While watching an episode this morning, I noticed that Oliver's convertible had no shine at all, almost a matte finish. Does anyone know if this was intentional? If so, I would assume it was because they didn't want the car to catch reflections of the film crew and lights and such.
Now if that bastard so much as twitches, I'm gonna blow him right to Mars.
"I would assume it was because they didn't want the car to catch reflections of the film crew and lights and such."
You are correct about the lighting issue. That's exactly why it wasn't shiny.
As an aside; TV/Movie makers most often uses eye glasses that are just plain glass (unless the script calls for someone's eyes all googled out) because of how real glasses distort the actor's eyes as seen through the camera. There is alot of reflection off of them but I guess they think it's easier to work with than the distortion from prescription glasses.
K/H D
America got the Government it deserves!!! Welcome to the USSA!!!
Thanks for the reply! Interesting fact about the glasses. On The Big Bang Theory, Leonard's glasses don't even have lenses most (if not all) of the time.
P.S. Love your sig! :)
Now if that bastard so much as twitches, I'm gonna blow him right to Mars.
The old show, "Route 66," which was filmed in black and white, had car color issues.
The show originally had a metallic light blue Corvette. They started having problems balancing the light--if the car was correctly lighted, the actors weren't---and if the actors were lighted correctly, the car was wrong. After a few episodes they switched the car to a light brown color, and used that color for the rest of the show's run (although they updated to the latest model every year.)
That is the only show I've heard about where the car paint was an issue. What it comes down to is that the people who made these shows couldn't have had the slightest idea that one day people would be watching them on 60" high definition sets. What was simple background originally is now bigger than life. When I was a kid, say around 1973, my folks bought a 26" color set, and I thought that was the largest screen in the universe. But even on what was a big set for the time, most details didn't show up.
There are a few shows from the early days of television that really show their ages when watching on today's sets. Many of the westerns of that time were mostly shot on sets, even if they were trying to create an outdoor setting. Try watching "The Rifleman" sometime. The backgrounds are so bad they look like they were done by a kid with a water color set.Now that I think about it, most of the Green Acres scenes, even those that were meant to be outdoors, where filmed on a sound stage. I haven't watched the show recently, but I'd bet that it looks pretty bad. Good thing it was so damn funny....
"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak
In the Lucy Goes to Hollywood episodes of I Love Lucy, to prevent reflections the windshield of their Pontiac convertible was removed and the car's body was scrubbed down to a matte finish. It looks like it was made of suede!
"Please use elevator, stairs stuck between floors."
"Now that I think about it, most of the Green Acres scenes, even those that were meant to be outdoors, where filmed on a sound stage. I haven't watched the show recently, but I'd bet that it looks pretty bad."
Even as a kid, I always recognized that the backgrounds on a lot of shows were just painted. The worst, in my opinion, was on LASSIE.
And as for other issues regarding black and white film and color, I remember reading somewhere that chocolate syrup was always used for blood. When red fake blood was used, it didn't look as convincing as chocolate syrup!
"Truth is its own evidence." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Back about 1977, I got to go on a tour of "Old Tucson," a filming location outside Tucson, AZ, where they used to shoot many old west films and a lot of TV westerns over the years, such as "The High Chaparral." For a 13 year-old kid, it was quite an eye-opener. One thing the tour guide mentioned is exactly what you said--that they used to used Hershey's syrup for blood on old B&W films. I think they said they switched to colored Karo Syrup after color films came along (at least at that time.)
Another thing that struck me--at least on the indoor sets--was how terrible the "outdoor" backgrounds were. I think they used them mostly for shots that were supposed to be indoors but showed an outside scene through a window or in similar situations.
On the other hand, all of the outdoor sets at Old Tucson were great. They even had an old train that appeared in many films and TV shows. Some time after I was there, the whole place burned to the ground. I heard they rebuilt it but I can't imagine their being a huge need for it these days given the relatively few westerns now being made. Of course, the place also acted as a tourist attraction, much like Universal Studios back lot in Los Angeles, so perhaps it is still in business.
Just as an aside--and as a plug for my hometown--did you know that there is a similar place called "Old Nevada" not too far outside Las Vegas? They have used this place on occasion as a film set. It is off the same highway that takes you to Red Rock State Park. They have a pretty cool little western town with a lot of tourist-trap type goings on--a place you might take your kids to placate them for a few hours during your Las Vegas vacation. If you have a large group you can even reserve the place. (Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with this place. I just thought that I would mention it.)
"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak
As a big fan of TV, I would have been ecstatic to have visited a real film location when I was 13! I read every "behind the scenes" information I could get my hands on, which wasn't easy, considering I was just a poor farm boy!
One thing I read was that the worst example of a TV show mixing indoor and outdoor sets was THE LONE RANGER, with Clayton Moore, after Jack Wrather bought the series in 1956 (or thereabouts) and began filming in color. It was jarring to viewers to jump from one shot of the horses galloping down a dusty road with a breeze swaying the branches to a flat backdrop, some shrubbery and fake boulders strategically placed near small motionless trees. If you watch such an episode today, the difference will be so obvious it will distract you from the story. But, in a way, it was fun to notice such clues about how the show was being filmed and added to my enjoyment of the show. I mean, how wrapped up can you otherwise get watching a kids show?
"Truth is its own evidence." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Another thing that struck me--at least on the indoor sets--was how terrible the "outdoor" backgrounds were. I think they used them mostly for shots that were supposed to be indoors but showed an outside scene through a window or in similar situations."
Wanna see bad backdrops? Check out Three's Company. You can see the backgrounds move when people walk by or a door closes. Really bad.
K/H D
America got the Government it deserves!!! Welcome to the USSA!!!