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Live Cinema and Its Techniques

Page 17

by Francis Ford Coppola


  San Francisco News Letter, 82–83

  Sarnoff, David, 20

  satellites, 27, 62, 112

  Saturday Night Live (SNL), 28–29

  scenery (sets), 1, 6, 10–11, 14, 15, 17, 32, 46, 48–62, 56, 57, 76, 81–87, 98, 107, 128, 129, 135, 137, 138, 139, 155, 162, 163

  scenes, 9–10, 11, 34–35, 45, 54, 93–95, 102, 130, 162

  scenic design, 11, 32, 55–59, 56, 86–87, 98, 107, 163

  Schiller, Friedrich, 113

  Schrader, Paul, 78–79

  Schroeder, Barbet, 14–15

  Schwartzman, Jason, 104

  Scorsese, Martin, 113

  scrims, 51–52

  scripts (screenplays), 3, 5–6, 33–36, 42, 46–47, 59, 71, 72, 75, 98, 99, 115, 117–18, 127–28, 136

  script supervisors, 99

  second units, 61–62, 163

  self-confidence, 35–36

  sentences, 7–8, 9, 91

  Sentinel Building, 71

  seppuku (ritual suicide), 116

  Serling, Rod, 2, 24

  set lamps (practicals), 52, 162

  sets (scenery), 1, 6, 10–11, 14, 15, 17, 32, 46, 48–62, 56, 57, 76, 81–87, 98, 107, 128, 129, 135, 137, 138, 139, 155, 162, 163

  setups (camera placement), 29, 86, 99, 130, 131, 139–40, 159

  shadows, 55, 159

  Shakespeare, William, 23, 55

  Shape of Things to Come, The, 63–68, 65

  Shire, Talia, 38, 84

  shots:

  action, 88–91

  as basic units, 7–9, 10, 87

  as “bricks” or “building blocks,” 8–9, 156

  cause-and-effect in, 88

  cinematic, 2–3, 13–14, 102

  close-up (CU), 10, 14, 15, 21, 32, 52–53, 60, 88–89, 133, 146–47, 153–54, 161

  composition of, 8–9, 13–14, 86, 88–91, 98, 134

  concept of, 7–8

  continuity of, 85, 135–36

  coverage for, 10, 11, 12–13, 15, 48, 60, 91, 133, 156, 160

  creation and selection of, 11, 50–53, 60–62, 130, 131, 132, 159

  dissolves in, 144

  dolly, 110–11, 148–49, 150, 160

  dynamic, 89

  editing of, see editing

  establishing, 52–53, 133

  exterior, 159

  fades in, 149, 151

  focus of, 15

  footage quality of, 160

  frame size of, 160

  framing of, 155, 160

  helicopter, 64, 73

  insert, 140, 151

  juxtaposition of (montage), 7, 9, 21, 87–91, 162

  in Live Cinema, 10, 11, 14, 50–53, 60–62, 87–91, 133

  location, 61–62

  long, 10, 161

  master, 14–15, 53, 60, 150, 161

  medium, 10, 89

  middle, 161

  moving, 160

  one, 85

  optimal, 99

  over-shoulder, 133

  panning, 111, 156

  perspective in, 15

  pre-designed (pre-shoot), 12, 15, 49, 60, 62, 87, 99

  pre-visualization of (shot-by-shot), 51, 133, 134, 155, 162

  profile, 99

  progressive, 88

  reverse angle, 14, 60, 99

  scenery in, 57

  sequences of, 7, 162

  side angle, 99

  single continuous, 29, 85

  staged, 49–50

  Steadicam, 85, 110–11, 163

  storyboards used in, 49, 163

  succession of, 11

  superimposition of, 88

  television, 2–3, 11, 48

  tracking, 8, 110–11, 160

  transitional, 93–94

  two-, 15

  “weird angle,” 32

  wide, 88

  wipes in, 153

  as “words,” 7–8, 9, 91

  shutters, 161

  side angle shots, 99

  Signal Corps, U.S., 23

  signal lights, 92

  silent films, xi, 7, 21, 31, 87–88, 112–13

  Sills, Paul, 35

  “Silverfish, The,” 66–68, 122, 123, 124, 126, 128, 131, 135–36, 138, 140, 141, 142, 143, 152

  silver halides, xii

  Singin’ in the Rain, 114

  16mm film, 2, 21, 106–7

  16mm projectors, 2

  60i (59.94 interlaced fields per second), 43, 44

  Smith College, 109

  snoots (light attachments), 52, 163

  soap operas, 12, 52–53

  software code, 46

  soliloquies, 83

  Song of Bernadette, The, 61

  SONOS sound system, 154

  Sony, 44, 107, 108

  Sony Professional cameras, 107

  Sony PXW-FS5 digital cameras, 44

  Sony PXW-FS7 digital cameras, 44

  Sopranos, The, 26, 28

  sound:

  audio inputs for, 62

  collections of, 99, 102

  cues for, 137, 138, 141, 142

  design of, 99, 137, 160

  editing of, 47, 70n, 99, 137, 141, 148, 160, 163–64

  effects in, 76, 99, 160

  equalization of, 45–46

  Foley, 99, 160

  in Live Cinema, 47, 50, 126, 134, 136–37, 148, 154

  loops in, 137, 141, 148

  microphones for, 21, 136–37, 138

  mixing boards for, 45–46, 99, 138, 139

  playback (PB) in, 141, 143, 145

  recording of, 21, 99, 136–37, 138, 141, 143, 145

  stages for, 61–62

  synchronized, 47, 99, 163–64

  transmission of, 18

  “Sound Ball” theater game, 40–41

  sound films (“talkies”), xi, 1, 21, 31–32, 47, 113

  sound rooms, 134

  soundstages, 61–62

  soundtracks, 47, 70–76, 130, 132, 137, 138, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148

  special effects, 76, 86, 160, 162

  Spielberg, Steven, 107

  Spolin, Viola, 35, 40–41

  sponsors, commercial, 20

  sports, 9, 16, 17, 26, 43, 49, 50, 53, 84, 85, 94, 98, 107, 156

  stagecraft, 60–61

  stagehands, 55

  stage managers, 92, 124, 138, 156

  staging, 34–35, 42, 60–62, 82–84, 131, 145, 155

  standing sets, 48

  stand-ins, 155

  Stanislavski, Konstantin, 55

  Stanton, Harry Dean, 79

  Star Wars, 54

  stationary cameras, 54

  stationary scenes, 54

  Steadicam, 85, 110–11, 163

  Steele, Tommy, 62

  still photography, xii, 108–10

  Storaro, Vittorio, 8, 9, 70n, 111

  storyboards, 11, 12, 46, 49, 163

  “story mode,” 45

  storytelling, 10, 11, 21, 26, 78–80

  Strauss, Richard, 29–30

  Streetcar Named Desire, A (Williams), 30

  Strindberg, August, 113

  studios, film, 61, 73, 75, 112n

  stumble-throughs, 34, 92–97

  stunts, 6, 95–97, 99

  subtitles, 6, 99

  synchronization, 47, 99, 163–64

  tablets, 112

  “talkies” (sound films), xi, 1, 21, 31–32, 47, 113

  tally lights, 93, 163

  tape recorders, 1, 2, 21

  Tarantino, Quentin, 107

  Tavoularis, Dean, 76

  Taxi Driver, 28

  technical directors (TDs), 95, 101–2, 124, 130, 138, 144, 145–47, 152–53, 163–64

  technology:

  broadcast, 1–2, 25, 106–7

  camera, 14–15, 21, 43, 44, 60, 107, 160

  computer, 44, 46, 112, 157

  cost of, 106

  digital, 26, 107

  electronic, 18–20, 22

  film, 113–14

  rehearsals for, 95, 99

  specifications for, 43–47, 133, 134, 135

  television,
xii, 18–20, 25–26, 106–7

  “Telegraphic Photography and Electric Vision” (Bidwell), 18–19

  telephones, 18

  telephoto lenses, 12–13, 14, 48, 52, 93, 162, 164

  television:

  actors in, 23, 24

  audiences for, 105

  broadcasts of, 1–2, 25, 106–7

  budgets of, 64

  cable, 28

  cameras for, 43, 75, 93

  cathode ray tubes (CRTs) in, 19, 21, 159

  cinema compared with, 2–3, 12, 23, 24–28, 78, 112

  comedy series on, 28–29

  commercials on, 20

  cultural impact of, 20, 106, 116–17, 131, 143

  development of, 1–2

  digital, 26, 160

  as “distant electric vision,” 18–20, 22

  dramatic series on, 26, 28

  editing for, 21, 22

  electric and electronic, 18–20, 22

  emotional impact of, 24–25

  events in, 9, 10, 86, 107, 156

  executives in, 52–53

  films shown on, 12, 112

  first golden age of, 23–25

  flat screen, 55

  Golden Age of, 2–3, 23–25, 27–28, 75, 93

  history of, 18–32

  instant replay servers in, 6, 26

  invention of, xii, 18–20

  lenses used in, 48

  lighting grids (overhead lighting) in, 12–13, 48, 52, 53, 101, 132, 133

  literary adaptations for, 23–24

  live, xii, xiii, 2–3, 11, 21, 24–25, 26, 62–66, 78–80, 85, 93, 133, 161, 162

  Live Cinema compared with, xii–xiii, 3, 10–11, 24, 28, 85–86, 118, 156

  mechanical, 18, 20

  name of (Tele-Vision), 20

  networks for, 2, 21, 25

  news programs on, 26, 28, 85

  patents for, 19, 22

  picture quality for, 22

  plays on, xiii, 2–3, 9, 10, 23–25, 26, 48, 113

  production for, 106–7

  programming of, 1–3, 20

  props for, 11–12

  recording of, 21, 22, 25, 106–7, 161

  screen boxes in, 85

  second golden age of, 27–28

  sets for, 1, 10

  shots used in, 2–3, 11, 48

  sports programs on, 9, 16, 17, 26, 43, 49, 50, 53, 84, 85, 94, 98, 107, 156

  storytelling in, 26, 78–80

  studios for, 106–7

  style of, 2–3, 9, 12–15, 20, 24–25, 85

  switchers in, 45–46

  technology of, xii, 18–20, 25–26, 106–7

  time shifting in, 21, 49

  tenements, 59

  Terry, Ellen, 55

  test patterns, 1–2

  Tetro, 39–40

  textured sets, 86

  t-handles, 163–64

  theater:

  actors in, 3, 5–6, 10, 34

  audiences for, 9–10, 30–31

  casting in, 34

  cinema compared with, 31–32, 83, 84

  design in, 76, 80

  games for, xii, 34, 35, 36, 40–41, 128, 129, 142

  Greek, 83, 136

  history of, 31–32

  lighting in, 55, 59, 81–82, 159

  Live Cinema compared with, 34, 42, 76, 80, 86, 118, 139, 156

  meta-, 139

  music cues in, 92

  in New York (Broadway), 23, 24, 30–31

  performances in, 86

  plays in, xiii, 2–3, 9, 10, 23–25, 26, 48, 113

  production of, 34, 42, 76, 80

  realism in, 81–84

  rehearsals in, 34, 42, 55

  repertory, 5–6

  scenes in, 9–10, 11

  sets (scenery) in, 46, 48, 55–59, 56, 81–82, 83, 85, 86–87, 98

  staging in, 82–84

  television compared with, xiii, 2–3, 9, 10, 23–25, 26, 48, 78

  ticket prices for, 30–31

  touring in, 23, 82–83

  in U.S., 82–84, 117

  Theater Games for Rehearsal (Spolin), 35, 40–41

  Theatre of Tomorrow, The (Macgowan), 32

  theatrical exhibitions, 29, 111–12, 138, 156–57

  theremins, 114

  Thief of Baghdad, The, 73

  30p (standard TV frame rate), 93

  35mm film, 109–10, 111, 112

  This Property Is Condemned, 23n

  three-act structure, 41, 92

  3–D films, 51, 109–10

  tilting, camera, 111, 149–50

  Time, 69

  time manipulation, 17, 49, 132, 139

  time shifting, 21, 49

  time signatures, 47

  Toscanini, Arturo, 1, 148

  Toshiba, 25

  tracking shots, 8, 110–11, 160

  Translight screens, 54, 55, 61

  Traviata, La (Verdi), 29, 30, 111

  triangulating, 54

  tripods, 161

  Tristan und Isolde (Wagner), 30

  Turner, Ted, 26

  Turn of the Screw, The, 25

  12 Angry Men, 10, 87

  20th Century Fox, 61–62

  24p (23.98 progressive frames per second), 43–44

  two-color photography, 108

  two-reel films, 22

  UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television workshop, xiii, 3, 14, 15–17, 33–42, 46, 50, 54–62, 69, 85, 93, 95–97, 98, 99, 102, 103, 115, 118, 119, 121, 174–89

  UFA GmbH, 21–22

  ultraviolet (UV) light, 101

  uniform lighting, 12–13

  University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), 75

  vacuum-formed sets, 86

  vacuum tubes, 159

  Verdi, Giuseppe, 29, 30, 111, 113

  Victoria, 29

  Vidal, Gore, 24

  video:

  cameras for, 106–7, 110

  editing of, 21

  effects in, 79–80

  mixing boards for, 45–46, 163–64

  multiple sources of, 161

  recorders (playback), xii, 2, 6, 21, 22, 25, 26, 75–76, 106–7, 161

  streaming, 44–47, 95–99, 135–36

  switchers for, 6, 26, 44–47, 49, 60, 94, 95–99, 103, 133, 135–36, 141, 143, 150, 156, 160, 164

  videotape, xii, 2, 106–7

  Vietnam War, 77, 115, 116

  viewfinders, 75, 129

  virtual reality, xii

  Vishnevetsky, Ignatiy, 79–80

  visualization, 51

  Vitaphone, 1

  voiceovers, 134

  von Trier, Lars, 52

  Wagner, Richard, 29–30, 68, 113

  Waits, Tom, 74

  Walküre, Die (Wagner), 68

  walls, 60

  Wanamaker’s department store, 23

  wardrobe, 35, 41, 94, 132, 134, 137, 160

  Warner Bros., 62

  Way of Chinese Painting, The, 15

  weather conditions, 64–65, 163

  “weird angle” shots, 32

  Weiss, Craig, 155

  Westerns, 2, 71

  West Side Story, 30

  Williams, Tennessee, 30

  Willis, Gordon, 8–9

  windows, 13, 57

  Wine Spectator, 122

  wipes, 153

  Wire, The, 28

  wire recorders, 1

  Wisconsin State Capitol, 63–68

  word processing, 47

  words, 7–8, 9, 47, 91

  workshops, see Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) workshop; UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television workshop

  World War II, 23

  writing, 7–8, 47

  Wyler, William, 110

  Xerox PARC, 74

  Xerox Star computers, 73–74

  Yale School of Drama, 23, 31

  Yeats, William Butler, 55–57

  Young and the Restless, The, 53

  YouTube Music Awards, 104

  Zegel, Barry, 107

  Zoetrope Studios, 66, 71–73, 76, 80, 189

  z
oom lenses, 12–13, 14, 48, 52, 93, 162, 164

  Zworykin, Vladimir, 19, 22

  ALSO BY FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA

  The Godfather Notebook

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Francis Ford Coppola is best known as the six-time Academy Award–winning director of such films as the Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now. Born in Detroit in 1939, Coppola grew up in Queens, New York. Paralyzed by polio as a child, he wrote stories and developed an interest in film after being given a toy movie projector.

  A prolific theater and film student at Hofstra College and UCLA, he wrote short stories and plays (considering himself first and foremost a writer), and throughout his career has endeavored to write and direct original work. He made his mark as the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Patton in 1970, and followed it up in the rest of the ’70s by writing, directing, and/or producing The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, American Graffiti, The Conversation, and Apocalypse Now, resulting in two Cannes Palme d’Or Awards, twelve Academy Award nominations, and five Academy Awards, making the period arguably the most successful decade any filmmaker has ever had.

  Francis has also been producing wine for over thirty-five years at his Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley wineries. His other business interests include luxury resorts in Central America, Argentina, and Italy, and an award-winning short story magazine, Zoetrope: All-Story. Francis’s current passion is a new form of art he calls Live Cinema, being a combination of theater, film, and television. He is presently working on a cycle of screenplays he hopes to produce in this new medium.

  Copyright © 2017 by Giostyle LLC

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