raloria

This video from SPN is so much fun! I'm totally geeky over anything with SPN's production and these little views of the actors just moments before "Action!" is called and then what happens after are truly a treat!

Btw, this immediately made me think of the opening credits for "The Fall" from 2006 and not just because they used the same music. After all, that movie began with looking at a movie production in the 1920s (an accident out on location involving a train, stuntmen, and a horse falling into a river) and it was beautifully filmed in slow-motion. Check it out HERE.

Anyway, nothing spoilery here, unless you haven't seen any of the Season 13 episodes to date.



( Caps this way... )

I wanted to watch this on Halloween night when it aired, but fell asleep. Thankfully, the internet comes through again.

This hits close to home for me because in the past I worked on a few independent films. Never was my life put in danger, nor should it have been. Most of this 20/20 program is devoted to Sarah's death and it features for the first time video footage of the train hitting the bed on the trestle that killed the camera assistant.

I can't believe the arrogance of the producer/director. There's a saying in the movie business: "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission." But this guy seems to take it to the extreme with his "We're trying to make a movie" excuse while breaking the rules. Why would you use a trestle that was in use? The program points out that there were others nearby that were not actively used by trains. At the very least why were they even filming a scene with such a skeleton crew? The impression I get from the program and the new video footage is that there were very few people there. Why would you not at the very least have a couple of people in either direction along the tracks to warn the cast & crew about any approaching trains??? There were no precautions taken whatsoever. There are claims that they had permission to film there, but it looks fishy to me. Where's the proof? The email to the Location Manager says they didn't have permission. And again, why even take that risk by filming on a track that is actively used???

This was a tragedy that should never have happened. I only hope this brings more attention to on-the-set safety. I love the filmmaking business, but it should never endanger lives.

20/20 Do Your #@&*! Job: Sarah Jones Camera Assistant Killed
I cued this up to where the feature on Sarah begins. It runs about 24 min.

While perusing through Tumblr this morning, I came across this excellent, educational piece about TV writing from an actual screenwriter.

( What really happens... )

Was checking out Facebook tonight and found out an actor I worked with on an independent film back in 2008 was in last week's episode of Grimm!!!!

Now I've gotta download the ep and check it out! I'm so happy for him. He was my "Jensen Ackles" on the set: hunky and hot. Yeah, there was that time I brushed stuff off his black t-shirt. Muscles...OMG lol :P

( Caps from the ep & more... )

Had a late supper last night and come home, got online, and found that Jim was tweeting after a day of filming.

( Camera pic & tweets - nothing spoilery )

Big, huge thanks to 4casdean for re-uploading this without the glitch that caused it replay part of the video. I can't wait for the 2nd part. :)

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Jensen's directing venture. Just watching this featurette from the upcoming Season 6 DVD, my heart swelled with pride. I'm so happy they took the time to carefully document his progress. You can see his attention to detail, which wasn't a surprise to me. What was surprising (and enlightening) was that when Jensen didn't know or understand what someone was telling him, he right away would say that he didn't get it. There was none of this pretense that "I'm the director and I know everything." Great to see how Robert Singer was making a lot of suggestions and helping Jensen along. The crew really helped him out and that says a lot about a group of people who've worked together now for 6/7 years.

:: Sucky Saturday
Got up early, which was a miracle in itself, but then I had several sneezing fits. No doubt from the the allergies my mom & my aunt have been suffering from lately, but which I thought I'd avoided. The sneezes ended up injuring my tonsils, which is an old problem. For most of the day they felt larger and tender. They're still not quite back to normal, but they're better than they were. Top that off with lots of sleepiness after I had a late breakfast and a very wet, soggy weather day. Bleh. Pretty soon I wasn't feeling so peppy. So I didn't get much done at all outside of napping a lot, watching MASH eppies on the TV, and puttering around online. Even now, heading into bedtime I feel tired and drained. I hope Sunday is better.

:: Organizing
Saturday evening I did muster up enough brain power to organize some of my to-do lists and try a new system of keeping it all organized. Pretty new file folders that I haven't used yet were a good motivator. Time will tell if this works or not.

:: Family Update
Mom's doing fine. She's still having the hot flashes from the hormone pill she's on because of the breast cancer and while they bother her a lot at times, she refuses to take up the doctor's offer of medication to ease them. A little frustrating for me, but my mom's very stubborn. Meanwhile, my aunt is currently undergoing her own cancer treatments. You'll recall she had a hysterectomy a few months ago. It indeed was cancerous (endometriel cancer), but it was a rare version (like my mom's breast cancer was). After weeks of hearing what the doctor had to say, treatment-wise, and thinking it all over, she finally agreed to go the quick and easy route and have the radiation treatments. Unlike my mom's there's only 5 sessions for my aunt. It's internal, through the vagina, which is a little uncomfortable, but the alternative treatment if the cancer comes back from her not doing anything now was so much worse. The one drawback is that her treatments are about a half hour drive away. But luckily, after the 2 last week (the one on Friday was at 9 in the morning!), there's only 3 more. We'll both be glad when it's over and outside of being a little sore, my aunt is taking it just fine. After she's done there'll be a very tiny chance of the cancer coming back. Anyway, this contributed to my busy week and will be the same this coming week since I drive her to and from the appointments.

:: Events
I missed one earlier this month when one of the films I worked on back in 2008 had a 2nd premiere in Seattle. I would have loved to have gone, but parking was almost non-existent and I have no other way of getting into the city. So I skipped it...again. *sigh* I missed the first premiere too. I've never seen the finished product. The next big event is my 20th high school reunion on July 23rd. When I first heard about it I was all excited to go....now, not so much. What have I accomplished after all? I still live at home, take care of my mom and my aunt, have no job, and no boyfriend/husband. From what I've seen of some of my former classmates on Facebook, they're all working, married, and with kids. Normal, good lives. I've got nothing that can compare. If I had a job, I might feel a little better about the whole thing, but with circumstances the way they are, it hasn't been possible. I feel I'll be sorry if I don't attend, so I really haven't decided yet.

:: Father's Day
There was a tentative plan to go put flowers on my dad's and uncle's graves today, but my aunt declined, so we're staying home. I feel much the same way. After the week she and I have had going to her treatments, we need these 2 days off. Meanwhile, everyone online is posting this and that for Father's Day. Up until now, it wasn't bothering me all that much. I thought maybe this year I was going to skate by without feeling too bad, but I guess not. I got to thinking about it this evening and realized this is not only the first Father's Day my mom and my aunt will be without their dad, but also another reminder that practically all the men in our immediate little family are gone. My dad, my uncle, and my grandpa....all fathers and all gone. As much as I thought I was over it, today is still a reminder that my dad is gone and that I wish he was here.

Pardon me while I get geeky & fangirly, but SPN director Guy Norman Bee just answered a question of mine on Twitter. *bounces* :D :D :D

You know me and my love of filmmaking and cameras, right? Guy just happened to tweet a pic of one of their cameras on set from this morning.



I thanked him, of course, for taking the time to answer me. He is a little busy at the moment, you know...shooting an awesome episode of our show. *g* I have experience myself working with the Red One camera. It was used on an independent film I was working continuity on in 2008. It's an amazing camera. Digital, but the look is so much like film you'd never know it. I can see why they'd use it for the crane, steadicam, and high speed work since it is smaller than the Arri camera.

Heh. Sorry. My filmmaking geek is showing again. :P

Since it was announced months ago that Kripke was stepping down as SPN's show runner there has been much debate and plenty of hand-wringing by fans as to what this will mean for season 6 and beyond with Sera Gamble taking over the job.

I've been going through some old magazines and came across this article in the Oct. 2007 issue of SciFi. It's by Farscape's David Kemper with his own take on being a TV show runner. Gives a good idea of what the job entails and how much responsibility it holds.

As I've said before, no TV show or movie is made by one person alone. It takes an army of people all contributing their talents to create a whole product. Kripke is also not totally leaving the show. He'll still be one of the series producers and I'm sure he'll still be on the writing/directing staff as well.

Click on the image to see the full-sized scan. Farscape's David Kemper Describes The Pleasure (And Pain) Of Being A TV Show Runner "The term 'show runner' is Hollywood-speak for the person in creative charge of a TV show; the "buck stops here" gal or guy." "Being a show runner is a lot like being drawn and quartered, with the exception that sometimes you're tied to way more than four horses. The pressure is enormous, the stakes high. You're continually being hammered from all sides regarding budget, creative content, ratings, and myriad other factors."

Photobucket is down for maintenance at the moment, keeping me from doing the Just 'Cause post for the time being so I thought I'd do a little mini-rant instead. I mean....talk about sucky timing! Grrrrrr....

It's really rotten not having any wheels!

Our car is in for repairs from our car accident on Jan. 15th. We took it in last Tuesday, Jan. 26th and we're still waiting for the call.

This means I can't send a card up to Vancouver to the cast & crew of SPN for their 100th episode because I can't get to the friggin' post office. Gah! They'll probably be finished filming the episode by the time I do get something sent.

Because our car was gone I missed attending the premiere in Seattle of an independent film I worked on as Script Supervisor in 2008. All those many months of work and I didn't get to see it's grand opening. This one really bugs me. I didn't think it would, but it does. Because of that stupid punk driving out in front of us on that Friday night, I missed a major event, something important I was a part of. :(