skip to main |
skip to sidebar
When going past a miniaturised set of King Kong which just had the basic landscape and the boat, I was caught off guard by some of the things that directors choose to do. I never really think about these things in too much detail; my main folly is that I over analyse things and predict what will happen in a plot and ruin in for myself since I don't stop and take time to enjoy it. Nevertheless I really enjoyed taking a great photograph of the miniature island from King Kong (the new version). We weren't going past all that fast but we didn't stop moving either and my digital camera managed to instant focus within an instant and captured it. I was very pleased; the reflection of the window of leaves makes it also look like a double exposure shot on film cameras; very cool indeed.
The thing about movie sets is that they can seem large when you shoot at various locations but some of the more important places where the action takes place can be really small; all about effective use of camera angles and shots to create and bring to life the creative imagination of the director I guess. One of the favourites of mine on the Universal Studios tour was the Jaws set, but my timing was off for some of the photography where I've missed the shark snapping at our tour shuttle and only gotten the tale. The one that got away in a manner of photographic and maybe fisherman senses. I was feeling a little sore about that but the fantastic colour and distortion effect of the explosion and fire using natural gas is one of my favourites since all the colours are bright but the silhouette of the oil drums and stuff on the deck gives it that unnatural industrious mood to it.
Movie set of How the Grinch Stole Christmas aka Whoville! The tiny town resting in the depths of a snowflake. Set at Universal Studios in California. I was really intrigued by the smooth lines and the design of the cars and the buildings; smooth but asymmetrical and in pastel muted tones. I was let down by the position of the sun since it wasn't in the best place for this movie set at the time we took the shuttle tour.
They have vacancy at the Bates Motel. Photograph taken at Universal Studios in California, America January 2011. I had seen the movie before we came here; as the tour shuttle chugged past an actor holding a knife walks out of the door dragging a body bag towards the car. He looks at his audience and begins to run brandishing the knife above his shoulder advancing towards the back of the shuttle. We pick up speed and leave him staring at us, eyes pierced with concentration. It was sort of exhilarating hearing the other tourists scream with delight and fright even though I knew it was an actor. The surprise ending of Psycho really did scare me; I didn't expect it to be as psychologically thrilling as the title suggest and for the effects they had at that time they did manage to scare their audience.
Last year my ex-hippie and eccentric Literature who my class suspects of once coming to teach us young impressionable youths while under the influence of some illicit drug (and who might have forgotten to teach us a few times due to this troubling problem as well) while lecturing us about Edwards Scissorhands gave us all this little gem of wisdom: Every village square, in every corner of the globe sees the life of an actor on screen and aspires to have the life they lead and live glamorously and comfortably. Of course due to my memory mimicking that of a goldfish (I don't even remember what I did three days ago) and the fact that anytime she lectured our class on anything we had difficulties comprehending what she was saying and I am paraphrasing; she had a point. My short little tourist stint in Hollywood taught me three things: there are many eccentrics and weirdos in Hollywood, the people in costumes expect money and can get aggressive and that some of the most beautiful houses are in Hollywood.
