A pUBLlcA'noN OF THE HONORARY PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY-AMERICAN CINEMA EDITORS, INC. .. __ . _ .. __ . 0_' _

I ) iARTICLES10F POST-PRODUCTION IMPORTANCE

FILMMAKERLEONARD NIMOYTREKKING THROUGHPOST-PRODUCTION

THE STATE OF THE EO'STOCK LIBRARIES DIW

, ~NEW SERIESA VIEW FROM THE BAY

The StackHouseMotion Picture Stock Shots 6922 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 621, Hollywood, CA 90028, (213) 461-0061

JimWatters

fil "What if we had an 1125-linehigh-definition TV system ...and then some-on Im. one invented something else with 2000 lines of resolution ...with tremen-dous latitude and contrast and unbelievable sensitivity to light. It would

• give you all of the flexibility you ever wanted, with a ready-made interna-tional standard. There would be no more built-in obsolescence of equipment. Itwould be the greatestinvention this industry has ever seen. We could call it 35 mm film ...Today we have a new breed of pro-ducers, directors, and cinematographers. They want every movie and TV program to be like an indi-vidual painting. As a result, the artistic quality of films has improved dramatically If we believe a pro-gram hasa future, we shoot and edit it on 35 mm film. We have more than 3000 feature film titles andthousands of TV episodes in our vaults. They are our most valuable assets.Whatever happens withhigh-definition TV we can bank on the 35 mm standard's being compatible. That's important becausewe aren't in this business for a year, or five years, or 10years. We are in this business forever."

Jim Watters is senior vice president/post production, Universal City Studios, Inc.

iCastmanMotion Picture Films

Fall 1988Vol. 38, No.3

AMERICAN

CINEMEDIlORA Publication of the Honorary Professional Society - American Cinema Editors, Inc.

FEATURES

EditorHoward Kunin, A.c.E.

Associate EditorDenise Abbott

Art DirectorRandi Goldstein

Editorial Departments:Irim Bin

Dann Cahn, A.C.E.Bob Bring, A.C.E.

ForeignGeorge Grenville, A.c.E.

PublisherDenne Goldstein

CoverDesign by Nancy NimoyPhotography by Gregory Schwartz

The Amer/can C/nemeditor is sponsored by American Cinema Editors, Inc., thehonorary professional society of editors and is devoted to film and video tapeediting and allied television and motion picture post·production. It does not neces-sarily reflect the official policy of the society, and signed articles express the viewsof their authors. Material may not be reproduced or photocopied in any form with-out the written permission of the publisher. For permission to reprint, please con-tact this publication.

Copyright © 1988, C.E. Publications

Business matters for A.C.E. Inc. should be addressed to:American Cinema Editors, Inc.

Oreck Association Management2410 Beverly Blvd., Suite 1, Los Angeles, CA 90057

(213) 660-4425

Editorial and business malters of American Cinemeditor magazine shouldbe addressed to:

C.E. Publications, P.O. Box 16490, Encina, CA 91416-6490.Phone: (818) 907-7351

4

The State of the Editor's Art12 Marketing the World on Film

Henri Ehrlich, Film Search

Computer Applications For Stock LibrariesPatrick Montgomery, Archive Film Productions

It Looks Better With Some AerialsMatthew Muller, MacGillivray Freeman Fi/ms

Special Photography For StockLouis Schwartzberg, Energy Productions

14 Film Maker Leonard NimoyTrekking Through Post-Production

20 A View From the BayNew Series Exploring Video andThe On-Line Bay

23 Nightmare on Stock StreetBeth Fordham

24 Ron Sawade Chases Lightning,Sun Bal/s, and Bald Eagles

26 Learn Electronic Editing?Michael Rubin

30 I Need A Sound Effect! Where Do I Get It?Laura Cohen

DEPARTMENTS6 From the Editor

16 Letters to the Editor16 In Memorium32 The Trim Bin34 Scene and Heard34 Index of Advertisers

ACE CREDOThe objectives and purposes of the American Cinema Editors are to advance

the art and science of the editing profession; to increase the entertainment vaiueof motion pictures by al/aining artistic pre-eminence and scientific achievementin the creative art of editing; to bring into close alliance those editors who desireto advance the prestige and dignity of the editing profession.

AMERICAN CINEMEDITOR

From ~he Editor.

"please pass the rye bread, Harry," said the man sittingto the right of the legendary Harry Cohn in the Colum-bia executive dining room. It was dinner time before

the first preview of the classic film, From Here To Eternity,and studio chief Cohn had gathered his intimate staff for din-ner prior to attending the event.

The right-hand man to Cohn this evening was one of hisfavorite editors, the late Bill Lyon. Cohn, immersed in conver-sation with his other neighbor at the table, ignored Lyon's sim-ple request. "Please pass the rye bread, Harry," repeated Lyon.But Cohn was still oblivious to the request for the bread bas-ket next to his plate. Someone else passed it across the table;Lyon reached in and took a piece. Suddenly, Cohn gloweredat Lyon and viciously slapped the slice out of his hand.

Lyon was indignant. "What was that for?""That's my rye bread!!" admonished Cohn.Silence engulfed the table. Cohn continued, "I found a lit-

tle bakery in Chicago that bakes this special for me. It's flownto me in Hollywood and costs $1 a loaf (editor's note: thiswas 1953 when that price was 3 times normal). The rest ofyou can eat the rolls!"

Lyon took the slice and threw it back in the basket. "Youcan have your lousy rye bread back!"

Cohn grabbed the piece and flung it onto Bill's plate. "It'syours. I won't eat that bread once you've touched it!" Cohnbellowed.

Bill Lyon related the preceding story to me some years ago,near the end of an illustrious career that included five Oscarnominations and two Oscars - one of them for the featureFrom Here ToEternity. I told him that I admired his courage,for it's inconceivable in the environment of today that any edi-tor would challenge his studio head at the executive diningtable. But Lyon didn't think there was any danger of upsettingCohn beyond the moment; Lyon and Cohn considered eachother "family" - and individuals within studio "families" werefiercely protective of each other.

Harry Cohn, Jack Warner, Sam Goldwyn, David O. Selz-nick, Darryl Zanuck, Walt Disney and Louis B. Mayer wereall studio chiefs who ran "hands on" operations with consider-able personal contact with employees such as editors. Theseeccentric moguls cast immense power over the well-being ofanyone in their respective studios, but they rewarded loyaltywith loyalty and treated their regular employees in a compas-sionate manner. Everyone of these titans built his empire fromsmall beginnings, and all of them were fond of, and relied heav-ily on, their immediate "families" of trusted employees.

Working in "show biz" was emotionally rewarding in thoseyears. People like Lyon felt that they were an integral part ofthe decision making process. But conditions have changed andtoday most studios are run as part of larger corporations, withan impersonal headquarters often geographically and/or psy-chologically separated from the entertainment production fa-cilities. It's unlikely that the head of such a company woulddiscuss a picture with his editor over dinner.

However, there is another, even larger, even more success-ful, American business that is still run with the same "familyemployee" atmosphere of filmland's mogul era. Look at com-puters. The majority of huge computer related firms were start-

6

ed from humble beginnings by bold entrepreneurs workingwith a small "family" of trusted employees - a mirror imageof the movie industry. And don't forget that the computer in-dustry owed its beginnings to a technological product thatcaught the attention of the public - and so did the movieindustry.

A large number of computer companies began, and still areheadquartered, in California; specifically in the Silicon Valleyof Northern California. Interestingly, some very successful en·terprises in our post-production industry are also located inthe same area. I was recently invited to visit three of them;the Skywalker ranch of George Lucas, the Grass Valley Groupplant in a forest to the north of Silicon Valley, and the CMXplant in the heart of computer country.

Creation of an attractive employee environment seems tobe a standard consideration in the high-tech world. I marveledat the setting of George Lucas' Skywalker ranch, where thE'magnificently equipped editors' rooms have French doorsopening to beautiful views of a lake surrounded by hillsides.

Everyone who has lost faith in American manufacturingcapabilities should have the opportunity to visit the "campus"or factory of the Grass Valley Group. Highly motivated em-ployees work in teams to achieve an output objective and settheir own hours to accomplish the work. Trucks come up thetwo lane road with basic raw materials like aluminum plates,wiring, and cardboard boxes; they go back down the road haul-ing away manufactured items like $300,000 switchers and oth-er editing and broadcast devices considered among the finestquality equipment manufactured anywhere in the world. Andit's not just an assembly operation. Circuit boards are com-pletely manufactured from raw metal, electro-plating is donein the plant, and all design/engineering takes place on the site;even the metal cases enclosing the products are cut, drilled,and formed on the premises.

The CMX plant rubs elbows with a potpourri of computerfirms. Again, a visitor has to be amazed at the motivated em-ployees' attention to detail. Every editing machine is specifi-cally configured and tested to the client's individual order, evendown to the checkout of each device or software program thatwill work with the equipment at the client's installation.

In Hollywood, there are companies that believe people nice-ties payoff. For example, an employee at Pacific Video or ThePost Group is invited to partake of a free lunch served on thepremises. The meal isn't always French cuisine, but people en-joy the savings in time and money and a chance to relax withtheir contemporaries. My guess is that enticing the staff tostay in the building for a half-hour lunch break is a very effi-cient manner to run a busy post-production operation.

I think more companies could profit from a careful lookat this tale of two industries. They say computers are the waveof the future and will improve the quality of life for the nextgeneration. Let's hope that the entertainment industry canshare some of the same bright tomorrow. It would be a mar-velous thing for all of us if we could emulate the growth, profits,and people-involvement of the computer industry. O

Howard Kunin, A.C.E.

Birds: African footage by Robin Lehman

The only stock worth watching.

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TIB, THE IMAGE 8ANK. TIB THE IMAGE BANK and FILM SEARCH are Trademarks of THE IMAGE BANK. INC. © 1988 The Image Bank. Inc.

Scene from the Motion Picture Koyaanisqarsi

Kodak Acquires MetroMetro Film Products, a Los Angeles

firm that offers secure destruction of mo-tion picture prints and also manufacturesmagnetic sound recording film, was re-cently acquired by Eastman Kodak. Bar-ry M. Stuitz, affiliate member of A.C.E.,is president of Metro.

The company will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kodak, reporting in-to the Motion Picture and AudiovisualProducts Division.

"The acquisition of Metro Film Prod-ucts provides Kodak with the opportu-nity to enhance our involvement in theindustry and to extend the range of ourproducts and services with the additionof magnetic recording materials," saidJoerg D. Agin, general manager, MotionPicture and Audiovisual Products Divi-sion. "In addition, it will ensure that ourcustomers have access to a continuingservice for securing and properly dispos-ing of motion picture release prints. Thisactivity supports an overall industry needto avoid opportunities for 'piracy' of fea-ture films."

VisitingEditors

On a motion by George Grenville,chairman of the Student Awards Com-mittee, the A.C.E. Board of Directors re-cently voted to inaugurate a "VisitingEditor" program.

This new program will provide visit-ing lecturers, on a short term basis, whowould share their experience and exper-tise on the art and craft of film or videoediting. Film schools would be obligat-ed to pay only costs for the duration ofthe stay of the "visiting editor."

Interested schools should contact theA.C.E. office at 213-660-4425 for addi-tional information.

OFFICERS

American Cinema Editors

John MartinelliPresident

Bernard BalmuthVice-President

DIRECTORSEdward M. Abroms Marsh Hendry

"Buzz" Brandt George Grenville

Bob Bring Carol LittletonMillie Moore

George HivelySecretary

Leslie L. GreenTreasurer

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8 AMERICAN CINEMEDITOR

That's the growing consensus about the MontagePicture Processor.® Indeed, film editors, directorsand producers prefer Montage for many reasons.Here are some:

• Most powerful, picture-oriented nonlinear system.Easily handles complex action shows. Montage combinesthe best attributes of film and video with the ease andflexibility of common PC word processors, so you canedit pictures and sound electronically without "crunchingnumbers." With unlimited creative options.

• Loading capacity: up to 4.5 hours of dailies. Criticallyimportant for directors accustomed to extensive shootingand printing numerous takes of any scene.

• Ideal for single- and multiple-camera film and televisionprojects: commercials, dramatic series, documentaries,music videos, and theatrical features.

• Perfect for all documentary and archival projects wherethe sheer volume of original program material requiresexhaustive record keeping and extensive manipulationof source footage.

• Designed to edit two sound tracks and one picture track,Montage tracks all three independently. You can trimpicture and sound separately, frame-by-frame. Makechanges with ease. Slip-sync. Create instant soundoverlaps. You can even lay a temporary music or effectstrack, or record a narration.

• Clips can be viewed, copied, lengthened, shortened, andplayed in any order desired - in real time - along withfades, dissolves, soft cuts and wipes between the scenes.Without requiring lab reprints or rerecording. You canstore and retrieve multiple versions of complete cuts forfurther evaluation at any time.

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• "Storyboard" printouts provide hard copy of digitizedpictures of head/tail frames, user notes, and cutlists.

• Easy to learn. Visual/tactile control of program material iseasily assimilated by film editors with no prior computerexperience.

• Familiar, film-style editing tools, including electronicwriting tablet and "grease pencil" to mark frames andwrite notes.

• Readily integrated into the established film post-production process. No waiting for videodiscs. No esotericequipment or non-standard tape transfers required.

• Generates frame-accurate, clean edit decision lists forelectronic auto assembly of 1" master and/or conformingoriginal negative.

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·The State of the

I

mercial channels open up around theworld, this potential is being recognizedas being global.

The merger of Film Search with theImage 'Bank typifies this new direction,and the combination of these two com-panies' resources puts them in a unique

MARKETING THE WORLDON FILM

by Henri EhrlichFilm Search

In1970, I worked for a year in a net-work film library, logging out-takesfrom news stories. On a typical day,

I would watch five to ten hours of foot-age that might include a Senate commit-tee hearing, a Vietnam War piece, a sto-ryan four-year-old cheerleaders, or Nix-on playing golf. I had the feeling of be-ing at the event, of looking through awindow at a piece of life and witnessinga moment in its pure unadulterated, un-edited state. All that footage was an in-credible tool for picture making! I onlywished I had all this existing imagery atmy fingertips, like paints, organized bysubject and style. Raw materials fromwhich to build textures, situations, en-vironments ....

As an editor and, later, producer ofentertainment and news programming,I used stock footage extensively,by itselfand mixed with original material. WhenI started Film Search in 1980,my dreamwas to be able to paint with film and notbe tortured in the process of getting thefootage. Now I think we're pretty closeto having a full set of paints.

Today, the film library/stock footagebusiness is at an interesting turning point.It is changing from a collection of pas-sive archives to a thriving, active mar-ketplace. The need for more program-ming at lower costs combined with newediting technologies, new outlets and for-mats, and an increasing public taste fora less linear, more impressionistic style,have created a growing demand for highquality existing images. Once dormantfilm libraries are suddenly realizingthere's a terrific potential out there formarketing their footage. As more com-12

position to develop a world-wide mar-ket. Film Search is creating an inventoryof footage selected from its network ofcinematographers and collections; it ismastering this inventory on 35mm filmas well as on digital and one-inch PALand NTSC tape. Thus, a client will beable to receivea negative or tape elementof the highest quality extremely rapidly.

The Image Bank is preparing its net-work of 45 exclusive domestic and inter-national offices for marketing of thefootage. These offices already licensephotography and illustration to agenciesand sponsors around the world and have

developed a strong brand name image intheir markets. The introduction of filmis a logical extension. Imagine being ableto access shots on virtually any subject,filmed by the best cinematographers inthe world, without the incredible hass-les usually associated with acquiringstock footage. That's when the creativepossibilities will start becoming reality.

In the not too distant future, a clientin Italy will be able to buy footage of atypical American small town, completewith high school football game and bar-becues, all shot on 35mm negative - alltalent cleared. The footage may comefrom a TV series out-takes or may havebeen shot the week before by a Film

Search-repped cinematographer. TheItalian client may discover he himselfowns some great footage of Alpine ski-ing and may want to market it throughImage Bank. Potential is there for a vi-tal, inter-active network of film collec-tions, cinematographers and producers.And, of course, I'll be extremely busyplaying with the paints.

COMPUTER AFOR STOCK

by Patrick MontgomeryArchive Film Productions

Inmany ways, searching for stock foot-age has always been like looking forthe proverbial needle in a haystack.

Once you'd found the right source, notalways an easy task, then you had to findthe particular shots you needed. At best,the library had a card catalog, with crossindexes to steer you in the direction ofthe right shots. Often the cards containedsketchy information which describedwhat the footage was about, rather thanthe images themselves. The cross index-es tended to be limited to the most gen-eral categories, like names, places andsubjects.

The next step was to view the footageitself, to see if it at all resembled whatthe card described, and most important,if the footage was what you needed. Suchan imprecise system meant that the shotswere often screened needlessly, resultingin unnecessary wear and tear on the foot-age itself. It also meant wasting a lot oftime.

All of this is beginning to change asstock footage libraries are starting to usecomputers for cataloging and for retriev-

ing the footage they hold. The same tech-niques are being applied by editors work-ing on projects involving a large amountof footage. Computers are also makingit easier to locate the right library.

One of the first benefits of the availa-bility of small, affordable, yet powerful,personal computers was the ability tobuild databases for a variety of applica-

PPLICATIONSLIBRARIES

tions. A database is simply a collectionof information which can be accessed.Databases are not new.A telephone bookis a database, as is a dictionary, an ency-clopedia, even a library card catalog.

At Archive Film Productions we'vechosen to create a database containingshot-by-shot descriptions of each roll offootage in our library. A staff catalogerscreens each roll and tries to describe thecontents and action of each shot, keep-ing in mind the same kind of terms whichmay later be thought of for retrieval. Themore detailed the description, the fasterit will be to zero-in on which footageshould be screened; though in general,no more than one sentence per shot isnecessary.

The potential uses of computers forfootage databases will continue to growas personal computers become cheaperand more powerful. No database will everprovide the perfect solution, but a goodone can cut search time down to a frac-tion and locate shots that otherwisemight be overlooked.

IT LOOKS BETTER WITHSOME AERIALS

by Matthew MullerMacGillivray Freeman Films

You're polishing your final cut whenthe creative department calls witha great idea - "Weneed some aeri-

als!"-and the show locks in a week."No problem," you say.Then you scramble to plan out what

you need: an experienced aerial pho-tographer, a good pilot, and some pray-ers for a steady copter. Let's see - a sta-ble camera mount - is it compatible withthe aircraft? Where can one get a spin-ning disk to ward off bugs and droplets?

Though most people in the industryare familiar with the general libraries, it'sstartling how many don't know about the

specialty libraries. Some deal in timelapse, others in underwater or animals.Our forte is aerial footage, nature scenes,and aesthetic sports. Wehave a speciallydesigned belly mount that was used formost of our aerials, and it is steadyenough to have even filmed smoothIMAX aerials.

The more specialized the library, themore expensive the footage. Ours is notarchival or acquired; it was carefully andpainstakingly produced. You will findthat it is still less expensive, and far easi-er and faster, to buy the shots you needthan to go shoot them yourself.

SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPHYFOR STOCK

by Louis SchwartzbergEnergy Productions

After graduating from film school,I lived in Northern California. Iwanted to do something in film,

hopefully something that would take ad-vantage of my plentiful commodity, time.It would also have to go easy on my shortcommodity, money.

I had a strong sense of wondermentat nature phenomena. With my Mitch-ell 35mm pin-registered camera I startedto photograph nature, trying to capturean aurora you couldn't see with the hu-man eye.

Time-lapse photography could takeme hours, or even days to get one shot,but it didn't use much film and occupiedall my free time. Nature phenomena suchas sunrises, sunsets, clouds, moons, fog,rain, etc. were impossible to capture atnormal camera speed but could be filmedand inserted into my growing library. Adense redwood forest was too dark tophotograph normally, but by exposingeach frame 1 or 2 seconds I could evensee the majestic light shafts movethrough the trees. Flowers would open

or close, and I could show a mushroomgrowing before your eyes.

It's all high quality, first generationmaterial shot on pin-registered stock,suitable for title backgrounds or any typeof film or video compositing. A clientcan take a shot with a barn, grass, sky,and actors. If he goes onto a digital ef-fects device such as a Harry, then he canget a prettier sky out of our library toreplace the lackluster sky photographedwith the production shot.

Now we also shoot people, such as achild running through a field or a girljogging on a street. All this material isalso shot pin-registered for optical use,and it has all been cleared legally withthe recognizable people. I feel like a pi-oneer extolling the virtues of shootingnew library material. It's a relatively newconcept from the traditional library func-tion of selecting archival footage fromprevious usage, but I think clients wouldbe wise to consider the idea of first gener-ation images provided by a library spe-cialist. O

13

FILMMAKERLEONARD NIMOY

"I'm concernedmanagement willassume electronicequipment means

editors should workfaster. And fastermeans formula. "

" Right now, I'm a happy guy," saysLeonard Nimoy, currently in thefinal stage of post-production on

The Good Mother at Disney Studios. De-spite a whirlwind 12-14 week post sched-ule, the 57-year-old TV star turned filmmaker took time out to discuss his direc-torial work. "The picture is really com-ing together. I'm very proud of it. But,"he adds, peering over tortoise-shell glass-es, "I have no way of knowing how thepublic will respond."

The film promises to be as controver-sial as Sue Miller's 1986novel. Diane Kea-ton stars as Anna Dunlap. Freed froma passionless marriage, she finds truelove and a new self, until her ex-husbandaccuses her lover of molesting their five-year-old daughter.

"This is my fourth picture and it's theleast predictable commercially," admitsNimoy. "It's going to spark debate. Thefilm deals with the promises of the six-ties being unrealizable in the more con-servative eighties. For me, it's also a com-ment on the continuing inability of oursociety to deal with motherhood and sex-14

uality in the same woman. I just wantto tell the story powerfully and intimate-ly, rather than present a propagandapiece for anyone point of view."

After navigating Star TrekJII and StarTrek IV to respectable reviews and boxoffice earnings, Nimoy broke throughwith Three Men and a Baby, the mostsuccessful of last year's rash of babyfilms. His directorial style calls for fewcuts, fewer takes. "I'll get a full page orpage-and-a-half into one shot that justkeeps moving." Numerous takes, he says,are time-consuming and confusing inpost production. "What forces me to domore printing than I'd like is when a per-formance changes in the masters. Then,I'll need matching material for each mas-ter because I'm not sure which I'm go-ing to use. But in The Good Mother, thespontaneity of performance was far moreimportant than matching. Diane Keatonneeded to be allowed to breathe and notworry about her hands. It created a bigheadache for me but it was worth it."

An avid photographer, Nimoy has pre-cise ideas about framing, composition,

lenses and even the type of film that'sused. "I know exactly what I'm lookingfor when I look through a lens. I'll lockthe camera and tell the operator wherethe shot should start and end."

His acting background gives him a fur-ther edge. "I understand what an actor'strying to do and how to help," he says."If an actor's having trouble in a scene,I can usually tell why. As a result, actorsquickly feel safe with me and they canstart to breathe."

He goes out of his way to avoid ADR(Automatic Dialogue Replacement) be-cause he knows how difficult it is torecapture the emotion of a moment. "Inever put actors through an ADR ses-sian just to get a pristine track," he says."I try to deal with ADR problems on theset. Faced with an unavoidable soundproblem, I'll get a wild track immediate-ly. It may not sync perfectly but then I'min the hands of my ADR editor. At leastit's been recorded under the same condi-tions so I feel I'm closer to the originalsound quality."

On the other hand, Nimoy finds greatadvantage in using a loop group (extem-poraneous voice actors). "They're bril-liant at things like getting in on a couplegesturing at a table across the room. Theycan bring a picture to life."

Nimoy would have been directingtwenty years ago had TV's Star Trek notsoared into the stratosphere. "I directedtheatre, belonged to a director's trainingprogram at MOM, and spent five yearsas an acting coach. I was moving towarda directing career when the pilot sold."His side trip to where no man has gonelasted three years, followed by In SearchOf, Equus on Broadway, and film roles.

When Paramount asked him to act inStar TrekJII, he thought, "I've got to stopdabbling. So I said I'd like to direct."True, he'd never directed a $16 millionspecial effects film, but he felt qualifiednonetheless. He understood economy af-ter working in early TV, when episodesof Sea Hunt and Highway Patrol wereshot in two or three days. "I learned whatcould be accomplished when time was

AMERICAN CINEMEDITOR

TREKKING THROUGHPOST-PRODUCTION

of the essence." Then in 1964, heproduced a low-budget film called DeathWatch, which was cut by the late VernaFields and Peter Zinner, A.C.E. "I spentmonths helping out in the cutting roombecause I couldn't afford to hire an ex-tra assistant editor." The toughest partof making Star Trek III was the post-production of special effects. "It's a fardifferent process from being an actor onthe set when blue-screens are done orplates are shot," he says. "First passes ofopticals are raw and rough, and I didn'tknow what I was supposed to be study-ing. I asked a lot of questions. Is this thecolor you're asking me to accept, orshould I only be concerned with themove? By Star Trek IV, I could look ata first pass and know whether it was rightor wrong."

Nimoy considered Star Trek IV to be"a very complicated, detail-orientedmovie."He found the use of story boardsindispensable because of the complexi-ties of the film's special effects. "I laideverything out - what was going to beminiature or a blue-screen optical. Thiswas done far in advance because specialeffects can take a long time." For in-stance, a sequence of the captured ene-my ship flying under the Golden GateBridge took nearly as long to shoot asthe movie itself. "ILM rigged a minia-ture ship that ran on wires under a minia-ture bridge. One hundred and thirty takeslater, we got a spectacular shot."

An enormous amount of advancework also went into the miniatures andmock-ups of whales. Except for 20 sec-onds of actual whales breaching the wa-ter, the rest of the whale footage wascreated. "The special effects guys shouldhave won an award," Nimoy flatly states."I sincerely believe they didn't becausethey were so successful at camouflagingtheir work. The whales looked so authen-tic that people assumed they were real."

The film's spectacular soundmontage - suggesting a universalforce - was achieved during the dubbingwith actual humpback whale sounds."Whales have a recognizable, recordableFALL 1988

series of sounds which become a song,"explains Nimoy, something of an experton the subject. "Humpbacks all over theworld make exactly the same series ofsounds at any given time of the year.Once they finish a song and change it,they never repeat it. It's like a song ofthe month club." Becaus~ the melodicwhale sounds were crucial to the film,Nimoy wanted to tie them into the filmscore and hired composer Larry Rosen-man to work with the sound effects creweven before shooting began.

He's developed a "great relationship"with Peter Berger, A.C.E. Berger's beenhis right-hand man on Star Trek IV,Three Men and a Baby, ~andnow TheGood Wife. "Our sensiqilities are thesame," observes Nimoy, who always en-trusts the pre-dubb to Berger. WhenBerger was unable to be ill Toronto dur-ing production of Three Men and a Ba-by, Nimoy had to decide whether to hirea new editor or shoot the film with Bergerin Los Angeles. He chose the latter. "Wetalked on the phone every~ay. Peter wasjust a day behind me so it worked outbeautifully."

Once shooting was completed, Nimoyand Berger shrunk the picture from 153minutes down to its present 99. No easytask. They spent a month in Lake Tahoe,where Nimoy owns a home, so they couldwork without distraction. The equipmentwas trucked up, space was rented and adouble system was set up in a local thea-tre on various afternoons. "Peter showedme a first assembly within a week afterI'd finished shooting," says Nimoy. "Wemade our first pass on the'KEM; it tooka week to eliminate 20 minutes. On the

second pass, we got another 20 minutesout of it. Every five days we'd run thepicture, maybe a dozen times over sever-al weeks."

As a safety precaution, they made acassette of every cut. "If someone askedus to go back to a previous cut, we hada record, amap."

This lead1 to the topic of post-production eÎectronics. "I hate to be anti-future," Nimby says warily, "but I thinkthe drawbacks are dangerous. I'm con-cerned editirtg will cease to be a hands-on, emotion1tl process. I'm concernedmanagement will assume electronicequipment n\eans editors should workfaster. And faster means formula. Go tothe master, two shot, close-up, close-up,and get out. It takes time to playa read-ing. Editingl requires an artistry andcraftsmanship that electronic equipmentjust doesn't lend itself to."

He suspects the efficiency of electronicpost-production is overstated as well."Sure, it's easy to pull up a take. But ifyou want to J),laywith it, then you're intoa very complicated electronic process.Suddenly, it'~ not so fast anymore."

Currently, Nimoy is donning his Dr.Spack ears and memorizing lines for StarTrek Vwhich!begins production this fall.William Shatner is directing, and Nimoyis relieved to take a back seat this time."I need the change of pace," he says ear-nestly. "I hav~n't stopped working sinceStar Trek III. I'm lucky to be so busy but,at the same time," he concludes with asigh, "I'm re~dy to let someone else as-sume the responsibility." D

by Denise Abbott15

to the editorDear Editor:

The article on the history of theMoviola in your current issue is an ex-cellent and much needed addition to theunfortunately limited history of post-production. It was mentioned that theMoviola was featured in a film by HugoHaas. There is an earlier instance worthnoting.

In Stand In (1937; edited by OttoLovering and Dorothy Spencer), Hum-phrey Bogart is seen as the head of a fail-ing studio supervising the editing of thefilm, and after everyone is laid off, at-tempting to finish the editing himself.

Rick Mitchell

STOCKFOOTAGE

Dear Howard:Your interesting article on the Movio-

la recalled to mind the times back in thetwenties and thirties when Bob Hornerand Bill Austin rented the cutting roomsback of the Moviola Grill and, no mat-ter how late we worked, Iwan Serrurierwould be back in his office working onimprovements to the Moviola.

I had to rent a Moviola for an outsideproduction while spotting titles for theColumbia Foreign Department. Nonewere available, so Iwan Serrurier took medown in the basement and let me use oneof his first machines. He told me he hadmade it before the intermittent move-ment. To stop the action as each framepassed up in the viewer, he had a slit oflight go down, thus stopping the actionof each frame. It was like the light in arevolving barrel, with one stave out.

Bill O'Hara

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Editor:After 20 good years in the film indus-

try, we moved to Vermont. Nobodywrites songs about "Moon rise overHollywood," and the moon rise over Ver-mont is to be seen at least once in a life-time. I'm glad the strike is over and hopeyou all enjoy full employment this sea-son. Hello to all.

Richard Fetterman

In MemoriumSamuel L. Beetley

Samuel L. Beetley, charter ACE.member, died September 15 after an il-lustrious éareer in film and television.

Beetley got his start in 1933 as an ap-prentice editor at RKO Studios where hiscredits included Macao, The Half Breed,Out of the Past, and Sons of theMusketeers.

He received Oscar nominations for hiswork on Doctor Doolittle and The Lon-gest Day, and won the ACE. EddieAward for the latter. His work in televi-sion included Four Star Theatre, Good-year Theatre, and MASH. He won Em-mys for his work on The Blue Knight andMedical Center,

Beetley, who served one term onACE. Board of Directors, retired in1984. He lived with his wife and daugh-ter's family in Santa Cruz, California atthe time of his death. Samuel L. Beetleyis survived by his wife Margaret, fourdaughters, 13 grandchildren, and 13great-grandchildren.

Michael Pozen

Michael "Mike" Pozen, ACE., passedaway on August 9 at the age of 68. Heis survived by his wife, Gloria, and twochildren, Joseph and Melissa.

Starting out as an assistant sound andmusic editor after WWII, Pozen becameone of the most successful editors inHollywood. He eventually won an Em-my for his work on Gunsmoke.

An affable man and a terrific story-teller, Pozen is warmly remembered byclose friend Walt Hannemann: "His loveof music was amazing. Mike had a col-lection of over four thousand records anda wide circle of friends with which toshare and enjoy them. He was the 'hap-py fellow,' a credit to his craft, and afriend of many. May the voices of thesinging angels have the fidelity to bepleasing to Michael's ears."

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With that in mind, it's easy to understand why the BVE-9000,BVE-900 and BVE-600 editors differ,yet share Sony's keyoperat-ing controls and features. For instance, they all automaticallydetect and identify the type of Sony VTR being used and set theappropriate control parameters through RS-422 serial control

ports. Plus, theycan read ControlTrack,Time Codeand performvideo/audio splitedits.The list offeatures goes onand on, so byall means,read on.

The BVE-9000. State-Of-The-Art That's Top-Of-The-Line.The Sony BVE-9000 is one of the most flexible and pow-

erful editing systems in the world. It's designed to save themost precious commodity of all: time.

Among its significant innovations are multi-edit previewand full assembly look ahead. This allows you to preview anentire sequence of up to 999 events, before actually having torecord a single edit. And then, with the flick of a fewkeystrokes, you can automatically record the entire program.

Of course, there are many BVE-900other incredible features thathelp you control your entireediting facility. For one thing,the BVE-9000 can workwith 28 separate devices. Italso has an optional colormenu display that's userfriendly and programmablefor layout and color.

What's more, ourDynamic Motion ControlLearn-With-Create and

switcher Learn-With-Create features allow you to record a move without having to re-rehearse it. In addition, the temporary record assignment greatly speeds up multi-layering.And the most complete set of test diagnostics in the industry helps reduce system downtime.Nowonder this top-of-the-line editing system can meet all your present and future needs.

The BVE -900. State-Of-The-Art Technology And State-Of-The-Art Economy:The next best thing to editing on a BVE-9000 is editing on a BVE-90o. It, too, is an

easy-to-use system and economically offers technical advancements and expandability.It controls up to fourVTR's in any

AjB roll edit. So you can performsync roll and sync play.In addition,the BVE-900 gives you full controlof video switchers and audiomixers, including fader selectionand VCAcontrol for split audio/video edits.

What's more, its easy-to-usemenu driven display puts editaccessibility at yourfingertips.The BVE -600. State-Of-The-Art Technology EvenMore Economically:

The BVE-600 is our mosteconomical unit. It allows youto control three VTRs (twoplayers and one recorder).Which, depending on your needs, may be more than enough. Youhave the power to dissolve,wipe, or superimpose editing sequences, without the need for an external video switcher.Our optional built-in component/composite video switcher offers a selection of 10wipepatterns. That, with our built-in MXP-29Audio Mixer interface, make A/B roll editing a reality.

Of all the benefits of using Sony editing control units, perhaps the greatest is that theyform an easy-to-use system.Which means you can connect them toSonyVTRs, switchers, audio mixers and video monitors. All of whichare serviced by Sony.

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+0Vtewm~ ITlffiJŒJ

This ma'rks the first article in a newseries within the American Cinemeditor.In early issues we hope to inform ourfilm-oriented readers about terms, pro-cedures, and equipment with which theymay not be familiar in the on-line bayor video environment. Subsequent arti-cles will delve more deeply into the vid-eo post-production environment.

ter generators, a small audio mixing con-sole, and all sorts of monitoringequipment.

An editing system synchronizes thematerial and equipment. It commandsthe switcher and character generator, andtakes control of the tape recorders sothey're at the right place at the right time.

Many of the optical procedures doneon film in an optical printer are done invideo on a switcher. Dissolves, fades,wipes, split screens, etc. are done in thismanner. Readers familiar with film pro-cedure should note that 95070of the filmoptical effects you would do on an opti-cal printer are done in video in an editbay. Generally, all simple effects are donewith a switcher, ADO, Encore, orKaleidoscope.

All digital-effects devices give you theability to take a frame of video and

What Everyone Should KnowAbout On-Line

The basic on-line room or edit bayin the video world contains 3 or 4video tape playback and 1 record-

ing machine. An edit bay will have a vid-eo switcher, digital effect devices,charac-

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20

manipulate it around the screen. Theframe can be twisted, turned, spun,reduced, blown up, moved, or even sub-jected to additional perspective. A frameturned on its side will appear as thin asa piece of paper.

TitlesA title can be created by shooting an

art card with a camera or by using acharacter generator such as a Chyron,Vidifont, Abakas, etc. Even a Macintoshor Amiga computer, with the right videooutput boards, can create the raw titleimage; there are now approximately 150commercially available character gener-ators. A film title can also be injectedinto the video system if shot white overblack and transferred to video tape.

If the title is to be super-imposed overa scene, the same choices are availableas in film. Titles can be white, colored,outlined, etc.-the video switcher doesthe actual matting of the title over thebackground image.

All character generators put out vid-eo images for the title itself. While oneoutput of the generator puts out full col-or, another output from the same charac-ter generator is simultaneously creatingthe same information in white on black.The second output serves as the matteand includes drop-shadow information.It is known as the alpha or key channel.

These images are fed into a videoswitcher, which subsequently uses thematte to cut a placement hole into thebackground. At the same time, theswitcher also takes the full color imageand fills the hole created by the matte.The matting procedure is much like thatdone in film titles.

AMERICAN CINEMEDITOR

In film you use a hold-back matte tocut a hole in the old image and then putin a new image to fiII that hole. In video,hold-back mattes perform the samefunction as they do in film, but there aredifferent kinds. In title work a matte keyuses a white letter to punch a hole in thebackground, then fills it with a title im-age from another source. A luminancekey punches a hole in the backgroundand fills it with the title from its ownsource.

Analog/Digital Comparison

A frame of standard analog video im-age can be represented by a series of waveforms, similar to the way a sample cur-rent coming out of a wall plug wouldlook if plotted. However, the video im-age becomes much more complex as vid-eo equipment alters the voltages, fre-quencies, wave lengths, etc. of images.

Analog video is still the quality choiceif the video recording is only going down1 or 2 generations. If you go 20 genera-tions down on analog video, the ampli-tudes and clarity of the signal becomedegraded because you pick up increas-ing amounts of video noise or distortionin each generation. The processing equip-ment doesn't know how to deal with it,so the signal you see on TV gets dirty.

Digital ~ffects

The benefit of a digital recorder is thatit stores only computer instructionsthroughout the subsequent re-recordingprocess. No matter how many times theimage is manipulated, the digital recorderis only recording computer instruc-tions - not new generations of actual im-ages. The computer doesn't knów onegeneration from another and wiII repro-duce a multiple-generation effect shotwith the same quality as a first genera-tion shot.

A frame of video image converted in.to the digital domain becomes a mass ofcomputer data. Every dot on the TVscreen or monitor, those you can see andthose you can't, represents a pixel of in-formation. In the digital process these'pixels can be controlled or altered; eachone of the millions of pixels in everyframe has an address, value, and color.By controlling the pixels, the computercan have infinite control of the digitalvideo frame.

Until a few years ago, it was not feasi-ble to record digital video information;the available computer-based equipmentdidn't have enough memory to record allthe necessary information about thehuge number of pixels. For instance, atime-base corrector is usually a box aboutFALL 1988

19" wide and 12" high. It takes that biga box to process the information of onevideo frame at a time.

Typically, the industry uses digitalrecorders to do images one layer at atime, just like film optical printers oper-ate. They block out one thing and thenfiII in the next layer, etc. Images can godown hundreds of generations and neverlose any quality.

D-l, D-2 Digital FormatThere are two formats agreed upon by

the industry to store and process infor-mation. They are:1) Dl Component digital or CCIR 601standard2) D2 Composite digital

Readers who are familiar with the oldTechnicolor 3-strip film process can eas-ily appreciate the difference between Dland D2 digital formats. Dl is analogousto the 3-strip film process; colors aredivided into 3 distinct separations for

Chyron Character Generator

processing. Again using a film negativeexample, D2 digital composites all thecolor signal together in the same man-ner as an Eastman negative, and in thesame manner as standard analog I"machines have always combined pictureinformation. ABP FA

D2 is the more economical format. Itcan be used in combination with analogequipment in the on-line bay of today.A D2 recorder used in such an environ-ment would take the analog video infor-mation and convert it to digital comput-er data so that it can be digitally storedand altered. A D2 recorder then becomesthe digital replacement for what other-wise would be an analog I" or 3/4" orVHS tape machine.

There is a trend toward D2, to use dig-ital in order to accomplish all the thingswe now do in editing rooms in the ana-log domain. This would replace the ana-log tape recorder, the source of the mostsignificant loss of quality in the on-line

continued on page 22

WE TALK FILM.WE TALK TAPE.

l

21

22

Kaleidoscope'"

VIEWcontinued from page 21

environment. D2 recording eliminates90070of the signal degradation and willwork in existing bays.

CostThe average on-line room costs about

$750,000. If you add special effectsequipment, like an ADO or a digital discrecorder, the cost goes to the $1,200,000range. Obviously, special configurationscan cost even more.

A basic room rents for $400/450 hour.If you add a digital effects device, it willcost another $200-300 an hour; addinga digital recorder adds approximately an-other $200-300 an hour.

There is a limit to how effectively anon-line editor can handle a lot of equip-ment at one time. Load the room tooheavily and the editor's cough or walkto the coffee pot can cost the client $100in time. O

by Howard Kunin

The American Cinemeditor would liketo thank the following for their assistancein the preparation of this article:Joe Benadon, President, Action

VideoRandy Blim, Senior Vice-President,

Pacific VideoBill Breshears, President, Laser EditSam Holtz, Chairman of the Board,

Action VideoRich Thorne, Senior Vice-President,

The Post GroupAMERICAN CINEMEDITOR

Nightmare On Stock Streetby Beth Fordham

Beauty And The Beast

INT. DARK DINGHY ROOM-DAY(we think)FILM CANS AND SHORT ENDS ARESCATTERED EVERYWHERE. THEPLACE IS A REAL MESS. WE MOVEIN WHERE WE SEE FROM BEHINDA HUMAN BEING ON THE PHONE.

HUMAN BEINGI understand. A wide shot of a goril-la eating an ice cream sundae whilewalking down Melrose. For the on-linetomorrow. Sure. No problem.

Sound familiar? Alright, perhaps notto THAT extreme, but close. WEL-COME TO THE WONDERFULWORLD OF STOCK FOOTAGE. Star-ring our dear friends, "The Producers"(applause) ... "The Editors" (cheer) ...and the ever so wonderful "StockHouses" (double applause). Each envi-sioning the perfect POV, that astonish-ingly awesome aerial ... each with his orher own definition of "stock footage."

First, the producers. Their definitionfalls somewhere between what they for-

got to shoot but know they can "borrow"from a movie they've recently screened.Like the flag at half-mast with the baldeagle flying by and winking at the cam-era. Wasn't that in the last Coppollafilm?

The editors, on the other hand, havetheir own idea of what the producerswant, but somehow there's always lastminute changes. We'll blame that on theproducers' wives. The editors like mostof what you show them, but they wantplenty of backup ... just in case theproducers' wives don't like it.

And finally, the stock houses. IFthey've got the shot you want, there're 200short ends that YOU get to screen andthen discover only 1 is a possibility. Or,if they're busy, they just don't have it.Best advice - call back and talk to adifferent librarian. And don't EVER for-get the one that comes through for you.That is your real FRIEND and must geton the Christmas card list. I f you forget,he or she will too, and you'll find your-self with a 16mm on Melrose.

It's just a phone call away.Footage from silent films,feature films, newsreels, doc-umentaries, industrial filmsand more. Fully cleared foruse in your productions.

Our computerized systemassures fast access. Call orwrite for a free brochure andsample reel.

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FALL 1988 23

Hunting Hero Shots

Cinematographer Ron Sawadespent a week at LAX (Los AngelesInternational Airport) this sum-

mer in pursuit of a single spectacularshot. "My goal was to get a 747 taking

off with a fiery sun ball behind it," herecalls. "Simultaneously, I wanted the en-gine heat to distort the sun baIL" Afterseven grueling days on the runway,Sawade had little to show for his efforts,

Contact:DAVID R. MILLER MIKE MINKOW JON STERN6860 Lexington Ave., Hollywood, CA 90038 (213) 460-4111

24

ROD Sawade (SUD Balls, aD~

but he remained undeterred. He wouldwait indefinitely, if necessary, for the"magic" to happen. It eventually did. Us-ing high speed equipment, he capturedthe breathtaking lift-off on film. "I goteverything I wanted," he says happily,"plus the plane wheels folding up at thesame time."

Camping out at LAX is standard farefor Ron Sawade, who heads one of themost unique stock footage libraries inHollywood. The 44-year-old Sawadespecializes in outdoor footage - storms,lightning, sunsets, sunrises, moons,clouds, and time lapse. As he puts it, "Wecarry the hard to get footage that otherlibraries overlook." He's perhaps bestknown, however,for his spectacular cata-logue on the bald eagle, which was vir-tually undocumented prior to his in-volvement.

The common denominator toSawade's work is that none of it is ordi-nary. A self-proclaimed perfectionist,Sawade refuses to settle for anything lessthan "hero shots," a standard that some-times makes his job difficult.

Lightning, for instance-a subjectmost cinematographers would ratherignore - is a Sawade specialty. He fre-quently travels desert regions during themonsoon season looking for spectacu-lar bolts of electricity. In addition to dan-ger, lightning poses several creativedilemmas. "The majority of lightning oc-curs inside the cloud, and is visible lessthan ten percent of the time," he explains.Determining what point on the compassthe lightning is going to strike is anotherdifficulty. "You're rolling a lot of film at90 cents a foot and just hoping some-thing happens in front of it." Lightningis invariably accompanied by heavy rainso weather protection is a must. Finally,although lightning photographs better atnight, it rarely occurs after dark. "You'relooking for that rare visitor," saysSawade, who scours the desert for weeksat a time in his Blazer truck. Sometimeshe's lucky enough to be accompanied byhis wife,Sue, an accomplished sound edi-tor, who frequently remains at home torun the business.

Has Sawade ever gone to great lengthsand come back empty-handed? "Moreoften than you'd think," he concedes. "Iwent to Arizona three times last year, andhad to fold up and come home. It just

AMERICAN CINEMEDITOR

lases Lightning,Raid Eagles

wasn't happening. If the air's dirty there'sno reason to even turn on the camera."

Of all his wilderness treks, none com-pares to Sawade's efforts to document thebald eagle. His quest began in the early'70s with his intention to create an hour-long documentary on our national sym-bol, an endangered species. A formersound editor and assistant cameraman,Sawadewas dissatisfied with working un-der production schedules that sacrificedcraftsmanship. He saw the eagle projectas a wayto launch his own film company.

Accompanied by a small crew ofvolunteers and 1500pounds of cameraequipment, Sawade journeyed deep intothe Alaskan rain forest for the first timein the summer of '72. He inspected 54nests, or "tubs", before finding one thatwas filmable. In a tree uphill from thetub, 10 stories off the ground, he builtan enclosed, camouflaged platform. The"blind" was constructed at night so as notto scare off the eagles. "The eagles heardlots of rummaging but they're used togrizzly bears making noise," he says.

For the next three months, Sawade in-habited the blind and filmed the glori-ous eagles. "My intent wasn't to simplyrecord eagles as in a documentary, butto go for broke, go for the hero shot,"he explains. "We used back lighting, hadeagles fly out of sun balls and do cart-wheels in the air." He built a rifle scopeon the camera to help locate and trackthe birds. Eagles travel at 60-80 miles perhour so every frame had to be shot inslow motion. "Telephoto combined withslow-motion photography is probably thetoughest combination there is," he saysknowingly.

Sawade returned to Alaska for addi-tional eagle footage during the summersof 1973 and 1975. New and upgradedequipment aided his effort. He switchedfrom a l6mm Milliken to an Arri III - ahigh speed 35mm. Using a Nikkor 600F4 lens, the sharpest lens of its type, hewas able to get in tight enough on theeagles "to see the expression on theirfaces."

Unfortunately, by the time he'dgathered enough footage to produce hishour-long program, the market fordocumentaries had dried up. "Wehad 15-20 hours of film and nowhere to placeit." Despite tremendous disappointment,Sawadesalvaged the situation. He placeda small portion of the footage in a TVFALL 1988

commercial for Whirlpool. The spot wona Clio Award for Best Cinematographyand became one of the longest runningcommercials in history. Its successmarked the beginning of Sawade's stockfootage library.

Because he shoots everything onspeculation, Sawade must weigh the costof filming a subject against the odds ofit paying for itself. The suppressed priceof stock footage ($35 a foot) makes it in-creasingly difficult to break even. "In or-der to remain in business, I have to chargethe same as everyone else - regardless ofhow tough a shot is," he says, adding hehasn't yet recouped the cost of his 1985trip to Alaska. "If prices were lifted, therewould be a dramatic improvement inwhat's available to producers. Camera-men and assistants with leisure timewould be more inclined to explore shoot-ing stock footage."

Despite the enormous financial andtime commitment, Sawade finds it im-possible to stay away from Alaska forlong. Currently, he's devising a slowfocusing mount specifically for shootingeagles. "Every time I go, I wonder whyI put myself through it," he admits witha laugh. "My clothes are perpetually wetand the greatest luxury on earth is a hotshower. I get so fed up with the damp-

ness, the hardship, the dried food ... allthe inconveniences. But as soon as I'm20 minutes from Los Angeles, I hit thesmog and the traffic, and I wonder whyI returned. Six months later, I can't waitto leave again."

Working with eagles has generated adiscipline that makes everything elseseem easy-especially in Hollywoodwhere he frequently does second unitwork. "I recently had a tracking shot ofa Mercedes through traffic for a chasescene which ended on a close-up of thedriver's sun glasses. The producers wor-ried it was a tough shot, but it was noth-ing. The Mercedes was only going 25-30miles an hour. And using a mild telepho-to instead of a super telephoto was apiece of cake."

Whether he's filming eagles or titlebackgrounds, Sawade approaches eachsubject from the same filmic point ofview."I treat the movie camera likea viewcamera and wait for the magic moment,"he explains. "It's worth driving an hourone wayor another to get something spe-cial in the foreground for a sunset-something to watch and behold," he con-cludes with a shrug. "If you put yourselfin the way of opportunity, and removeyour blinders ... things happen." D

by Denise Abbott

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"Walker's book is a treasure chest ofhistorical tidbits and anecdotal gems,worth reading by anyone wholoves film lore."

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~-------------------------------------------------------~25

Learn ElectronicEditing?

Electronic editing.It's not film. It's not really tape. But

it is something else. It is non-linear, ran-dom access, real-time, frame accurate,practically instantaneous, and "just likea flatbed ... "It always seems to be thelatest thing, revolutionary, Emmyawardwinning, Academy Award winning,offering incredible time savings, cost sav-ings, and providing the ultimate in crea-tive flexibility. Yawn. So what's new?Well, they're all new, improved,'Mark 2,updated, and more reliable than they everwere before. As an editor, you have ahandful of systems to learn, just to cov-er yourself: CBS/Sony, Montage, Edit-Droid, Laser Edit, Ediflex, BHP Touch-vision, CMX 6000. They're either video-tape based, laserdisc based, or "hybrid,"

by Michael Rubin

and unfortunately, like the proverbialsnowflake, no two are exactly alike.

I have my favorites, but that isn't real-ly important. What is important is that5 years ago, every television show shotof film was edited on film. By film edi-tors. Using upright Moviolas the sameway your father did it, and his father ...

Today few TV shows edit on film. AndI would wager features are not too farbehind. Every producer wants to savemoney and thus everybody wants to editon tape, using computers. And the peo-ple who should be doing all this editinghave often never owned a VCR and maynever have seen a Pc. To these people,"key" is a number, not a button; "code"is for work print, not for software. Thetimes, they are a'changin ...

16mm Picture Converted to 35mm Take-Up 3,600.0016mm Sound Converted to 35mm Take-Up 1,750.00Take-Up Arms 16 to 35mm (Pix or Snd). . . . . . .. 775.00Cutter Picture Conversion 16 to 35mm 2,900.00Cutter Sound Conversion 16 to 35mm. . . . . . . . .. 1,600.00

(818) 845-1755 from VALLEY

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26

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These new systems might make editingsimpler, but they often do things morebizarre than anything ever seen on aKEM.

In the early days of electronic editingsystems, one reluctant editor got a nose-bleed during a rough editing session.Production came to a halt. Corporationsa.nd manufacturers were notified. Stockchanged hands. The wildfire rumor: theeditor had suffered a stroke. The head-line never ran, but I can picture it: "Edit-ing system kills Oscar winner" (or if youare a Daily Variety fan, "Hot Pix Sys OffsPro"). A volatile and ever-changingworld has evolved where there once wasonly calm.

The most common complaint is alsothe most commonly dismissed by theequipment manufacturers. "There'snothing to hold!" In other words, the tan-gible, handable, standable, rippable, kick-able reality of the past 75 years of filmtradition has been reduced in a millise-cond to an ethereal, mystical, magicalconcept. There's something unnervingabout editing "conceptual" frames offilm. Non-trusting types are being askedDAILY to trust a microchip to be theguardian of their careers. "I like holdingmy film in my hands, ripping the tapemyself, wrapping it around my neck and.. _jeez, even rolling my wheels over thesprockets and creasing the stock. The feelof the synchronizer moving with perfect-ly tooled gears. Holding a frame up tothe light and saying 'No, not this one,'I like all that. And you can't do thathere!" No, Virginia, you can't do thathere. In spite of everything amazing andtruly revolutionary about these systems,that touch and feel and look is the pricepaid. And it will be sorely missed.

It was just about the final day of cut-ting a series of commercials when I hadbeen called to oversee the conclusion ofwhat had been a troublesome project.The editing system of choice had been"acting up" for days and the producerand agency and client began to equateme with the angel of death - my arrivalwas always a signal something horriblewas going on. On this particular dayeverything had been oddly going well. At6 P.M. I was alarmed to discover the en-tire gang had been out looking for me,and reports were "They're really upset."I walked into the editing room and sawthose frown-type faces I dislike the most.

"What's going on with this damn ma-chine?" the client was shouting. The edi-tor was looking at me and then at theinverted image on one of his monitors."See this?" he said to me. "The sourcedailies run fine, over here," pointing atthe dailies monitor. "But the cut is run-

FALL 1988

ning upside down. Can the tape be do-ing that? How can this system be flip-ping over the picture?"

Good question. I was worried and un-der pressure and wondering why reallyweird problems always happen at 6o'clock. I'd never seen anything like this.One image was upside up and the otherwas upside down. I checked cables andsoftware and switches and all thosethings I had been taught to check. Butas I climbed around on the floor tryingto salvage the project, I heard uproari-ous laughter. I stood up.

"Can't fix your damn machine?" theproducer laughed. They were all laugh-

ing. Why were they laughing and smil-ing? The editor stood up and showed methat they had turned the monitor upsidedown and had disguised it to cover thejoke. They had all set me up. The editorhad finished that afternoon, and theyjust wanted to thank me for all the help."These things never used to happen onfilm."

The systems aren't bad. And they arenot evil. And they often can be enjoya-ble and relatively easy to adopt. Butclearly they are not going to go away. Youcan't avoid it anymore; it's time to getup, go outside, and take a lookaround. D

SINCE 1927

CREATORSOF OISTINCTIVE IDEAS AND OESIGNSFOR SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC EFFECTS

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29

I Need A Sound Effect! Where Do I Get It?

A s all good picture editors areaware, a most important aspect ofpictÚre éditingl¡s ... Sound edit-

ing! The pict~¡;e editor \yhb can make hisd \. '&, \ J:.. d'pro uctlOn trac ,as smoot."soun mg as

possible h~~ the -ç.§tchahCe\~f "selling"his pictur~'fÙ~S wKkeening, for some-one. Of course, th5:l:~~~_~~rue meth-a? would b~ fo\ a I]ctu¡e edit.p!'to ~honehis good fnend, Jo"f' tlí.~ound:edltor~MOM, and ask hprl}Ö snei~bwn",t.othe vault and get sdîme thatche~)ñut dao?

slams. There are ~tbe. r.....~..I.tern5.tiveshB ..,.~ ri

uymg ~o~~ I,A picture editor wh~~,~órk'.&h

a lot of pictures, and like~ roJit~Qlii1fedwork tracks, may find it a wortnwlfí1~in-vestment to purchase a sound libr~ ofhis or her own. Quite a few companiesare offering excellent and expansivelibraries, conveniently stored on compaftdisc. Here's a list of five of them:• The Sound Ideas Sounll EffeCtsLi~ .

d"""'"brary. This stereo library exists on com-pact disc and is ~/tiest selling and larg-est (5000 sound effects) library available.The original library (consisting of 28

by Laura Cohen

CD's, 3000 effects) goes for $1250. Cur- cial reference." The library sells for $750;rently, it is being expanded to inelude 12 the company is based in Florida and theirCD's with five-minute-long ambience phone number is 800-634-0091.tracks. Sound Ideas is based in Toronto • Digiffects. The 2000 effects in this li-and their phone number is 800-387=3030:- -brarY,ex-Ïsting on 23 compact discs, are• The ValentinoLibrary. This lib~~yjE::..- ..".fIigi1.allY...l.ecordea:-Ele\en categories ofeludes 1500 effects (21 compact dfsês) all §-ºlli1d ~ffects are represented, includingdigitally recorded, and the full s~L0pdiScS one catego~t. deqis with "long en-can be purchased for $1050 or any ten vironmental trad'.Rs:¿;.Nn original 11 CDof the discs can be obtained for $500. version of thisjlibrary goes for $650,Some of the discs contain a variety of while the complete library sells for $995.different effects; some concentrate on Firstcom, wh1ch produces the library,just one category. One particularly in- finds its horr{e in Dallas and their localtriguing disc has 99 effects devoted to agent can be reached at 213-464-4077.anything that has to do with a fire truck. • Network Library. The 3000 effects inSiren - engine idle -Jirehose -drag -~ibraril stored on 40 CD's, mayornozzle coupling-there's lots of detail on may not-be~ital in origin. The fullli-this one dise! Valentino is based in New brau sells for $950,...or individual CD'sYork and'''''-rheir phone number is ,-nraY..'.beJàbtaiº~d for $40'~h. Collect-800-223-6278. " ¡rig ÇÎ>.'foni-af,Ittim'e might be a handy

................." >,,\ ~ ~""• ,Dimension Sound Effects. There are way là gO'~u-s;an acquir;,e ~o.und effects.10 campad discs in this library with 1001 as you need them and build' your libraryeffects, all recorded using a special slowly. Network-is-based in San Diego¡'Holophonic" method. According to the and the phone number is 800-854-2075.brochure, Holophonics allows the listen- There are also specialized librarieser "to hear the sound exactly as it oc- available for purchase. The Hanna-curred, with precise up and down, front Barbera Library (consisting of 250 fa-and back, side to side, near and far spe- mous sound effects used on cartoons

30 AMERICAN CINEMEDITOR

from "Yogi Bear" to "Smurfs") may bepurchased at a cost of $150. The libraryis stored on seven records, or for an ex-tra $50 you can get the library on twoCD's. Since records become worn aftereven one or two uses, the CD version isa wise investment. If "ant talk,""bowanggs" and "crazy-whirree-whirrees" are what you're looking for,Hanna-Barbera is located at 3400 Ca-huenga Blvd, Hollywood, California.

" I ,,-Their phone number is 213-85'1-5000.

For bird lovers, there are sound effectsavailable in cassette arid r:ecord form atthe Audubon SooietyJhere are Songsof WesternBirds;,butbirds from any re-gion can l¿e ~~quired. Some of theserecords were prodtfëêcl by CornellUniversity; for $27.50 you can get thefield gu'ide of famous \~ird painter RogerTory ipé'ièrson, 'whicit .includes a recordand book of ºirj paiñ{¡ngs. The Los An-geles chapter is at 7377 Santa Monica

'I J.. t..:.Boulevard. Their phone number is213-876-0202. ,',;

Buying Separate RecordingsAn unexpected place to find sound ef-

fects is the Tower Records Emporium.Tower boasts a lot more than SurfSounds for Couch Potatoes (althoughthey have that too). There's the B.B.c.Sound Effects Collection. Sounds fromthe original Star Trek show. Death andHorror. Environments. Iron Ore Steam-ers. Sounds of Antiques. Songs of theOrca Whale. Stop by and browse, at 8801West Sunset in Hollywood. Their phonenumber is 213-657-7300, but browsing isbetter than phoning. Unfortunately,Tower has no index of their sound effects.

Search And TransferYou can always ask for effects from

the studio where you will be dubbingyour project. If that is impossible or in-convenient, I have found three facilitiesin Los Angeles that wilisel! effects to theoutside world. They arel• Audio Effects, 16.00.:"N-ÖÍ;'t1ilWestern

/ ("' l''''' IAve, Hollywood (213i~69..)3·692)• Richard Einfeld anäcAss6ciates, 1512North Las Palm~s, ~ Ii,bllywood(213-461-3731)• Rubber publJ>rs, 626 Justin Ave.,Glendale (,818~241-5600)

Audio Effécts and Rubber Dubbersdon't actually sell the physical sound ef-fects; you pay for search and/or transfertime and stock. At Rubber Dubbers theclient searches for his effects using amicro-processor, with an optional hook-up to a Kern. Their sources include thelibraries of Sound Ideas, Valentino,Dimension, and Network.

At Einfeld there is a charge for eacheffect, but the stock charge is less thanFALL 1988

the other two faciliti~s mentioned.

Appreciate The Sound EditorThere are some effects you just won't

be able to buy; like the knock-out punchfrom Rocky. Or the great helicoptersfrom Apocalypse Now. These;--¡oft-requested effects don't live in ;nYvlíbrary.They were the creations of sound (editors,who built them from many lfyers ofeffects. \

It's most important that the pictureeditor be considerate of the next personin the assembly line, the sound effectseditor. If a library sound effect is splicedinto a production track, it should bemarked with a green marker so that thésound editor realizes it's not a produc-

tian effect. If the sound editing will bedone on multi-track, the picture editorshould make sure the sound editor getsa list of al! the effects added to the pro-duction track. Any changes that might

~ be made by the picture editor, such asa temp dul;?mixing production track withfill, should ~è\noted for the sound edi-tor. Bef0re the sound editor starts towork, he or she will probably elect to re-turn thë production track to its original"state.

r ,/~ Ever,y picture editor wants to lookgreat when screening a cut. And everypicture editor wants to end up with agreat sounding film. Hopefully, theabove tips will help you achieve bothgoals! O il/uslra'ions by Vincent Desjardins

DCODE TC·l TIME CODE READER• Reads Time Code from 1ISO- SOx speed

• Reshapes Time Code for copying• 60 hz sync from 24 or 30 frame code

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National Geographic is the answer. We've got two mûlion feet of full-colorstock footage. Everything from polar icecaps to Polynesia. All with the kind ofaward-winning quality you've come to expect from us.

Why spend hundreds of hours-or thousands of dollars-getting the shotyou want? Pick up the phone right now and well have the footage you request ona 3/4" U-matic videocassette and off to you faster thanyou can say, "1llat's a VJIëlp."And a lot cheaper, too.

National Geographic SocietyStock Footage LibraryWashington, D.C. 20036. Phone 202/857,7659Cable: NAT. GEO. W5H, Telex 892398 NAT. GEO. W5H.

31

THE TRIM BillDavid BlewittMoonwalkerProducer: Dennis JonesDirector: Colin ChilversCast: Michael Jackson and Joe Pesci

"Buzz" BrandtInvictusProducer: Dick LowryDirector: Dick LowryCast: Peter Coyote and Dermot

Mulroney'~ two hour TV movie for CBS. Afascinating true story of an under-developed boy who was born withasthma and wears corrective shoesfor severe abnormalities of the feet.The boy's father was the mosthated man in Alabama because ofhis gallant stand on integration.Richmond goes on to become thefastest high hurdler in the world.

Dick Van Enger, Jr.My TanEmployment Development DepartmentDirector: Old Man SolCast: Thousands

"I had a long assignment on mydeck overlooking the Pacific. Itseems more boats sail to the Souththan to the North!'

Robert FlorioThe Ryan White StoryProducers: Linda Otto and Joan

BarnettDirector: John HerzfeldCast: Judith Light, Lucas Haas and

George C. Scott'~ true story of the first childprohibited to attend school becausehe had AIDS. For LandsburgProductions."

Tony GibbsIn CountryProducers: Richard Roth and

Norman JewisonDirector: Norman JewisonCast: Bruce Willis and Emily Lloyd

"Shooting in Paducah, Kentuckyand will finish in Toronto."

Anne GoursandHer AlibiProducer: Marty ElfandDirector: Bruce BeresfordCast: Tom Selleck and Paulina

Porizkova32

Les GreenAround The WorldIn Eighty DaysProducers: Rene Valente and Paul

BaerwaldDirector: Buzz KulikCast: Pierce Brosnan, Robert Morley,

Peter Ustinov"Shooting in England, Hong Kong,Thailand and Yugoslavia. Casting ala Mike Todd, using stars in cameoroles, e.g., Robert Wagner, JackKlugman, etc. A six hour mini-series for NBC and Harmony GoldProductions."

George GrenvilleJudgmentProducer: Oscar L. CostoDirector: William SachsCast: Elliot Gould, Karen Black and

Emelia Crow.'~ socio-drama feature about gangsand the juvenile justice system inLos Angeles. Editing at Warner-Hollywood Studios."

Paul HirschSteel MagnoliasProducer: Ray StarkDirector: Herbert RossCast: Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Daryl

Hannah, Olympia Dukakis andJulia Roberts.

"Shooting in Natchitoches,Louisiana, where the temperature isin the 90's, and the humidity iseven higher. I'm thankful I didn'thave to go on location!'

Dov HoenigDaddy's Little GirlProducer: Stephen DeutschDirector: Stan DragotiCast: Tony Danza, Catherine Hicks,

Wallace Shawn and Ami Dolenz."Editing at Fox Studios, forWeintraub Productions."

John C. HorgerLove HurtsProducer: Bud YorkinDirector: Bud YorkinCast: Jeff Daniels and Cloris

Leachman"This comedy feature marks my5th collaboration with Bud Yorkin.My first was in 1968 with Start

The Revolution Without Me.Editing at Lion's Gate Studio."

Noelle ImparatoKnots LandingProducers: David Jacobs and Mary

Catherine HaroldDirector: Lorraine FerraraCast: Kevin Dobson, Donna Mills,

Michelle Lee and William Devane"I am filling in for one episode.For Lorimar Telepictures."

Frederic L. KnudtsonFalcon CrestProducers: Michael Filerman and

Joanne BroughCast: Jane Wyman, Susan Sullivan,

Lorenzo Lamas and David Selby"Money and passion, ruling theCalifornia wine country. ForLorimar 1èlepictures and CBS.Editing at CBS/MTM studios."

Craig McKayMiami BluesProducers: Jonathan Demme and

Gary GoetzmanDirector: George ArmitageCast: Fred Ward, Alec Baldwin,

Jennifer Jason Leigh"This feature for Orion Pictures isa tale of a petty thief who stealsfrom other thieves. Editing atSound One in New York."

John A. MartinelliLiberaceExecutive Producers: Dick Clark and

Joel R. StroteProducer: Preston FischerDirector: Billy HaleCast: Andrew Robinson, John Rubin-

stein and Rue McClanahan"For Republic Pictures and ABC.I'm editing on the Touch Visionand am also AssociateProducer."

Barry D. NyeBaliProducer: Miriam Birch

"This is the first NationalGeographic TV special to be shotin digital (DAT) stereo sound. Theexotic jungle sounds and uniquemusic of Bali are amazing in thisnew format for documentaries.Moviola flatbeds and 16mmtransfer equipment had to beadapted for 16mm 2 track stereo.Editing at WQED West."

AMERICAN CINEMEDITOR

by Dann Cahn, A.C.E.

David Alan SimmonsBlind FuryProducer: Tim MathesonDirector: Phillip NoyceCast: Ruter Hauer

'~n action comedy for PrimeraProductions and Tri-Star."

Rod StephensThe Old ReliableProducers: Kim Myers and Steve

OsterDirector: Michael BlakemoreCast: Lynn Redgrave, Rosemary

Harris and Paxton Whitehead"Great Performances Series/TalesFrom The Hollywood Hills," forthe Educational BroadcastingCorporation.It's one of the bestprojects I've been associated within years. Edited on the Montage(type 1) at Pacific Video."

Michael A. StevensonHoney I Shrunk The KidsProducers: Penny Finkleman-Cox and

Tom SmithCast: Rick Moranis

"Editing at Big Time Pictures."

Herbert L. StrockA New Lease On LifeProducers: Herbert L. Strock and

Geraldine StrockDirector: Herbert L. StrockCast: Quentin Stiles, M.D. and

Robert Stanlon, M.D.'~ pre-operative informational filmfor patients of cardiology proce-dures. It's live action andanimation, to be distributed onVHS to potential patients. Editingat Herbert L. Strock Productions."

Frank J. UriosteRoad HouseProducer: Joel SilverDirector: Rowdy HerringtonCast: Patrick Swayze

"Editing at Burbank Studios withJohn Link as co-editor.

Peter ZinnerWar And RemembranceProducer: Barbara SteeleDirector: Dan CurtisCast: Robert Mitchum, Jane

Seymour, and John Gielgud'~ thirty hour mini-series for ABCCircle Films, to start airingNovember 13th, 1988."

FALL 1988

~~~---CTORS------- ----

-_~OUND&

= ==~TORIAL~~-RVICES~::~::;843-0950

- ..::~~::/Foley stages- -:=====:e transfer facility- :emp dubs- ::=:::== of editing rooms

•••••••••

•••

• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •••••••••••••••••••••••••33

while I ran all over Africa having ad-ventures."

Filming wild animals, horse races, andairplanes was unquestionably a thrill, butBob also found himself in several tightspots. "A lion once charged us while wewere filming," he recalls. "And one of ourplanes crashed, and our jeep was stuckin mud for six hours." His most memora-ble experience was directing a scene with300 extras, 100 of them children. "Manyhad never seen a white man before," hesays. "They were curious about every-thing: the hair on my arms, the tickingof my Swatch watch." Bob heads for thePhilippines in January where he'll beginwork on another feature. "That's the nicething about being a film editor," he con-cludes. "You can travel to places you'dnever get to experience otherwise."

Joe Dervin, Jr, affiliate member andV.P. of post-production at Aaron Spell-ing Productions, spent the long, hot sum-mer earning his certification as a skip-per at the Pacific Sailing Club in Mari-na del Rey. To celebrate his achievement,Dervin invited several members of Spell-ing's editorial staff on an afternoon sail.Past ACE president Bob Bring, alongwith Barry Gold and Mario Leone-none of them sailors - joined Dervin fora jaunt up the coast to Long Beach. Theweather was glorious, and the afternoona delight. Three days after the momen-tous sail, the writer's strike ended. Recog-nizing a fortuitous sign, the guys havedecided to making their afternoon sailan annual event.

The summer's dry spell is behind us,and fall promises to bring a bustleof activity to ACE members. Many

are squeezing in a few final days of funand relaxation before returning to thesplicing bin.

Ron and Nancy Fagan, for instance,are in Galway on the west coast of Ire-land trying their hand at salmon fishing."It's one of the greatest salmon fishinggrounds in the world," reports Ron, whoadmits their only prior fishing experienceis off the back of a boat in Catalina."Even if we don't like fishing per se, Gal-way is a beautiful and tranquil place."They're staying at Ballynahinsh Castle,a posh international resort featuring golf,tennis and a host of other recreationalactivities. The Fagans will also enjoy abrief stay in London, as well as in Dub-lin where Ron's relatives still live. Ron leftDublin in 1954 but makes a point ofreturning every year for a family visit.This summer's trip is designed to beeventful but relaxing. "Nancy's headnurse at UCLA Emergency Center," ex-plains Ron. "She works very, very hard.n~~~~~~~~~~

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She deserves a blissful holiday."Bob Phillips, now embarking on his

10th year on Knots Landing, found timeto pursue his favorite hobby - photo-graphing steam trains. He says they'vefascinated him ever since he was a childgrowing up in the East. He traveled toWest Virginia and Ohio this summer tocapture some beautifully restored loco-motives on film. "There's a group of uswho do it," he says. "It's very social.Sometimes we wait two or three hoursfor a train to pull in so we really becomeacquainted."

Bob Lambert is still basking in theglow of his recent two-and-a half monthstay in Africa where he was second unitdirector of Shadow in the Sun. "Africachanged my life," he exclaims. "I can'twait to go back." The TV movie aboutthe life of Beryl Markham receivedgenerally good notices, and Bob delightsin the acclaim that "It contains the bestAfrican footage since Out of Africa."The first unit was annoyed with me be-cause I had such fun," he concedes."They were stuck shooting substance,

Index of AdvertisersWithout the support of the following companies, publication oftheAmerican Cineme-ditor would not have been possible. Please let them know you saw their message inour magazine.

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CMXDenecke

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Title HouseAMERICAN CINEMEDITOR

Bob's Steam Train

For Susan Morse, meanwhile, it's backto business as usual after the Februarybirth of her son, Dwight Rogers Richard-son. She's hard at work on Woody Al-len's as yet untitled new film scheduledfor fall release. "I thought I'd take offafter the baby, but Woody induced meto stay on," she explains. "His baby is sev-en weeks older than mine. He promisedwe'd make it work." At Woody's sugges-tion, the adjacent screening room wasconverted into a nursery where Susanspends time with her baby throughoutthe day. "Woody's been incredibly sup-portive," she says, "but, frankly, I feelthat's how it should be for all workingmothers. You shouldn't have to fight tospend time with your child."

Millie Moore worked through LaborDay weekend on a Hallmark Hall ofFame special called The Tènth Man,based on the Graham Greene novella.Scheduled to air in December, the pro-ject stars Anthony Hopkins and wasfilmed on location in Paris. "RosemontProductions frequently does their post-production in Europe, but they decidedto do it here for a change," she explains."This isn't your typical Hallmark spe-cial," she adds. "It's very British in feel-ing. There are no car chases."

Over at Action Video, President (andex-editor)Joe Benadon recently complet-ed a Columbia sales promotion film thatincludes special effects on 22 feature pro-mos. His film-oriented tape house worksregularly with Disney, CBS and Para-mount, as well as dozens of commercialclients including GMAC, Budweiser andToyota.

FALL 1988

Meanwhile, MGM-VA's Fred Noltingis enthusiastic about the studio's Christ-mas release, Rainman, starring TomCruise and Dustin Hoffman. "It's a veryspecial film," reports Fred after seeingthe first cut. With the future of MGM-VA up for grabs, Fred finds the best wayto relievepressure and uncertainty is witha round of golf. A bad back had previ-ously forced him to abandon the game,but now he's back in full-swing at THEMountain Gate Country Club. Heproudly mentions that son Kevin, an as-sistant editor, recently completed Child'sPlay, a suspense thriller scheduled forrelease in '89, and he is now vacationingin Canada.

Dwight

It's good to see everyone going backto work after the settlement of the writ-er strike. See you after the holidays. O

By Denise Abbott35