"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Since you’re currently from the N.Y. area, if you ever happen to be around 630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 508, New York, New York, you can always drop in a give them a tip of the hat, since those folks were the outside contractor hired to do the restoration work.

Thanks, Penton. I think I may just do that, if I can restrain myself from bowing down before them.

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Dennis M

As for the Schumacher stunt making the Stig identity a bit anti climatic, I guess you can look at it that way. But I have a feeling the boys at Top Gear have something in mind. Here's one spin for you. Say the real Stig shows up and calls Schumacher out, challenges him on the track to prove it. You could string that along for quite a few eps.

You didn't see the end of the show where they pretty much made that point, and they had the stig running backwards through the course, hitting camera men, etc. Was priceless.

PS. Still waiting for my copy of Dr. Strangelove.

I'm waiting for Penton to send me a copy for free for being such an integral part of his forum, but, alas, I haven't been contacted yet...

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by doctorD

So you shouldn't be surprised that this info is out today:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1429442

which links this article: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/har...2009_06_18.pdf

Why don't these people just give up?

So Amir "retired" as an industry insider to get a "promotion" as a mod in an Internet website?

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

You didn't see the end of the show where they pretty much made that point, and they had the stig running backwards through the course, hitting camera men, etc. Was priceless.

I'm waiting for Penton to send me a copy for free for being such an integral part of his forum, but, alas, I haven't been contacted yet...

Who holds the Guinness Book World Record for the greatest number of takes for a motion picture scene?

How many?
Which movie?

[Vincent Pereira]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Who holds the Guinness Book World Record for the greatest number of takes for a motion picture scene?

How many?
Which movie?

I thought it was Kubrick for THE SHINING, the scene being the one where Shelley Duvall is going up the stairs looking for Danny and sees the weird interaction between the bear-costumed ghost and the male ghost in the room. Not sure how many takes exactly but it was a LOT as I recall.

I also recall reading that there were a massive amount of takes for the scene between Scatman Crothers and the kid when the kid is eating ice cream and they discuss the Shining.

Vincent

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Who holds the Guinness Book World Record for the greatest number of takes for a motion picture scene?

How many?
Which movie?

Does this film hold the record for the most number of takes in any film?

This is another hotly debated topic. According to the Guinness Books of Records, the scene of Wendy backing up the stairs as she swings the baseball bat at Jack was shot 127 times, which is a record for the number of retakes of a single scene. However, both assistant editor Gordon Stainforth and Steadicam operator Garrett Brown dispute this. According to Stainforth, "I'm sure Shelley never had to repeat a scene 127 times [...] If my memory is correct it was something in the order of 45 takes" (quoted here). Similarly, on his DVD commentary, Brown says as far as he remembers, the scene was shot 35 times.

However, Brown also claims that the Guinness Book of Records is correct about the film holding the record for the most retakes, it just has the scene and the number wrong. He claims that Kubrick did 148 takes of the scene where Hallorann explains to Danny what shining is; specifically, the over-the-shoulder shot looking at Hallorann himself (meaning actor Danny Lloyd wasn't forced to do 148 takes, only Scatman Crothers).

As such, if we accept that Brown's memory is accurate, then the film does hold the record for the most number of takes of a single scene, but it is for neither the scene nor the number which is usually claimed.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/faq#.2.1.13

Does it count that a) I knew the answer before Vincent posted it, b) I'm posting from a friends house, flaky satelite internet that's achingly slow, but it's sitting on 4 acres of land on a lake, 3+ hours from Toronto... I'm on a (cold!) suba trip, water temp is sub-50F, and I'm not diving dry... I'm an idiot...


So, yeah, on vacation, checking this thread, and giving Vincent props. He's forgotten more about film than I'll ever know, but I -might- tie him on Kubrick.

Penton, did you ever pickup the Kubrick Archives book? Taschen has a mini version, but the mega one is certainly the one to own, with the 70mm strip from K's own print of 2001. I got a sequence from the end, the wacky solarized 'copter shots...

If you haven't picked up that Archive, and Neil Young's, well, you should. Hell, it's a write-off for you, no?

ps. planning a weeklong live-aboard trip to Caribbean now instead of Oz (that'll wait 'till 2010), so if you have any advice, lemme know...

[Vincent Pereira]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

...

Does it count that a) I knew the answer before Vincent posted it, b) I'm posting from a friends house, flaky satelite internet that's achingly slow, but it's sitting on 4 acres of land on a lake, 3+ hours from Toronto... I'm on a (cold!) suba trip, water temp is sub-50F, and I'm not diving dry... I'm an idiot......

Hey man, if there's an "award" attached to getting this correct answer- and you and I did indeed both get the right answer- then I humbly acquiesce to you. Penton, give this man the prize

Vincent

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Vincent Pereira

Hey man, if there's an "award" attached to getting this correct answer-

Nope.
I was just curious if shark or anyone else knew the answer.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

ps. planning a weeklong live-aboard trip to Caribbean now instead of Oz (that'll wait 'till 2010), so if you have any advice, lemme know...

The Caribbean has mucho islands, I'd have to know which one(s) you plan on visiting.

Otherwise, make room in your gear bag for this.........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujhdf9_IO4w

[Penton-Man]

Has everyone that regularly posts in my thread had the opportunity to vote in the poll listed here?
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=99791

If not, this is your last reminder.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Brain Sturgeon

Hey Penton--

Please extend kudos to the folks at SPHE for their fabulous work on the BD transfer of The International-- the video quality is just magnificent.

However, there is one issue that I wanted to point out, and that is the handling of the subtitles in this title. There were only a few, but they were partially in the bottom of the video and partially in the lower black bar. I know this issue has been beaten to death, but this is problematic for those of us that use CIH systems. Gran Torino (another great flick) also did this, although I will have to bug Warner Bros. on that one. I understand if the subtitles are entirely in the lower black bar or entirely in the lower portion of the video (much preferable for CIH systems), but I don't understand the half-in half-out technique. Movies in the theater place subtitles within the video frame, so I don't see why doing that on a home video presentation would be problematic. If you could pass that on to the powers that be, I'd greatly appreciate it. I would imagine that folks with non-scope systems wouldn't mind it, but I dunno, would a poll be in order?

Thanks mate!

I have a serious request for any of our industrious members here or one of the moderators….

I am interested in an online poll on Blu-ray.com that inquires as to how the members feel about the positioning of subtitles for SPE Blu-ray movies. We are just checking public interest, nothing decided, nothing imminent.

I would appreciate if someone could run the survey when they get a chance (posting a link to it here on my thread to save me time in not searching for it) and hopefully there will be some statistically significant participation from our members. This is one of those rare opportunities in which your direct input could influence the policy of the home video division of a major Hollywood studio. There is no guarantee that we will make a change to current policy (option #2), although we will strongly consider it if the poll shows a strong preference to the contrary.

Thanks,
Penton

Please post the parameters of the poll as follows…………..

My preference for subtitle positioning in regards to widescreen (AR 2.30 or greater) pictures is......

1. Place all subtitles inside the active picture all the time.

2. As it is not possible for SPE to place both lines outside of the active picture, I choose what SPE currently does which is, one line in the active picture and one line out.

3. It makes no difference to me, as either way is fine.

As a footnote to the above poll and just to answer future member inquiries or desires now…… it is not practical to provide both position options on the same disc. This is because raster based (as opposed to text based subtitles) look better since they are anti-aliased and this type of sub cannot be moved as a normal player function as their position is predetermined at the time the subtitles are prepared.

[Deciazulado]

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=104430

[Penton-Man]

Thanks Deci.
All I would like to add is that for those opting for option #1 (i.e. subs inside the active picture all the time), please be aware that it is possible that some imagery might be obscured on the BD, that one would have readily seen at the theatrical presentation, when directly compared with each other.

Or vice versa, for that matter……… meaning, it is still possible that something might be obscured on the theatrical that the BD edition with subtitles would still reveal even by their positioning inside the active picture.

The positioning within the active picture may not be exactly identical between the theatrical presentation and the Blu-ray edition, so it is possible that something will be covered up in one as compared to the other.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

The positioning within the active picture may not be exactly identical between the theatrical presentation and the Blu-ray edition, so it is possible that something will be covered up in one as compared to the other.

And this is why the most important factor for me is that the subtitles (except in cases in which titling is present in the original language version of the film) are always removable. In fact, (with the noted exception) if they are not removable, I will not buy the disc.

[Doctorossi]

Penton, I'm going to abstain from your poll because my preference (variable- both positioning options available) is not represented.

I don't have a CIH set-up and I don't anticipate having one in the future, but who knows? Stranger things have happened. And if I do end up with one, I don't want all my subtitled discs to have become problematic overnight.

However, the more important reason for my preference is one of principle. I think the industry needs to be more aware of the variety of audiences and viewing preferences for its products and make the effort to accommodate them. This is one great example of an area in which the product can be improved, adding value and satisfaction for customers and encouraging future purchases, with entirely negligible additional production cost. Being able to control the presentation and enjoy it 'just right' is a big motivator for enthusiasts and when the industry can bring us closer essentially for free, they need to recognize the opportunity and grab it.

Why ask "Are we making the right choice?" when, instead, you can give us the choice.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Thanks Deci.
All I would like to add is that for those opting for option #1 (i.e. subs inside the active picture all the time), please be aware that it is possible that some imagery might be obscured on the BD, that one would have readily seen at the theatrical presentation, when directly compared with each other.

Or vice versa, for that matter……… meaning, it is still possible that something might be obscured on the theatrical that the BD edition with subtitles would still reveal even by their positioning inside the active picture.

The positioning within the active picture may not be exactly identical between the theatrical presentation and the Blu-ray edition, so it is possible that something will be covered up in one as compared to the other.

Did you just say the same thing, three times, three different ways?

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Did you just say the same thing, three times, three different ways?

I did that yesterday at the conference too.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Penton, I'm going to abstain from your poll because my preference (variable- both positioning options available) is not represented.

Party pooper......well suit yourself, I already know that you don’t qualify to vote during this process ………
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#31533083

[Doctorossi]

I'm not looking for sympathy, Penton; I'm looking for action.

[Penton-Man]

The DTS-HD Master Audio vs. Dolby TrueHD poll proved useful and you all will be seeing the results of that in titles coming later this Fall.

Fellow membership should keep in mind that I am finished with regularly following that particular survey and its related pertinent comments; however, if I do hear about Bludog, Krelldog or surroundhound all posting in unison on the same page of that survey again, I may just be inclined to post this YouTube video once more ……….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He82NBjJqf8

Our chieftain moderators should consider keeping the audio survey thread open for executives to read from other studios/content providers (for example, George Feltenstein, Senior VP from WB has mentioned to me that he reads my thread regularly [which carries a link to that audio codec poll]) who may be thinking of switching from one audio codec to another and perhaps also for fellow members who find it valuable to learn/debate certain related audio nuances of interest to them which have arisen during/as a result of the course of that discussion.

Thanks for all the participation ……roughly over 1,300 votes, over 1,300 replies and over 30,000 views, all accomplished in a short time since its inception , as it has been hovering around those numbers for a few weeks now already.