In addition to the obvious elements of a creepy location, a frightening bad guy, and copious amounts of fake blood and gory makeup, every horror film ever made needs 2 pieces of equipment to set the scary mood. First is the ever-present blue-colored backlight that mimics moonlight in every outdoor night shot. If you have […]
While some actors have the amazing ability to cry on command many others need a little help. A menthol blower is a specialty device sold at film-centric makeup stores. It’s basically a hollow tube that is loaded with menthol crystals and stuffed on each end with cotton ball material. Blowing in one end by mouth […]
When an object is between two actors in a scene, such as a lamp on a table between two players in chairs on either side, never show the object in BOTH close-up shots. Favor one person’s shot to include the lamp and the other’s to exclude it. Failing to follow this rule results in a […]
The Martini (Or Martini Shot) is the final shot of any given shooting day. Possibly named for Clark Gable’s contractual 5pm end time (in time to get home and have a Martini). The Abbie Singer is the second-to-last shot of the day. Named for Assistant Director Abbie Singer who would often miss-call the penultimate shot […]
A brief guide to the mighty C-stand… C-stand legs open in a variety of ways depending on the manufacturer. Some are spring loaded with a detent and snap into the correct position. Other’s have metal stops the catch on each other as the legs are rotated. The bottom line is make sure the 3 legs […]
To quickly calculate the number of amps of electricity a given light will require use this simple* formula:
