No Show Lots Of Tell at DVinfo.net

Scott Harper · November 19th, 2006, 05:03 PM

Hi Jonathan,

I've been away from 2nd Unit a little while and not watched all of the past episodes but I've recently viewed the last 3 or 4 and just wanted to say that you guys have come a long way in lighting etc. My problem is, and always was, I find that if I closed my eyes while watching the show, I wouldn't miss anything! In other words, you don't "Show me" you just "Tell Me." I say this with all due respect, you guys are clearly putting in allot of effort, not to mention money, to bring us your show every week or so.

What you guys have is a great idea; giving us, hungry "young filmmakers" an opportunity to see people out there who make a living doing what "your audience" hopefully wants to be doing and perhaps share some techniques on how they do it. I think that's one the shows goals? Me personally, I want to SEE more of what it is they do, rather than HEAR it. Just my 2 cents.

Paolo Ciccone · November 19th, 2006, 06:06 PM

Hey Scott.
That is a great suggestion and we are working on a bringing more "hand-on" examples. The way we setup the show, for the most part, is to interview industry veterans and in that you are right, it's more "tell" than "show" but there is a reason for that. I found the tricks and "behind the scenes" reports very eye-opening, even after reviewing the interviews endless times while editing. If you want, "2nd Unit" is similar to "Inside the Actor's Studio" this time directed to for the movie crew.
Jonathan and I talked a few times about making a couple of episodes about the post-process side of the business. I'd personally like to show the whole process from editing to compositing with AfterEffects 7.0, compression with Flash and web delvery with interactive video.
We are preparing for a in-depth demo of the use of Steadicam and we will demonstrate lighting as we used on the set of "El Papel".
So, let us know what you'd like to see and we will do our best to bring it o you.

Jonathan Ames · November 19th, 2006, 07:48 PM

And for my answer, you're absolutely right. However, there are a few road blocks and let me explain. First, we're a victim of our own success. We now have substantial funding from Sony, Apple, Fujinon, Tiffen, Adobe, Studio Direct and Lite Panels with other support from other companies. The result has been a feature for Sony that, when we first started it, was an English-only versiion. We've now had an order for a Spanish version of it and a commitment to a series run so time becomes an issue. That being said, there's an up-side to this situation. Because of our success through support of people like you, we now have accesss to "clips" that are carefully guarded. Think of it as shooting over-the-shoulder shots of dialogue with no cut-aways. BORING! So we interject action sequences. Up until now, we had no access to those "clips" for cut-away action series but more and more, studios are allowing us access to clips to use as examples of what people like Bobby Finley and others are discussing so that should help out immensely. Next, we're planning some hands-on series like an in-depth look at how Tiffen makes filters and what it is that they do. How lenses are put together by Fujinon with ample clip footage. And the piece d' resistance (sp!) a behind-the-scenes look at the industry's largest armorer of motion pictures, ISS, and all their guns and a series on bloody, bloody special effects and how they're done. In short, the first year was a tough one for us doing the best we could as a start-up with no one doing ground-proving before us and with only LitePanels to support us. Then, Sony and Tiffen stepped in and said, "Yeah, you guys have a good idea and produce well. We'll back you." and that's what we're in the middle of right now...that and an absolutely crushing shooting schedule of El Papel in English and Spanish. It got so bad, I had to give the crew last Friday through tomorrow off just to recharge and come back to the set refreshed, this after 4 weeks of literally 20-hour days. My Cast and Crew and the best...THE BEST and hopefully we'll be hitting the mark with what you and others have asked for. So with that all said, I echo Paolo's sentiments. You now know what we have planned. Anything else you'd like to see? And, more importantly, wanna jump in and lend a hand on the site or the set? We need good people like you.

November 19th, 2006, 05:03 PM	#1
Scott Harper Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Vancouver BC Posts: 119	No Show Lots Of Tell Hi Jonathan, I've been away from 2nd Unit a little while and not watched all of the past episodes but I've recently viewed the last 3 or 4 and just wanted to say that you guys have come a long way in lighting etc. My problem is, and always was, I find that if I closed my eyes while watching the show, I wouldn't miss anything! In other words, you don't "Show me" you just "Tell Me." I say this with all due respect, you guys are clearly putting in allot of effort, not to mention money, to bring us your show every week or so. What you guys have is a great idea; giving us, hungry "young filmmakers" an opportunity to see people out there who make a living doing what "your audience" hopefully wants to be doing and perhaps share some techniques on how they do it. I think that's one the shows goals? Me personally, I want to SEE more of what it is they do, rather than HEAR it. Just my 2 cents.

November 19th, 2006, 06:06 PM	#2
Paolo Ciccone Trustee Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Posts: 1,116	Hey Scott. That is a great suggestion and we are working on a bringing more "hand-on" examples. The way we setup the show, for the most part, is to interview industry veterans and in that you are right, it's more "tell" than "show" but there is a reason for that. I found the tricks and "behind the scenes" reports very eye-opening, even after reviewing the interviews endless times while editing. If you want, "2nd Unit" is similar to "Inside the Actor's Studio" this time directed to for the movie crew. Jonathan and I talked a few times about making a couple of episodes about the post-process side of the business. I'd personally like to show the whole process from editing to compositing with AfterEffects 7.0, compression with Flash and web delvery with interactive video. We are preparing for a in-depth demo of the use of Steadicam and we will demonstrate lighting as we used on the set of "El Papel". So, let us know what you'd like to see and we will do our best to bring it o you. __________________ Paolo http://www.paolociccone.com Demo Reel

November 19th, 2006, 07:48 PM	#3
Jonathan Ames 2nd Unit TV Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 509	And for my answer, you're absolutely right. However, there are a few road blocks and let me explain. First, we're a victim of our own success. We now have substantial funding from Sony, Apple, Fujinon, Tiffen, Adobe, Studio Direct and Lite Panels with other support from other companies. The result has been a feature for Sony that, when we first started it, was an English-only versiion. We've now had an order for a Spanish version of it and a commitment to a series run so time becomes an issue. That being said, there's an up-side to this situation. Because of our success through support of people like you, we now have accesss to "clips" that are carefully guarded. Think of it as shooting over-the-shoulder shots of dialogue with no cut-aways. BORING! So we interject action sequences. Up until now, we had no access to those "clips" for cut-away action series but more and more, studios are allowing us access to clips to use as examples of what people like Bobby Finley and others are discussing so that should help out immensely. Next, we're planning some hands-on series like an in-depth look at how Tiffen makes filters and what it is that they do. How lenses are put together by Fujinon with ample clip footage. And the piece d' resistance (sp!) a behind-the-scenes look at the industry's largest armorer of motion pictures, ISS, and all their guns and a series on bloody, bloody special effects and how they're done. In short, the first year was a tough one for us doing the best we could as a start-up with no one doing ground-proving before us and with only LitePanels to support us. Then, Sony and Tiffen stepped in and said, "Yeah, you guys have a good idea and produce well. We'll back you." and that's what we're in the middle of right now...that and an absolutely crushing shooting schedule of El Papel in English and Spanish. It got so bad, I had to give the crew last Friday through tomorrow off just to recharge and come back to the set refreshed, this after 4 weeks of literally 20-hour days. My Cast and Crew and the best...THE BEST and hopefully we'll be hitting the mark with what you and others have asked for. So with that all said, I echo Paolo's sentiments. You now know what we have planned. Anything else you'd like to see? And, more importantly, wanna jump in and lend a hand on the site or the set? We need good people like you.