttccept optlcClI trllnsltlonsin films which lire stylisticlIl!y right forthem; dissolves lind fades lire usulIlly ac

ceptab le when used in context.In

otherwords, it just doesn't do tiny more to liT-

bitf'llrily connect sequence A with se-

quence B with II dissolve.The dissolve hasto be motivated by the two sequences&ndbe an outgrowth of the flow of the film.Most film audiencescan spot II dissolve or

IIll!ltWlIreofit(it Isno onger"invislble" on

the screen) and as II result the dissolvemust sometimes suggest things outsideof itself: the passtlge of time, for exemple,or 1I rhythmic link during tin 8tmosphericmontage sequenc::e.

A viewer tends to b«OITM! involved with

what's happening In II film. The: morevisually erresting the &ctivity on thescreen is-either through compelling

close·ups, movement, color, pace or II

story thllt hlls aroused the audienceenough to wonder what will happen nexlind see it th rough to its conciusion-lIli

thf!se elements or activities get the viewemore involved in the fi lm. The experience

of lin audience getting involved in II filmcauses them to participate or be<:ome a"part·' of the action, be this plIrticipationof an intellectual or emotiOnlll nlItureHitchcock prefers hisaud iences tostrong ·Iy Identify with his protagonists so thawhet happens to the hero happens to theaudience. His strongest shock effects areof strong emotional participation. Othe

directors prefer to coax the lIudience into

thinking about causes, goals and ideasthey wof i ( for intellectual plIrticipation.

Of what relevance is this audience involvement factor to transitional methods?Simply that each unique transition, ineach unique context between two se

quences, will have a different effect on theaudience. If it causes the audience to par

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


ticipete further into the film or "helpsthem along," the tnmsition is successfuland effective. But at least the transitionmust not be so fllncy or conspicious initself as to draw the audience's attentionaway from the more important informa·tion in the sequence that comes after it. Inother words, if the transitions in the film

inhibit the viewer's desire 10, fo r example.follow the story (using e fade·out , then

f&de-in where a cut would suffice), thenthe type of transition and its context

should be seriously reconsidered ,perhaps recalculated. The ever·presentobjective is to carry through the forward

momentum of the film through r Q l l n i c a ~Iy connected sequences.

Matched·ection cutting is the smoothmatching of e strong motion at the end ofone scene to the beginning action of thenext scene in such a way that the audienceIs swept smoothly into the new time andplace. in the film 2001.' A SpaceOdyssey,there Is an impressive cui from a bonehurled in the air by a prehistoric ape to a

"bony·" looking sp8Ce vehicle noating inspace. (The paperb&ck entitled The Mak·ing 0{ Kubrick's 2001 highlights this se·

quence from the film on its cover.)Value transitions are done by carefully

matching e dark scene with a subsequentdark scene, or a light one with e light one .This Is because it is jarring to cut from adark scene to a brilliant one , or from apredomInantly cool scene to a hot one .Thougha bit,illrring, this can be used (withrestraint) to dramatlclllly shock en IIU

dience. In the film Otlzen KIJfIe, a quiet,dark, somber death scene is followed by abrightly li t, glering end loud newsreel se

quence which begins by blasting the title"News on the March" on the screen. Exemples of a more subtle, inconsplcioustype of value transition are in the film

Rope. Asa technical challenge. Hitchcockdid the whole film in one shoI.. To match~ h IO-minute take (which was 85 much

footage as the camera magazine couldhold on a single continuous run), peopleand objects would come before the

camera briefly, blllckening the screen.When the object moved, or the camerapenned from it, another IO·minute takeproceeded. Or, consider a situation in

which a car ~ p l o d e s and the smoke fills

the screen. In the next shot, when thesmoke clears, one sees the dazed driverpulling himself out of the car.

Time·spanning transiti ons are shots of

objects which, by the ir ephemeral nature,change gradually and predictably withtime, thus telegraphing to an audiencethat II certain period of time has pessed. lnone of Hitchcock's early films, a glass of

fresh, bubbly champagne is shown inclose-up. Dissolve-and the champegneisconspiciously "dead." A certain interval

has passed. This sort of transition has aspecial "suggestive" effect on an eu·dlence. It does not merely or incon·

spicuously connect one sequence with

Tbeae acaDea rr o . HJtdacoc.k'. r ~ l I _ not cut togeth..-la th e film .

How would you cre.tI / I . tra. . tJon benl?

note th e errectJve --UUe" on the new.lNNIrd.

another , but introduces a semantic element or symbolic meaning connectedwith the glass. The audience knows whatchampagne is, has tasted it before and

watched it bubble. They know that after aperiod of time it loses its bubbly quality

and goes dead. They therefore associllte acertain span of time with the champagne.

The act of the audience drawing from itsexperience to interpret the meaning of thechampagne glass time· ransition tends toinvolve them deeper into the film ex·perience. The meaning is not beingspelled out for them (such as a title or nar·rator's voke saying I a t e r that e v ~ -ing . . . . . might), so the audience must par·ticipete to figure out the meaning. If thetransition Is II visual message, the au·dience must put two and two together to

get thatm e ~ e

to figure out what is

happening and to participate.[f these types of transition devices are

too obvious, however, the audience mayget the feeling that it is being "used'" or

taken advantage of. The transitionsshould not besoobviousastobetrite .Theaudience will think their In telligence hasbeen insulted. Hitchcock, by the way,loves to insult the audience in this way occasiontlilly. os he di d In the bo::!;:Iinning of

the film Frenzy . The film starts with anaerial view of what is unquestionably Lon:

don with a capital " L, " yet he has a little ti ·tie at the upper right hand corner of thescreen for a minute or so which says "The

city of London." The point is that transi·tions must be affected stbtly, unless thefilmmaker purposely wants to evoke theaudience's wrath. There have been far too

many calendars on walls with the dateONEMJo,G/C -6 27

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


SUBSCRIBE TO

If you are: a young filmmaker with aspecial Internt In science: fiction,special effects and the limitlessmagic of the cinema . . .THIS IS YOUR MAGAZINE

(INIMAGIC WILL flATURI;

How to produce professklrKll titles trntmove, ch.'lnge: color. met!:. sparkle, burst

into fiarnes, zoom irlto space 1111 for 11

few bucks!

Tired of sqUdre screens? Learn aOOJI in-

expensive lenses devices to rmK you r picture W+[).E·S.C·H·E·N,BreakawllY prODS for rea listic ffght scenes.

An imatOn on your homell'dde stand.Bu ild your own robots with electrooiclight effects.

rllla ke your 0'Wfl loom !.lIe:.: animat ioomodels, molds and II rmatures .andrTlCl

ke them come alrvelGlass

~ n t i n g s ,matte box effects, spl it screens.

Revie'ws ci new equipment, lenses ,lndoptical gadgets for crut ing specia l effects! Readers' forum-letters 1100

questlO(1s exchangtng techl"liques lind

production secrets! Step-by-step il

lustrllted articles deta il ing methods you

(lin use to create visulIl effects, makeup

lind soooo FX

..------------...... O<

Q'QUInn StI.dia5, Inc. DEPT . C6

Park Avenue Sou.h, New Yor'<, NY 0 0 1 ~SUBSCRIPT10H

!J One Year (6l=oes) $6,99(U.S. a n d ~ )

o One Ye", Fcretgn S i J r t ~ S 1.39

Enck:lsed, $;_________Send C<Y;h, ~ k . c.- montY c.-de. dr8Wr1 to

O'QuIOO Sto..odic:6, Inc.

I

\ Sl!"E )

......

--------_.....

28 ClNEMAGIC"6

power pods

Cutting rrom an eerie, wide exter ior or a roc:kebblp to an Interiordose-up of a control panel Is a good example of a dramatic transition.

pages sweetly falling of f . . . .Finally, there is sound mixing or sound

montage. A classic example is Hitchcock'searly film, The Thirty·Nine Sieps. A scrubwoman, finding the body of a dead girl,

screams violently. In the next scene a trainis whizzing out of a tunnel. The woman'sscream carries over and merges with theshrill whistle of the train, In Citizen Kane(a

mosaic of superb transitions), there is ashot of Kane's friend talking to a crowd

outside a large meeting hall. He says to'the crowd, "Mr. Kane entered into thiscampaign . . . ," the scene culs and we areinside the hall look ing upatKane himself,whose voice comp letes the sentencebooming, " . . . with one purpose only!"The transition is accomplished not only

bya quick, visua l switch of setting (whichmight in itself be acceptable-cutting

from the outside of a building to its interior), but by a continuously flowing lineof dialogue. Where eltact sync is impossible, sound effects can be faded in andfaded out whenever appropriate. Through

out Citizen Kane, sound has an importantconnective influence and acts as a frameof reference for the audience while thevisuals run rampant.

Think about how you plan to link yousequences. Do it before you shoot; don'wait until two shots are in f ront of you onthe editing table. Clever, novel transitionscan aid greatly to a fi lm's continuity. Theycan be used to "cap" a sequence or pro

vide a finishing touch by a close·up o

something which makes for an ironic mo·ment. Transitions can be as exhilaratingto plan and execute as titling, scripting or

any other phase of filmmaking. (J I

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


BACK ISSUESOriginal mint copies-s t i l i available!

The most funyou can havewithoutscreaming!

F A N G O R I A / i : ~ ~ ~ f R ~ ~ ~ ~ : ~ ' R : :olorful worldAUENSand IMore than a mere "monstermagazine ," FANGORIA presentsfull-color articles on the newest,most exciting films of horror andfantasy-plus , up-to-the-minuteMonster Invasion news direct from

Hollywood and around the globeplus, in-depth interviews with thegiants of fantasy Him, past, presentand future-plus. exclusive portfolios of FantasticArt-a fold·au tposter or other special bonus insertin each issue-and all the other

features that make FANGORIAone 0( a kind!Stop missing all the fun

SUBSCRIBE TODAYI!I

r-- --JUST LISTEN TO THESE READERS RAVEIII-------,

must congratu late you onputting out the best monstermagiuine to date!"- Henry R. Kujawa, Camden, NJ

. . Al l of us associated .....ithPhantasm were delighted by yourfirst ·rate ..... riting and resplendentpictorl.altreatments!"

-Angus Scrimm (Rory Guy).l.os Angeles, CA

.. . 1 to congratulate youon the ellcelier'lCe of this publ ication. Ifs time we had a serious

l T l ( I Q O ~ dev<xed to the subjectof l'Iorror films.

M

-Rkhard Gordon

Gordon Films, Inc. (Producer,The Qlt an d the Canary)

F A N G O R I A is pure dynamite r

-Mike l.yddon, uncaster, CA

''The articles are ....ell·researc;hedand ..... ritten. and the accompany·ing pnotos are exce llent - I didn'tknow that color s:iUs could look

50 good in a mag,zine! Thankyou, gentlemen, and keep up the{Mglast ;<: .....ork!"·

- William Comin,

Richmond, VA

r----------------------------------,Subsc.:riptlon: Ma ll toO 'Quinn Studios In o ~ year (6 bi·moothty Inuu) OEPT.ce

I $!f.!ft l (U.!:i. [, Canada) 475 Park ....venue &lulh II

D One year foreign ! o U r f ~ N.ew York , NY 10016 I'14.98

I ACK ISSUES, II0 11 $3,50 0 14 $3.00 N ...ME

I en $3.00 :::lIS $3.00 II 0 13 $3.00 •

I (Indude 50e for 3rd class postage) ....DORESS ce II Enclosed : $ I

~ ~ ~ s ~ ~ ~ ~ a ; I Send cash. ch«k or money Ofder drawn Io . I 10 O'Oulnn StudiOS . Inc . CITY STATE li P 834 1

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


All the CircuitsMoney Can Buy!

A lookat someof he off·the·shel{, ready.made circuitsthat can add that special sparkof ife to special effects.

Comeon now,weallknowit:Most

amateur effects filmmakers get

a special kick out of designingand building their own models,

anim ll tion stands, props, circuits and al l

manner of "specialized '" effects projects.Aherall , that'swherelliotofthe romance

of specilll·effects mmmak ing comes

from! But for some projects. having to go

through all of the not·so-romanti c designwork itself can actulllly be an unnecessarychore, as the re are many commerciallyavailable devices, including ready·made,inexpensive electronic gizmos, thllt canbring to your films a bit of technnlngic;,1dass without putting a strain on your

mental faculties. This issue, I'll be present·Ing lind describing such slore.bought,right·off·the-shelf electronic goodies thati!lfe for the most part self-con toi!!lined; you

just plug them in, tum them on and theyproceed to do their thing.In i!I discussion like this, if s best to start

off simply, with 1I simple and relativelynew integrated ci rcuit "chip," the LM

By KENNETH WALKER

3909 LED (light·emi tt ing diode) flasher ,available from Radio Shack (clltalog-276-1705). This 9ge IC , in combinationwith justa capacitor, ceusesa bright red or

green solid·state light (the LED) to flash

on and of f at a vll riable rate. (Seediagram.) There ;s also an LED lIvailllble

that contains a built· n flasherdrruit (R.S.catalog -276·036), but its flash rate is setat th ree Hz (three flashes per second.)

While the simple·minded function of

these flashers molly indicate a few uses atbest, such is not the case. In fact , theirpossible uses in props. models and thelike life only limited by one 's imagination.fo r example, a rapidly pulsing red LEDClln mllke 1I hand laser weapon appear tobe lIpproach ing i ts "overload power

point;" or, in cases where you want arather static·looking prop to take on 1Ilive·

Iy appearance, several of these lightscould veryeollsily be installed, as on an in·strument panel or 8t the tip of a modersr8y blaster barrel. with the flashes accom·panying some animated laser strellks.

The eyes of II minilltu re robot could lIlsotllke on new life with LEOs. As simple liS

this light flasher circuit is, ifs sure to sug·gest a dozen different appliclltions.

Taking a giant step lIWllY from l..£Os,

the next device is a rather complex elec·tronlcs packllge (but can be purchased1I1ready built. luckily). lf s AC ·poweredand more expensive than the IC projectspresented so far, butof a more specializednature: the color organ, originall y de·

signed liS an accessory for stereo com·ponents. Its purpose is to vllry thebrightness of regular household light·bulbs in respons.e to 1I musiclil input from

an amplifier.

With most inexpensive color organs,three differen t co lored bulbs of up to 150Wlltts lIpiece, are plugged into the device,as lire the speaker output terminals from

an audio amplifiers. Depending on howthe three front·panel knobs on the color

organ are positioned, the bulbs will pul.sate in response to the loudness of themusic. (The reason for three bulbs Is that

SHUTTER·SYNCHRONIZED FLASHBULBfor your Super' S camera

Electronic flash can be

substituted here.- - - ~ - - - -SIrT)ple SPST push-buttonswitch. (Trip this switch 10 fire

lIashbulb In sync hronizationwith camera's shu ller.)

.30 ONEMAGIC "6

\

Flashbulb, battery and pusllbutton switch are wired inSflrles with ca mera's Syncoutlet.

"M3" clear Ilashbulb

1.5 - 3.0 volt battery

"Onc.per·lrame contact"socket {also called the syncoutlflt).

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


the device controls each bulb iK<:Ordingtoa particular frequency bandaf music bass, midrange lind treble.) Possibly one

of the most interesting off-the-shelf ac·cessories for the sci·fi filmmaker, III colororgan can process any kind of amplifiedsound signal-as from a sound·effectsre<:ord or words spoken into a microphone-and display that sound asa groupof wildly varying lights. Before you stllrtthinking that this device may have II

limited use, consider. By mounting astring of 1 X)·waU lightbulbs behind II

piece of f rosted plexiglass, in your

homemade robot, for example, and byspeaking into an (amplified) microphonethat is hooked to the color organ, you cancreate a visual ind ia tion of the robot's"speech:' with the lights varying in inten·sity right in step with your words. Thi s isli n effective tri ck for adding a touch of

technical authenticity to your low·budgetfilms. A similar technique (with neon tub·ing) was very effectively used for Robbythe Robot's aural discourses in the classic1950 film, Forbidden Planet-back in thedays when electronic devices were morecumbersome and difficult to handle.

Color organs(ln ki t form or completelyassembled)are available from Poly Paks(P.O. Box 942, South Lynnfield, Ma$S,01940) and Edmund Scientific Company(101 E. Glouces ter Pike, Barrington, NewJersey 08007) for about $22.

While not exactly falling under theheading of "electronic devices," an inex,pensive photographic product, the com·man M3 flashbulb made by Sylvania andGeneral Electric, can be of use in yourspecial·effects work-but in ways that Itwasn't intended for. This bulbproduces anextremely bright, If somewhat quick, flash

when connected to 1.5·3 volts, and an beuseful for simulating an explosion " hi t" onan object; or one can be pl&eed at the tip ofa hand weapon for creating a strobe gun,similar to that used in TV's BaUleslM

Galactica. These bulbs usually flash sofast, though,as to present a problem whenthey are photographed with a motion·picture camera: the flash may occur duroing the dosed portion of the camera'sshutter, thus registering little if any imageon film . The more expensive electronicflashes are totally unsuitable for theseuses; they nash very qu ickly , in thou·sandths of a second. A movie camera'sshutter, with an exposure time per frameof typically 1I36th or lI48th of a second,could easily be closed for the duration of

the entire flash Itself, thus admitting noneof the light whatsoever. As one way of

solving this problem, the effects wizardsresponsible for GaJactica 's short·durationlighting effects actually synchronized thecamera's shutter to the flashes, so thatthey occured only when the camera'sshutter was open,

As this synchronizolltion isn't practicalwith most amateur's cameras, a differenttechnique has to be used: reduce thevol tage appl ed to the flashbulb to aslight·ty lower level than 1.5 volts. By doing so,the bulb will bum slightly longer (but lessintensely), long enough to create a brightimage on motion·picture film , Some ex·perimentation is needed here-it wouldbe best to use a variable power supply toget the best "slow bum" of the bulb's fila·ment. (Flashbulb synchroniUltion withthe ci!lmera's shutter can be ltCCom ·plished, ifyourSuper·8happenstobeone

of the newer brttd with i!I "once·per·frame" contact built in, This contact isnormally used for sound recording work,and for firing an electronic flash duringanimation where the ci!lmera is operatedone frame at a time, By wiring a simpleswitch in line with (in series with) this

camera outlet and the flash or flashbulbitself, the flash wilt occur only when thisswitch is closed, and then only when theshutter of the camera is open. Thus, youbegirT fllmlng your Ilve·action scene then

simply trip the switch when }'OUr syn'chronized flashbulb Mexplosion" is to takepl&ee.)

If you simply can 't get enough of

effects·related electronic circuits and areitching to bui ld them during every spareminute. check into Paul M. Hewitt 'sSta rfleet Assembly Manuals (three

volumes, available for s2.5O each from5035 Swingle Drive, Davis, Clilif. 95616).These are tailor·made for the special·effects fan. While all three volumes are of

use to the model bui lder and effects fllm ·maker, Volume 3 offers an excellent set of

instructions and diagrams for installingworking miniature lighting systems inyour models and props, using ICs andlEOs. The sequencing and blinking·nghtcircuits present@d are sure to help bringyour models to life. Dozens of clear how·to photos and diagrams accompany thetext, making these manuals quite com,plete in their presentation. (Volumes 1and 2 describe the tools i!lnd stepsnecessary for building quality spaceshipmodels for your films.) For another corn·

plete source of Ie electronic circuits ofuseto the filmmaker, see the book review thisissue on the Engineer's Notebook.

Since "Electronic Special Effects" firstappeared in CINEMAQIC -:3, I've receivedmany letters from readers who had sometruly interesting suggestions to make forfuture art icles in thisseries. I'll be attempt·ing to cover them in upcoming issues. I'dlike to repeat the original offer, though.Keep those cards and letters coming, letus know what kinds of circui,tsyou. need to

create that special effect you've written In ,to your script. Future articles in the worksinclude "Creating Your Own ElectronicSound Effects," toy ing with a reallyesoteric intergrated circuit light se·quencer, LED number d isplays (whichcan be hooked up to look like they aredisplaying an allen language) and others.But Jet's hear from youl ('Jf

BASIC L.E,D, (LIGHTEMITTINGDIODE) FLASHER

.... ~ed or green LE.D. (Radio ..11+ 100 microfarad electrolytic

Shack *276-026 or similar) Try PinS Pin 1capacitor. Try changing this

to obtain an extra-bright, eW-

\ /value for it different flashing

clenl LE.O. rate. (LE.D. will flash approx-

----------- ~ ~....,

Imatelyonce per second with

•100 microfarads.)

Jumping a wire from pin1 topin 8 will double the flash

To "positive" terminal of any

.J:.rate.

voltage source from 1.3-6volts. 1.5 volt flashlight bat- --- --ery will work well, orusethe5-volt power supply d e s c r l ~ LM 3909 Integrated circuit

BOTTOM VIEW OF I.C.d in CtNEMAGIC #3. (Radio Shack 1#276-1705) Iii

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


KODAK'S

ANIMATION

GUIDE

Kodak's, "The Wor1Cl Of Animation ,"IS an authOritative guide fo r anyonewh o is Interestea In making animatedf ilms. It Is .lam-packed with tips onevery aspect of film production andanimation techn iQue. This in-depthguide book was prepared by Kodakespecially fo r the an imator Who wantsto make professional-Quality animatedfUms on a MODEST BUDGET.

"The Wor1d Of Animation"INCLUDES-33 pages of complete blueprints fo r

building your own animation stand.

• A guide to all the Kodak filmsavailable fo r animation and when to

use themlll• A " hOW-CO" guide fo r achieving allthe major animation technlClUesll1

HOw to find work with a producertt!

• HOW to break Into th e business!!!

• 152 pages-full color through-out!!!

-------------- "The WOrld Of Animation"

• CloO'Oulnn5Cu<:Ilos DEPT. C.• 415 Park Avenue SOUth

New Yor1t,NY 10016

• 57 ,95 per coov, aOCI 51.25 fo r post3ge and

• nanallng each 153 .25 fo r foreign P&Hl

IIIII

I I

I EnOosedS Ict'ledlormoneyorder II dfaWn to O'Oulnn Studios, InCJ II II II NAME II II II ADDRESS II II CI!Y II II II STATE I

32 ONEMA GIC-S

BOOKS

The Bu .me . . of FUmmaldDgBy Raul da Silya and Richard H.Rogers fo r Kodak. Kodak, Rochester,N,Y. 8 1/a"x l l " , 96 pages, $6.95,

Many creative young filmmakersaspire to careers in the film industry.but a relatively small proport ion hllVeany understanding of the most fun·damentallaw of success In this com·petitive field; filmmaking is e business.

The successful filmmaker Is also asuccessful businessman, He must

know how to make a film proposal to aprospective client. He must also knowhow to prepare a realistic budget sothat he can get backing for his film .

The vast majorit y of films that areproduced are nontheatrical films thatdeal with the public·relations needs of

an industrial firm. There are relatively

few positions available in Hollywood.Most filmmakers, therefore, are pro·ducing industrial films. Do not

despair-there is still that pot of gold

called Hollywood. but most peoplewho eam their livings making filmsfind employment elsewhere. The coo·

cession of making industrial films in·stead of making Hollywood epics isstil l a smaller concession than not fin·ding any work at all as e filmmaker.

Kodak's book, The Business o{F'dm·making, is designed to aid the aspiringfilmmaker in leaming the appropriatebusiness procedures that he will needto break into the film business. Thebook presents a sample script and ex·plains the proper business proceduresinvolved in soliciting clients,

The sample script is dull, but It

serves to remind the reader that the

preparation of a script for a business

finn must conform to needs of the

client. Industrial filmmakers don 'tnecessarily make films that arevehicles of expression for their ownartistic creativity, but at least they'reworking filmmakers and not starving

artists. The more successful producersand directors of industrial films

exciting lives and travel to exotic loca·tions and hold prestigious positions onthe faculties of important film schools.lf s a respectable way to earn a living

by doing something you enjoy.

The Business ofFilmmaking is not forfilm enthusiasts who produce backyardepics, but it is important for those whowant to find a backer for film project.The book contains many charts, formsand tips that are valuable aids for

organizing a film production. The

Business ofF'tlmmaking does not offer

thrilling reading, but it should not be

overlooked by anyone who desires to

start his own film company.

The EDglDeer·. f totebook- la ·t egn ted Circuit AppUc:aoUo. . .

By Forrest M. Mims II I. Published byRadio ShacklTandy Corp. 8 1/a"x I I " ,

12 8 newsprint pages, softbound,

$1.99.

If you lire a filmmaker who likes to

tinker with fUllctionirg props andg ~ g e t s for your science· iction andfantasy films (and what CINEMAGIC

reader doesn't!), The Engineer's

Nolebook published by Radio Shack(catlliog *27&-5001) should definitelybe 1I part of your reference library. Contllined in its Bllz "x 11" size pages l ireliterally hundreds of simple yet prac·tical electronic circuits using IC (in·

tegrated circuit) "ch ips." With this book

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


you can give your props functioning~ I i e v l l b i l i t y , by buil ding everythingfrom countdown timers to LED lightfiast'H!rs to sound-effects generlltors.Also included are circuits for Interfacing

lightbulbs and other o u t s i d e world"devices to ICs.Th is book, more than any other

similar work, points out the strllight.fOfWalrd b u i l d i n g block" ..,.,ture of in·tegnued circuits. by presenting les tha t

can be hooked up In literally dozens of

wa ys to yield as many fascinating projects. each requiring a bare minimum

of 6tra parts. This isn't a theory book.but a nuts-and·bolts. hands·on co llec·tion of easily followed wiring diagrams.Immediately lIpplicable to a variety

of film· related props and projects, The

EngfleeT'sNotebook even contllins IIsection explaining what various electronic components are (capacitors,res istors. etc.) and wh at they do. Thebasic electronic symbols are also ex·plllined. which wil l make reading thebook's many schematic dillgrams thatmuch eas ier.

Author Mims is a contributing editorto Popular Boctronics magazine andthus no stranger to the task of describ·ing electronic projects concisely yetunderstandably. The completeness 01this mllnual is to be commended. sincemllny less ac<;urll te books actuallymake electronics application II difficultsubject II I best.

CineMagic

Pe rhaps the most important aspectof this book is that the rellder need notbe an electronics whiz In order to useit. Light on words. heavy on drawingsand diagrams, there is probably noother reference source around that soclearly lays out circuits in lin easy howto fashion for the novice circui t builder.The book is ellsily worth five times itslow $1 .99 price. (If it is not in stock atyour Icclil Radio Shack, you may or/kr

It through them.) All parts necessary

for building the book's projects arealso aVlliiable at Radio Shack.

CreaUng Special Effecta fo rTV & FUmaBy Bernard Wilke. Communicati onArts Books, Hasting HousePublishers, N.Y_. N_Y. 5'12" x alia",

157 pages.CINEMAGIC gets letters every day

requesting information on how to

lIChieve various special effects forfilms. BerMtd Wilke's book, CreatingSpedaJ Effects (or 7Y & Films. e)(p lains

how to &C<;omplish many of the effectsthat our readers commonly ask for In·formation about.

Wilke MS been in the special·effectsfield for over 33 years and has produced thousands of special effects forBBC Television. He is now themanager of visual effects for the BBCand is responsible for virtually all of the

special effects seen on tha t network.Wilke's writing is straight to the

point. When he Is desc ribing how a certain effect is done. he gives step·by·step instructions that are very easy tounderstand.

Wilke has drawn his own illustrationsthat are both simple and well executed.The book is designed so that e&eh ef-

fect or type of effect is described in asprcod . Th e left pcge of ellch 5pf"OJdcontains written descriptions on how to

crellte the effect. While the right pageis devoted to one or more of Wilke's iI·lustrations that enable the reader to instantly visualize the technique or

equipment i n v o l v ~ in the creation of

the effect. Effects lire generally visualand pictures often say more tM nwords. The illustrations in lliating

SpedaJ Effects do more to help thereader understand how an effect is e)(·

ecuted than a whole extra page of writ·ten ex.planat ion woold be able to do.

The book explains the methods andequipment for creating a great numberof special effects-too numerous to list

here. Every effects enthusiast shouldown III copy of the book to keep as areference.

A word of caution is necessary:Some of the effects-especially pyro·technics lind e)(plosions-are danger.ous and should not be attempted byour younger readers withoot paren ta lpermission and supervision. rM

MARKETPLACEFOf as little as "5.00, you can reach all your special effects fao,. CATEGORY;

PAY MENT:

Please be llUl'e 10 Indicate the C8l1lgOfy you want to beIISloo under.EADUNE: lorCINEMAGIC '71n oor office by April 20th.

8AS1C RATE: 15.00 pe.-lir.e.UmU-35 ~ 3 ( a c ' e r s pe.-1Ir.e. Mln lmumthree lines. Punctuation, s)'mbOls and spacB9 OOUI1t lIScharacters.Small display acls- $40.00 per column Inch~ O l Y ! !

HEADUNE: r:lrs t III'Ie on ly -WorcI;s)oI cnoIce(underlll'Ie them)willbe printed in BOlO CAPS.

MAILTO:

Cash, check, Of money order mu,' accomplllny ad order(checks payable to O'OUiM Studios, Inc.)ClNEMAGIC , O'Oulnn Studloe, Inc.475 ParII Avenue South

JIlERCIlANDISE

~Mlcrop/'lorle8, Pro;ectors. Gamtlras,The Film Group procIucIlI, Write: JA Carpenter

(CtNE), P.O. BOX 1321 , MeatMlle, Pa. 16335

YOUR AD COULD BE HEREI

New YOlk, NY 10016

S.F. fi LM MEMORAIUUAA limited number 01 catalogs we now availableItemizing ltIeraily thousands of original poe t_

sUII:s-pressbooks and other Items from sc!eoce fic-tion, tlorror and fanl asy films from King KX "Superman, many from the worId's most com eteprivate collection. The OOIIt of the catalog Is 1..50refundable pwe/'Iase.Mall 10: Monman-Williams Pfoductlons

P.O. So)( 7195Kansas City. Mo. 64t13

ROBBY THE R080T BLUEPRINTA huge blueprint post. with liIfOBlTonland side vtBWII that show lIOCurale scale. c0n-

struction detslls and descr1ptions wi th all the dr ·cul l S and l unct ions. This lathe Original Robby theRobot from ForlHrkIen P/afHJt. Order today, thiscombinat ion plrwp poster for only $3.00 plus 50'for postage lrom:

STARLOG MAGAZINE

""'.CO475 P8Ik AYBflue Sooth

New YOlk, NY 10016

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


CLOSE-UP

Foreground MiniaturesOne of the most power{ul techniques

available to young and pro filmmakers alike, a foreground

miniature saves you the necessity of building a full-size set.

By DON DaHLER

After the mln . ure blends Into the .._ I , IIfe- .lz e "o d -

. cape , the camera wi t h . IOmm wide-angie lena i . placed

c lo_ to the miniature.

The miniature placed clOH to the 1__ creat.. he DIu-alon o f . huge .pac_hlp . Th e ac:to .. ar e placed ZOO feetIn the Hcll:ground , lined up .0 tha t they ap " . . r to bened. to the apllce.hlp. I t I . Important fo r the .....nllltureto blend perfectly with the Ilfe- . lz e background. I t I.uauaUy beat , therefonl , to ••_ml t le the mlnIature _ to

ap on loaollon . Th e model. and main ground plec. . arebui l t beforehand, but the f IDala.-ml t l } , need. to In ·clude dirt, N od (o r In thla c:a.e, anow), roc .b and twigsf rom the Ioc:dlon properly blended to merge with th ebac kg rou"d . (Photo . frOID All . . Fa.,to , .)

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


Above: The foreground miniature I .

complete ilnd ready for . e t t ing up

with HI e actor• . Note Hlat th e small

twig . on th e platform will blend In

with r_1 t rees In the background-

adding depth to the perllpective tIIu ·Ilion. A more deul l ed cons truct ion

art icle on th e technique of fore ·ground mlnlaturell WIIS featured a .

th e cover IItOry of CINEMAGIC " t .Right: The completed . equence . e en

from th e c: .mer . · . point -of view withframe blow -u p . from the orlgln.1

film. Thill technique waa used In Th e

Allen Factor.

C/NEMIIG/C " 6 35

7/28/2019 CineMagic #06 (1980)


STARLOG presents

A DON PUS. MASK-ERADE!A gallery of rogues from the most respected name in Hollywood makeup!

HideOUSly detailed In natural latex rubber, ShOW your frightening new face. select yourthese fUll-head masks are the most COlorful, favorite SCience-fiction or horror characterconvincing way to Change your appearance from th iS special offering, and use your Donfrom the neck up .Perfectforconventlons and Post mask as the basis for a complete costumeparties,YOU 'll create a sensation when you f irst creation. order today andget into a little fear!

-M. © 1919 20tn Ctntur-v·Fox Corp

1020 1021 102'

TM deslgnate5' ; ; ~ : ~ ; : ; : : ~ ~ : ~ " ' " 'lcture5 CorP •Pictures Corp_ I

g,!"l•@

•.!

j

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ! I ! ! ! ! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . ,_ N2001 Darth vader $49.99 _ *2021 I(lingon $64.99 I

0

8

_ _ "2003 Chewbacca 564.99 _ *2022 VUlcan Master $49 .99 I_ "2004 C 3PO $34.99 _ II 902 Coridlan Allen $43.99_ *2005 cantina Band MBR 544.99 _ It 905 Alien $43.99 I_ 1f2006 Tu sken Raider 544 .99 _ II 908 Sar'goth , Cobra $43.99 I_ ';2020 Spack $64 .99 _ " 304 Devil S 8.99 I_ *1002 Kong $59.99 *1017 The Count $59.99_ * 806 Werewolf $22 .99 =* 14 Gillis $22.99 I_ N 850 Phantom $24.99 _ " 854 GhOst Skull 524.99 I_ II 858 Gargoyle 524 .99 _ 111001 Dracula $59 .99 I

MailtO:STARLOG . . . . . . . .n.475 Park Avenue SOuth

Please add 52 .60 postage and handling forea ch mask ordered .

III

CineMagic #06 (1980)

Documents

Transcript of CineMagic #06 (1980)