AboVI : The trophies lor 1982 CINEMAGIC/SVA Shan Film Search await the winners Prior to the awards

the awards show a1 Xenon's diseotheque In New 'lbrk City last

November 1st. Giant blowups 01 black & white photos thatllave appeared in past Issues 01 CINEMAGIC and an elghtfoot-hlgh blow-up olthl cover 01
CINEMAGIC 116 (the Issue that announced the 1981 wlnllllrs) hang Just bi!Ww the viewing screen Celebrities Maureen Stapleton and Gary were on
hand 10 present l he awards. Tum 10 page five lor the story on the 1982 CINEMAGIC/ SVA awards show
loft , ",,,;t;;;.;;;5i;;; ;;;;o;c;;;;;;:-
horror film Ring
wOO'IiIn's corpse that comes to life,
AIMrII : Entertainment Enterprises'
latest release, The 'Itl/Iow Ranger
teatures a blind hobo Who Is trans-
formed by a magIC rainboW Into a
crusader lor peace. Right: Bille Films'
latest production, Lord 01 rne
Jands, Is a medieval adventure. See
the Producers' Bulletin Board section
on page 14

1
CONTENTS
Editor's
Bench __ _
4
Awards
Night 5
Meet the winners of this year's CINE
MAGICISVA Short Film Search. By
John Clayton.
Filmmakers'
Forum 8
A regular department devoted to
readers' comments and correspon-
dence about fanlllsy filmmaking.
Cobweb
Spinner 10
Spin your own webs with this easy to
make cobweb spinner that gives pro
fessional resul ts. By Matt Greenfield.
Producers'
Bulletin
Board 14
Latest news of our readers' productions.
High
School
Werewolf 16
-
Go behind the scenes on the making of
this yea(s CINEMAGICISVA Super8
First Prize winner: An American
WerewoJlin High School. By Joe Carter.
~ 2 0
The l ife and career of pioneer film
maker Georges Melles is chronicled on
a cable Tv' retrospective.
Issue "'19
Grip Kit,,-__
22
Useful accessories for filmmakers.
Electronic
Special
Effects 24
Build your own simple lighting
gadgets. Three projects for construc
ting a dimmer, a chaser and a flasher.
By Chris Stevens.
Books _ _ _
30
Books for filmmakers-valuable
sources of information and technique
for the filmmaker.
Cinemagic
Market-
place 31
Classified advertisi ng and an
nouncements.
Front LighU
Back Light _ 32
AI MagliocheUi reveals the magic lind
mystery of front light/back light anima
tion.
ClNEMAG/C II J 9 3
Issue "19
Publishers
Norman Jacobs/Kerry O'Quinn
Associate Publisher
Rita Eisenstein
Circulation Director
Richard Browne
Editor
David Hutchison
Art Director
Steven J. Plunkett
Managing Editor
John Clayton
Senior Designer
Neal Holmes
Associate Art Director
Diane Cook
Editorial Contributors
Joe Carter
Matt Greenfield
AI Magliochetti
Chris Stevens
Designer
Denise Lewis
Production Assistants
Joan Baetz
Richard Cebek
Eileen Dempsey
Norma Garcia
Andrea Passes
Clara Urrea
Founder of CINEMAGIC
Don Dohler
Financial Manager
Joan Baetz
Published by
O'QUINN STUDIOS, INC.
475 Park Ave, South
New York, NY 10016
... d.ertl.lng Inlo"T>IItion' Rite E""'nsteln
(212) 689,2830
A_ thl .... : AI wrlO!ItG lor IN Grand Pm, In
IN 1981 Short fnm s..rtn wt\II hIS 1ilnI ,
IJiIQ MIIC.Jlu, II., I /NCI11Ig 01 $101'"'1"'\1011 5k11101on
_iOn lor "onmgllVlwocJ<8g/ll riMIofI sequence
k"'" IIIIu MIu/JI. Soo p,!;jJt 32 lor Al' l a.toclt on 1I0Il1-
nn.tJon Cover PhOtO Dy Ma:. Kalblekl
4 CiI'lEMAG/C "19
Editor's
BENCH
But What Does it
all Mean ... ?
I
t's now some months past the Fourth Annual ClNEMAGIC/SVA Film Search; the
films have been returned with score cards enclosed and the lucky winners
notified. Now what?
Of course, the winners have gotten what they were supposed to get out of the con
test-some generously donated merchandise prizes, recognition, visibi lity, a public
screening of their film and possible future coverage in the pages ofCINEMAGIC. It's
the beginning of a track record. It's a first step towards getting up to bat with the big
leagues. For most of the winners that chance at bat is still years off. It will take much
more hard work. more filmmaking and good luck. Your chances at bat or getting to
show your stuff to the big boys or the big break actually depends mostly on luck.
Whether or not you strike out on your 'big break' depends mostly on you ... on how
good you are ... on how good what you have to show is.
But what about the vast majority who weren't "winners' this time around. Well, of
course, there is always next year. But even more important is the fact that there are
dozens of other film fest ivals and contests held around the United States. You should
enter as many of them as possible. I think you1I find that if you are any good at all, your
work will be accepted and win prizes in some contests and not in others.
Why? If it'sa good film, why doesn't everybody think so. Weill have no answer for
that one. I am a member of the Stereo Division of the Photographic Society of
America. There are maybe a dozen competitions that I enter with my stereo slides
every year. Sometimes the judges like them and sometimes they dont. A good friend
of mine had the experience of having one of his entries rejected by the judges in one
competition, but the very next competit ion he entered the same stereo slide took first
place,
There is no accounting for taste, of course, but there is more to it than that. Some of
the things that affect judging are: was your work shown first or last. how good was the
work shown just before yours, what are the personal prejudices of the Judges, what are
the phySical conditions of the judging environment. was the projector running per
fectly for your film, was your film the 25th version of the same tired plot that the judges
had seen that day, .. ? And so on.
All of these things can make the same film a winner one day and a loser the next.
Your only defense against this sort of thing is to get your film out as many times as
possible. In the long run, the averages will even out some of these variables.
One thing though. Even in the worst of conditions ... even though the judges
might have been bored by 7 hours of mediocre or worse films ... films of unusual
talent and originality shine through. rve seen it happen time after time-the most
blearyeyed judge perks to full attention when anything of unusual quality comes
across on the screen. Ifs astounding how a little bi t of original creativity can transform
an exhausted Judge Into an eager, excited film fan.
So, Now, what does all this mean? Simply put: "If you di dnt make if this time, but
youre really turned on by filmmaking, .. then nothing can stop you:
-David Hutchison
CINEMAGIC lopubllsI>W bl monthly byOQUINN STUOIOS, 1r1C., Park ..... en..., South. N .... V"..k. NY 10016. Thill.
Conlenl i, _ 1983byOOUINNSTUOIOS. INC. AllllghlSr_'.w Reprln,,,..rq>r<>docllon
al .ny ",."", ... 1 In pen '" In whole wlthoul wrlnen pe.ml .. 1on hom the publ1ohc<s I, .uldly f",bldden. CINEMAGIC ac
cept. no for u"",Ik:lted ""," .. scripts. photos. art or other ""'Ie.lal, b .. t II free ... nce submilial re accom
pelllw by a selfed<j.nsed. IUImpe<1 en .. elope. they wUlboo cOIUIk\ered and. If neee ... " . eIUlnN. PrO<tu<:u itd .,,,lsed
al. not .....:e""rlly endol>W by CINL'I"'GIC. end any vi ...... '""pr."""" In edltO'/i,,1 copy.", not necflHrlly._ 01
CINEMAGIC. Subscription ,oteo, '9.98 10'/ one yee. (01. Issue.) dell.ere<! III lhe U.s .. Canedo and M,""lco, 1<)<<,llIn
oubscrlptlon $12.98 In U.S. fundS only. Ne. Sub.crlptlon.: send direct!)' \(I ONEMAGIC. cloOQulnn 5t<><lloo. Inc ..
P.rk "'vell..., Soulh.1'Iew Yo.k. NY 10016. NOII/lcaUon of chanlleofaddre ... or rene I ..,nd toCINEJII ... GIC,
Dept. P.O. 80. 142. MI . .... orrls. lL 61054. Pon ..... ter: Send 10CINEJIIA(jIC. P.O. Box 142.
MI . M""I . IL 6 1054. Printed III U.S .... .




1982
CINEMAGIC/SVA
AwardsSho
By JOHN CLAYTON
T
hiS year's screening of winners of Inside, CINEMAG1C publisher
the ClNEMAGIGSVA Short Film Kerry O'Quinn greeted the crowd
Search was the most successful and b r iefly outlined the
and exciting in the four years that we've evening's entertainment. The
been inviting the public to wotch the work lights went down and the crowd
of talented amateur filmmakers on a large fell silent and settled back to en
screen in a major Manhattan theater. This joy the unique one-time public
year we decided to hold the screening and showing of this year's winners.
i!lwards ceremony in a disco instead of a The first film shown was
regular theater so we could push all the Fareed AI Mashafs Davie, 8
folding cbairs aside after the show, open 16mm fantasy about a young
up the dance noor and have a big party. boy who builds his own time
The show took place atXenon's, one of machine in his bedroom to escape
New York City's most ellclusive discos, the present and nee into the ro-
and the place was jammed. Xenon's is mantic past. Dauietied for thi rd prize
usually a gathering spot for New York's in 16mm.
sodaleliteandthenewspapersusuallyan. Angus Graham's The Subway was
nounce on the society pages what cele next. A troubled youth boards a New York
brities where there the night before and City subway in this SuperS psycho-
what the partying was all about. On thriller for a journey into terror. The
November first the partying was a celebra bloody climall caused many an audience
tion of upandcoming filmmaking talent member to moan in disgust. 7h"W>w,
and the celebrities were the winners of the won Third Prize in Supera.
ClNEMAGICJSVA Short Film Search and ,---------------'
the show business personalities who were
there to present the awards.
Xenon's isn't usually set up for screen
ing films, so we had to bring our own
screen and set it up ourselves. We dressed
the stage with giant blackandwhite blow-
ups of photos that have appeared in CINE
MAGIC and an eight-foot high color blow-
up of the cover of CINEMAGIC # 16 (the
issue that announced last year's winners).
Some of the fjlmmakers whose faces ap-
peared in the blackandwhite blowups
were in the audience. Our Contest Coor-
dinator, Damon Santostefano, drew a
moustache on the picture in which he ap-
peared so people wouldn't recognize him
and beg him for his autograph.
A large crowd gathered outside
Xenon'sand patiently waited forthedoors
to open. The crowd appeared to be a gao
thering of New York's artistic community,
many filmmakers were in attendance.
Some of the other filmmakers whose
faces we recognized In the audience were:
Ed Summer. co-producer of Conan; John
Dads. author of many howto articles for
C1NEMAGIC. special effects director on
the Deadly Spawn and producerfdirector
of several other independent films; make-
up artist Arnold Garguilo. who worked
with Dods on creating makeup for The
Deadly Spawn; Animators Mike Sullivan
and Peter Wallach; Stephen Parady, direc-
tor of last year's winning SuperB film,
Asteroid; Ted Bohus, producer of The
Deadly Spawn and many others.
The Winners
First Prize 16mm ............. Extended Piay, David A. Cascio Palo Alto, CA
Second Prize 16mm .......... Zyzakis King. HughStegman, Los Angeles, CA
Third Prize 16mm(Tie) ........ . ..... Bandits, Joey Ahlbum, Brooklyn, NY
Third Prize 16 mm(Tie) ......... . . . ... Davie, FareedAIMashat. Miami, Fl
First Prize Super-B . AnAmencan Werewol{inHighSchooJ, Joe Carter(Di rector)
North Hill sHigh School, Carnegie, PA
Second PrizeSuper8 ... _ .......... UndeJtow, Bill Knowland,Oakland, CA
Third PrlzeSuper-B ............. The Subway. AngusGrahllm. Brooklyn. NY
The other film tied for Third Prize in
16mm. Joey Ahlbum's BandilS, was nellt
on the program. This highly stylized
animated cartoon about detectives chas-
ing bankrobbing cowboys through the
streets of New York City was highly enter
taining and gota very good audience reac
tion. Joey has already struck a deal for
Bandils to appear on a New York cable TV
station.
Bill Knowland's Undertow. a Super8
parody of foreign films was next on the
program. Undertow won Second Prize in
SuperB.
Zyzak is King, a USC student film by
Hugh Stegman, was next on the program.
Zyzilk is a 16mm fantasy film about a
group of California "beautiful people"
deeply involved in role playing computer
fantasy games. Zyzak has incredibly high
production values and the sets and
makeup are as professional looking as
most of what Hollywood has to offer. Two
former CINEMAGICJSVA winners. Ralph
Miller III and Steve Koch, contributed
makeup effects to-the film and helped in
building the elaborate dungeon set. The
superb wolfman makeup that Millercreat
ed for Zyzakcan be seen in the profile on
him in CINEMAGIC "15. Zyzak won Se
cond Prize in 16mm.
Another wolfman was next. The North
Hills High School film class of Carnegie,
Pennsylvania, lead by teacher Ralph
ClNEMAGIC "J 9 5
CINEMAGIC pul*sher Kerry O'OUlnn greets the Kerry OOUtnn assISts Maween Stapleton in presenting !he
audience allhe 1982 Awards Show 16nm awards after !he SCfe8I'IIng of the WIflI'liln.
O'OUlnn IooIcs on as Maureen StapIeIon gives Joey
Ahlbum a toogfaIuIaIory hug lor Bandrls
The audience applaUds alter the SCfeening ot one ot the Winning lilms alUMS year's shOw School ot Visual Arls Aim Oepanmem Chairman Charles Hirsch IS seated
WIth his gorgeous date In the center Gllhe Iront row C,NEMAGIC As$oCl3te PubliSher RIta Bsensteln Is at lar right In the second row
Langer. entered a Super-S parody of
werewolf films entitled An American
Werewolf In High School. directed by stu
dent Joe Carter, The film boasts some im
presive makeup effects and is very funny
(see "The Making of An American Were
woI{ in High School" in this issue). The
scene in which the lead character trans
f orms into a werewolf after being
"mooned" by a fellow student in the
hallway brought howls of laughter from
the audience. An American Werewolf in
High School won First Prize in SuperB.
Top honors of the evening went to
David A. Casci's Extended Play, a riotous
comedy about pinball and video game ar
6 ClNMAGIC ., 19
cades. Exlended Play is truly a classi c
short film could easily gain its own cull
following as It gains exposure through
cable networks and other rilm festivals.
Extended Play looks more professional
than most professional films and is far
funnier than most comedies being
churned by Hollywood. David Casci has
what it takes to go "all the way" and
everyone who has seen Extended Play is
rooting for him. Extended Play won First
Prize in 16mm.
After all the films had been shown. the
awards were presented by our guest
celebrities. Gary Springer. a riSing young
actor who has appeared In the feature
films Dog Day Afternoon and Jaws fI and
on TV ill t:pi::.oc..lt::. of 1'1./\.5.11. Gild IltlWiJ
Days, presented the SuperB awards,
Mllureen Stapleton, one of America's
most distlngu ished actresses who is a twa-
time Tony winner and who recently won a
Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her per-
formance in Red5. presented the 16mm
awards. For the winners who could make
it to the ceremony. it was an exci t ing
honor. The winners who couldn't make it
to the show (three of this year's winners
are from Calirornia and one is from
Florida) received their CINEMAGICISVA
trophies and merchandise prizes through
the mail. SVA Film Department Chair





man Charles Hirsch made the dosing
remarks lind the Ooor was cleared of the
folding chairs to open the dance floor and
make room for the big after-show bash.
Suddenly an incredible array of colored
lights i!md mirror baits were lowerd from
the ceiling of the famous disco which used
to be a legitimate threater and a wild party
began where only moments before a quiet
audience had been watching movies.
Loud rock-and-roll music blared from the
totl:llly awesome sound system. In corners
of the dance floor and at tables surroun
ding the slithering mass of dancers, peo-
pie congregated and tossed back beer and
mixed drinks while they tried to converse
above the din. Filmmakers from the au-
dience came forward to l;OI'9,dtulate tIlt:
winners. mllkeup artists peddled their
portfolios lind independent producers
talked lIbout possible movie deals.
We would like to thank the companies
that supported the 1982 CINEMAGICI
SVA Short Film Search by donating mer
chandise prizes for helping to make this
year's contest such a smashing success.
Cinelab' of New York City donated $)00
worth of 16 mm reversal processing. Fer
co of New York City donated a Sylvania
digital footcandle meter. Gepe Broadcast
(. EquipmentCo. of Bluff City. Tennessee
donated Gepe non-rewind reels for Suo
perB. K(.M Camera of New York City
gave a Hahnel motorized SuperB splicer.
Eastman Kodak contributed enough Ba
sic Filmmakers' Packets" to go around to
every winner. LowellUght Manufactur
ing, Inc, of New York donated a Lowell K-5
Kit. MlIgnestripe of Passia<:, NJ gave 500
feet of sound striping for SuperB, Pioneer
(. Co, of Westmont, New Jersey con-
tributed two EWA Matte Boxes and two
EWA Backwinders. Super8 Sound, Inc,
of Cambridge, Massachusetts donated
three SuperB Sound Blimp Kits-one of
which was for a SuperB camera with a 200
foot cartridge, And the 3M Co. orSt Paul,
Minnesota contributed 15 feet of Scotch
lite front projection material. Again, we
deeply appreciate the support of these
companies and their generousity to the
noble cause of encouraging up-and
coming filmmaking talent.
Many of the non-winning entries In this
year's CINEMAG1C!SVA Short Film
Search also showed a great deal of pro-
mi sing talent. Contests, by their very
nature, cannot reward all entrants. We
hope that everyone who entered this
year's contest will be back with another
film next year. Every film you make
teaches you more about your chosen craft
of filmmaking. The budding semifina
lists and also.rans of this year's contest
could very easily develop into next year's
winners, Don't get discouraged if you
didn' t win this year's contest. Many films
lost a chance of winning th is year's contest
by only I) few points on the judges'
scorecards, Show the judges (and most
importantly yoursel f) that you won't let
one minor disappointment set you off
you, choren co",,,,, See you n.>! Y.'" (Jf ~
left : Keith PoIlI, who
represented NofIh Hills High
School 01 Erie Pennsytvanla
lor their Super-Slirst Prizl!
winning lilm. An Amencan
Werewoff in High SdaJI.
walks 011 WIIh the CINE-
MAGtC/SVA trophy. Below:
SVA F*n Chairman Char1es
Hirsch makes tile
,.,,,'" ""'"
lett: O'CUIM (lett. bacI( 10
C<Wnera) ~ s the applause
as aclor Gary Spfinger
(center) presenlS the CINE
MAGIC/SVA trophy to Angus
Graham ICIt' hiS SuperS Third
Prize IUm. The Subway
C/1'EI1A':;/C"19 7
Filmmakers'
EORUM
A regular department d",,"oted to readers' comment. about filmmaking, their problems and solutions.
Reader Response
... For any skepticol
CINEMAGIC readers who t hink
thlll! Producers' Bulletin Board
merely shows other rellders
your latest production. You're
wronol Since I my film
St.llfballle 2580 and put it in the
Producers' Bulleti n Board.l
have received letters urging me
to enter contests and join
organizations.
There is no doubt in my mind
that there are people who read
Producers' Bullet in Board to
find talented, young filmmll kers
who someday "go pro" lind
create somethi ng fantast ic!
Phil Longhi
L.O.C. Studios
259 Standish Ave.
No. Plymouth, MA 02360
Dental Impressions
.. .1 think your magazine is j ust
gfeD!. but in the interests of SlIfe
ty I feel I should respond to your
article, "Seerets of Graphic Gore"
by John Dads. I'm a professional
makeup artist and work for
sevel(ll mlljor television stations
in New York.
In my work I have OCCllsion to
I1llIke dental impressions for the
purpose of making corrective
caps. fangs, crooked teeth, etc. I
was shown by II dentist the proper
wily to take Impressions and I feel
the Information given in the
"Secrets of Graphic Gore" IIrticie
Is flOt only Incorrect but it could
be dangerous.
The article suggests a card
board contlliner pillced in the
mouth is sufficient for taking im
pressions. The proper way is to
use II perforated dentlll tray and
not thecardbollrd one suggested.
These denllli trays are relatively
cheap lind can be purchllsed from
IIny dental supply house. They
lire specificllily designed for this
purpose and fit the contours of
both the upper and lower
and prevent the possibility of
choking on the Impression
material.
Another point I might add is
that II good deal of suction is
sometimes Incurred upon the
removlli of the t ray from the
mouth lind caution should be us
ed when dealing with people who
have capped teeth as it mlly
loosen them. As a makeup artist I
deal with people's faces lind very
often that's how they earn their
livings. They are in a sense en
8 ClNEMAG/C "19
trusting you flOt only with their
facial appearance, but with their
livelihood as well. Therefore, you
have the responsibility of taking
the utmost care with that trust.
Peter Montagna
2222 East 7th St.
Brooklyn, NY 11223
North Jersey
Film Group
.. I'm II musici anlfilmmaker in
GlI rf ield, NJ. I work in Super.8
lind have done mostly lInimated
fil ms. I'm look ing for other
f llmakers in northern New
Jersey to collll borate on mak
ing films.
A lso. I' m a fllirly good musi
ci an and composer lind can
ellsily score II film with either
cllI ssical or rock music, I'm cer
tain a Joint effort wi t h llnot her
talented f ilmmaker could pro
duce some rewllrding products.
If IInyone is interested, no mat
ter what age, please contllct me
by phone or me at my ad
dress below.
Andy Halasz
34 WessIngton Ave.
Garfield, NJ 07026
(201) 4789206
Bleached Laser Beams
... For laser beam or lightning bolt
effect scretched onto the film
emulsion (I use Kodak GI60 col
ortsllent). Clorox Liquid bleach
can be used to diffuse the hard
edges of t he beamlbolt and give
it the appearance of actual glow
ing energy.
The bleach can be applied to
the emulsIon side of the film
area, Wait 1015 seconds and
remove with water applied with II
Q.tip. Repellt the steps to in
crease the intensity of the light.
Work on one frame at a tIme lind
do not leave the bleach on for
more than 20 second!! lit II time
or the frame may become ruined.
It will take some prllctice to
mllSter this technique so take
your time lind don't rush. Be
careful with the bleach, it can
bum eyes and ruin clothes.
David Herfel
3349 PIIrklant. Ave.
Columbus, OH 43229
Makeup Artists Wanted
.. .1 am a graduate f ilm student at
New York Universi ty and I'm cur
rently involved In pre.production
on Open SeasClil, II short 16mm
IIctloflfthrilter. I would like to hear
from lInyooe in the New
YorkJNew Jersey arell who Is in
volved In special effects. makeup
who would be interested in work
ing liS a mllkeup artist on my
rlIm. Plellse contact me if you're
Interested.
Carl Morano
13 Kensington Rd.
Madison, NJ 07940
Miniature Trees
... Here' s a new technIque for
crelltlng cheap minillture trees
that lire very realistic looking. All
you hllve to do is buy a bunch of
grapes and eat them, S/lve the
vine. If you look lit the vine, with
all of its little extensions going
everywhere, it looks like a tree,
Now you can use the whole vine
as one big tree, or brellk orf the
branches to make smaller trees.
You paint the vine brown. and it
looks like a bare tree during the
fall or winter seasons. If you want
a green t ree, you aln lIdd moss or
whllt ever else you can think of.
I have only hlld two minor
problems with this technique,
The first is that the grapes are not
for sale 1111 year long lind the se,
cond is thllt the vines tend to
shrivel up and die aher three to
four days. My solut ion is to freeze
all my vines in the freezer until I
need them. This way they lire
stored up for when I can't buy
them, and they're 11150 kept fresh
and alive.
Brian Miner
936 W, Myrtle
Santa Ana, CA 92703
, . ,See John Dod's article abool
crealing mlnIalure trees In
ONCMAG/C "3.
Omaha Film Club
... I'm forming a rlIm club for
the Omllhll, Nebrllskll llrea. If
there are any filmmakers living In
the Omahllllrea who would be In
terested in joining. I'd love to hear
from you.
Craig Perki ns
9604 N. 35th St.
Omaha, NE 68112
phone: (402) 4558241
Blood Formula
. I was reading a recent issue of
lime magavne and saw an article
on makeup effects. It contained this
formula for blood makeup: I) Karo
Syrup; 2) Yellow Food Dye 15: 3)
Red Food Dye 133. You might
have trouble finding the red dye,
but nothing else.
A.iso,i' m making a Viet Nam War
movie and 1 need people to play the
Viet Cong and Vietnamese. I don't
kflOW anybody with slanted eyes.
Does anybody have a makeup
suggestion? If you live in the Glen
wood, Maryland area and are in
terested in being in my mOYie.
please contact me.
Tony Scott
3337 Brantly Rd,
Glenwood, MD 21738
National Film
Correspondence Club
... Calling al l amateur f11m
makers! We are start ing a letter
writing club to express our
ideas and concerns as film,
mllkers. If you hllve lI ny ideas
please write me, lind I shall per
sonally wri te each member o f
your concerns. If you wish to
join, plellse respond to the lid
dress below.
Raymy Krumrel
3056W. L4
Lancaster , CA 93534
... Please send a copy of your /el.
letS to F/JmrruJkers' Forum. IJIld
goodltrl!
Norwescon Film
Contest
... Nor.vescon 6, Seattle's own
regIonal science fiction conven
tlon (held March 1720, 1983) is
having its first annual amateur
rlIm contest. Ent ries should be
8mm silent, Super8 silent or one
or two track sound, 16mm silent
or sourvl , nr VH$ forl"nlll v;t1ffl_
FIlms should be flO longer t han
thirty minutes running time. Send
entries In reusable carton. mark
ed clearly on box, film am and
leader. Please Insure entries for
you own protection. All film
makers not attending the conven
tion must pay a $5 entry fee to
cover costs. Norwescon and film
contest personnel lire not respon'
sible for lost. damaged or stolen
properties. If you woold like Infor
mlltion llbout the contest or
would li ke to enter, send inquiries
and entries to:
NWCIFllm Contest
P.O. Box 24207
Seattle, WA 98124







a
Posterlution
0 00
/T., jilt' ..
!
(iij
@
0
0
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0 .- 0

0
0

0
,
0
! 0 ""
0
0
0

0
o 0 0
0
0
f'."'(J c "- d<"J

... laser Ught Productions. a
group 01 my filrnffiillking friends. Is
currently working on a short
science fICtion film. We saw an
effect which we 6ked and. with your
help. we'd to incOl"pOnlte it inl o
our fdm. We believe the effect is
call1ed "poslerization:' We saw the
effect In WoJfen. Please explain the
effecl and how we can duplicate II
without professional equipment.
We are worklng with standard
16mm equipment. If it isn' t possible
to complete the effect without
profe55ional equipment, please
give us an alternative effect.
Single Sound Stripe
... Since I phm to enter II Supera
film in neJCt yell r"s Short film
Search. 1 hllve one importll nt
Question: will there be lIny
changes mllde in your proJec
tor' s sound equipmenO .... fter
relldlng the Profile section In
CINEM .... GIC 11 16 on .... steroid, t
was di sturbed t o f ind that only
single track sound WII S lIudlble
at the contest lind no provisions
were mede for t he billa nee
treck. I' m sure ot her fllmmllkers
would be i nterested In your
enswer to lIvoid the poin of los
lng half thei r soundtrllck at next
yellr's contest.
, ..... ( ... ",orr h, .
s..k, lI.c "' V

(
"'k:Mel Barkhausen
218 BisOOp St.
Lego Armatures
.. . 1 would l ike to shere some
Inf ormet tan with other amll teuf
step-motion animators on how
to moke" good stop-motion lIf'
mature for relatively little ex-
pense. Since I lack the resouces
to build ballandsocket arme
tures, I hllve devised II method of
rmlking ormatures from the
parts for Lego construction sets.
The diagram shows which
pieces to use. The piece " 1\" lind
" B" come In varying lengths, and
they can 0150 be cut very easily.
si nce they life made of pli!lstic.
There life some drewb&cks,
however. First, the model will
havt to be rethO!T la rge (over 12
Inches). Second, the movement
Is limited when compared to
ball ondsocketjoints. Third, you
have to buy II whole set of lego
parts, which tlfe not chell p com
pored to using wire armatures.
rve had better results with the
Lego armatures than with wire,
however, be<:ouse the wi re tends
to break. Good luck. and good
filming]
Horry Robinette
580 I Cogbill Rd.
Richmond. VA 23234
.. Sn fhe lJI1.ide on OO/'l5lru(;fing
II wire animation model in
C/NEMAGIC "4 and the article on
cons/rucling a pen set baYand
sockel Mmlliure in c/NEMAGIC
"10.
Staten Island, NY 10306
.. Virtually any lab /hal handles
16mm op/lcals will poslerize your
{11m for you. II is nex possible 10
creale /he effect. Wi/hOllf profes-
sional equipment and /he process
Is relatively e:<penslve. There iso'l
rcally lIny effecf /hal you can
CIc.'Jle on yexsf own /hal will giue
you comparabJe results to posler/
zalion. bul effects are not encb 10
themselves- they're solely {or
creating a dramatic point /hal
helps fell your stcwy. If you can'f
lIfford 10 haue your films poster
Ized by lI/oca/lab, come up wi/h
II (/OtJJlly) differenl effect /hat you
can afford /hal will enhance your
sloty-nexjust /he visuallmpacl
on the screen.
CINEMAGIC BACK ISSUES
Jeff KImble
260 Eaton
Bettie Creek, ",1 490 17
... Unfortunately, we do nol foresee
lilly cfwlges in /he techniclll re-
qu/remenls keepirv:} /he
SCXIIldtrack lImIJ.ed to a trllck
ffX ne.Q years show. 01
Address lilt corre.sponckn 10;
ONEMAoGIC-rdtrunakers'
Forum. clo O'Quinn Sludi03, Inc. ,
4 75 Parle AUI.'. So . New Y()ri(,
NY 10016
Due to fhe f:I'I()fJ'll()W ooIwne of
ma/I received. Ihe editor regrets
IndlvidlJlll reFXies lire Impossible.
. ' -BaS>(: Cartoon Aruma
loon Claym,I!Ion
w:opo

------,
I
CINEMAGIC 0(1)' Ct. clo O' OIllnn Studios. Inc.
1I' 2 -SDaces hlp Model
Bk'lQIl Ma"ellp
SmoI<e G9n6<alor L,g.!!
Beam ElteCIs Milk",!! an
SF LC90
. 3 _ RoboI Const....,;toon
Dev&lOPlOQ an Arwnatoon
Sl)'ie FUel M Anlmaloon
EieCI'CJnIC Speoil
6 -II.m.ull19 Eeclmn.c
O.ldlltl"-Clleap aunq
You, AJIIIf1 to Llte-Ldllu
M,J'" E(lIII"9
TeenrllqUf'" In"'''b>e
EIT(!(:l s
. 1 _VIdeO Tape
Transfcfs. fIlm",!!
EITeCls LBI:I 5eMCe5.
Pl'otJe VIIoIls and Anla
nllCC' C'ash oIlIle Titans
P'eVIIrW
Pat! 2
EteelJCJnIC Sp&coal Enecl s
LEO flal Art
Ca'_5
Van der Vee' Owkl YOIl'
Own Camera Crane
Prohle Pol"""" and Rudow
. 1 , - Scroplw'_onq Pari 3
F'rOOuctlOO maflll9l'l!l low
ButIga1. Etect,OIIIC Speclllj
ElIecIs CINEMAGIC SVA
ConIes! Ru$es_ Secrets 01
G,i\PhIC Gore F'rotIIe
Callitgl'lan and
t18-Maklng 1.4Or4 ..... n...

A<::cesao!te.1or F"tIrm'8k .. ,;
ElIW;tronie SI:otciII Elfte".
P\-Q101& N MagliOCllfln,
475 Pa.k .loy . SOllth. New York. NY 100'6
Add pattag4 4nd handling 10 your ord"r: $ .80 10' I
I
o .... l .. tHI : $1.14 10' two: $1 .60 10' th .... : S2.OO 10'
lour: S2.40 lor llV4: 52.70 lor ti. : seven eight .
I c .. '... .., - ",. I
I
::=:::: :::=:::: I
1I' 4_S3.00 " 13_S3.OO
I
. 5 _ S3.00 1 14_S3.00 I
. 6 _ S3.00 1I' 15_S3. 00
II ::=::: 0 :.::=::: I
NAME
I AOC'ESS I
I cm STATE ZIP I
L-_____ ..
C/NEMAGIC -19 9
Spin Your Own Spider Webs!
Build your own easy to make and very inexpensive
cobweb spinner and get professional looking results.
I
recently encountered lhe chcllenging
problem of designing and building 1I
device to spin imitation cobwebs. In
Hollywood, this task Is accomplished
with large fanlike units thet spew out thin
filiments of the cobweb material (usually
fibergltlss. latex or sugar syrup) which
clings to the set. These devices clln be
rented, but the cost is prohibitive, and this
particular project (8 Jaycees haunted
house) required the device to be on hand
for severel nights. As added complica-
tions, the device had to be completed in
the splICe of ill week, end would Nave to be
si mple enough for enyone to ope rete in tin
emergency. My final solution to this
dl1ema was II small device that attllChes to
II power drill, took less than an hour to
build. and cost under two dollars because I
already had most of the IleCeSSllry mate-
rials on hand. In spite of Its simplicity and
low cost, it delivers an effect of prafes-
SiOMI quality.
To build yourown cobweb spinner, you
will need the following materials: 1) a
small, round selfsealing container such
as a margarine or Cool Whip container.
Do not use a container made out of brittle
materials, as these tend to shatter; 2) a
"reverse" or "thruster" model airplane
propeller. A normal airplane propeller can
be used only if you have a reversible drill;
3) along bolt and matching wlng.nut; 4) a
pair of scissors or an X acto knife: 5) a con
tainer of I'lJbber cement; 6)a power drill, if
you don't already own one.
Spiderman strikes again!
By MATT GREENFIELD
Spread the moterlals out on Il ~ t of
newspaper and begin. With the point of
your scissors, poke a hole just big enough
to accommodate the bolt in the center of
the lower half of the container. Poke a
similar hole In the center of the lid. Cut
three orfoursmall slit.5(no more than 1116
inch wide or 3/4 inch long) around the rim
of the lid, approxlrMtely 1/4 inch from the
edge.
Slide the propeller onto the bolt and
push the bolt through the hole In the lid so
that the propeller Is held tightly &gainst
the top. Screw the wing nut onto the bolt
so that it is impossible to swivel either the
prop or the lid.
Fill the lower half of the container with
your web meterial until the bottom of the
container is covered with up toe 112 inch of
it. 1 use rubber cement bealuseof its avail
ability and low cost. By making the holes
in the lid smaller, you could also use thin
ner liquid, such as lalex or Karo SYl'lJP,
which would naturally produ<:e much
finer webs. IRubber cement can be
thinned with I'lJbber cement thinner
available In art supply houses. EditorJ.
Quickly, push the bolt through the hole
in the bottom of the contlJiner and clamp
the lid down tightly. The device is now
completed and loaded. Simply mount it
on your drill as though It was an ordinary
drill bit. To apply webs, press the drill's
trigger and it will Instantly begin produc
ing long fibers of cobweb which will stick
to everything.
ImpOrlmll:if you hov<: US<:d a r<:gular
propeller, be sure you have switched the
drill into reverse or else you will find
yourself covered with webbing. Spider
man strikes IJgainl
Tips; Try coloring the webs with various
powders by simply blowing them on.
Flour or cornstarch suggest very old, dus
ty w ~ s . I plan to use powdered tempra
paints to suggest a "membrane" effect in
my next film, Derelk:L Avoid getting the
web on your hlJir or clothing, because the
I'lJbber cement is very difficult to remove.
Small objects (cl'lJmpled balls of tissue,
plastic bugs, etc.) add a finlll touch of
realism.
Rubber cement contains a solvent
simillJr to those used In many varnishes.
When applying webs to wood furniture,
stand further away than nol1T\lJlly to allow
a few extra seconds for the solvents to
evaporate into the air.
Be very careful of the spinning pro-
peller. At the high speed of most power
drills, It can be very dangerous.
Finally, experlmentl There are
thousands of uses forthisdevice. Remem
ber the ovlan ClJCOOns in BaWeslar Galac
lica or the brlJin set in FlUltaslic Voyage?
Your only limit is your imagination. Hap-
py Fllmmakingl (11
Wow left: The llllterllls _eel h' blllldlllC the aIbwtI:I
spinner (noIl1lchlChnc In eItctnc drill). IIeIow: ~ n c the
webs WIth the aJmpIeted robweb spllI/leI


Ript: StIfIlwo. ,.. I hole In the oetIter oillie top iii/! 01 the web matn! contalntl
Apon ITI3IwJ Wlf lhalllie tdt $l'luA fib the Idt

""'-: Sttp rife. Fill the lowe!' half of Ilie eontltlnef.rth)lOll' web maleriJI until the bot
tom IS COI'eII .rtll up to hilt inch of tile web material.
UtI: Step one. I'oI!e I hole 1ft tile centee' of the wer hili
of tile web material conlall1t1 wittl a pall of scissors. Ma'"
tile 00Ie lUst bit tn(iu&h to accommodate tile bolt.
Uft Stefl Three. Cut J 01 smalI1Iits (no more than II 16"
_ 01 J/ 4" 1q) IIlI1ie lid
~ Step Sil. Qudly pusIi tile bolt throu&h the hall! In
tile bottom 01 tile con!)11ief and damp the hd down Il&fItIy
TIlt IXIbwetI SjlInlief 1$ /lOW completed by attachllll the bolt
101111 electrIC dnll. lIft.: The compittl cobweb spinner iI
Iat/IIIO a dntl and rod, for lISt.
ClNEMAGfC # f 9 11
WORLDS OF IMAGINATION
From
'I!I$$
Travel through a universe of wonder, laughs
and chill s with these marvelous STARLOG magazines!
STARLOG-
The most popular science
fiction magazine in our
solar system, bringing
you all the latest in SF
fi lm, televi sion and fact!
FANGORIA-
The magazine of motion
pi cture thrill s, chill s and
horror, for all you brave
soul s with a taste for
terror!
COMICS SCENE-
The first totall y
professional , fu ll-color
newsstand magazine
covering every facet of
the world of comi cs.
Explore the outer reaches of fun & imagination!
Look for these exciting publications
at your local newsstand-or subscribe today!
--------------------------------------------------
Mail to: STARl OG PRESS, 475 Park Avenue South, New York, New York, '100"16
__ STARLOG $23.99
(12 issues/ year)
Foreign: $32.99
__ FANGORIA $"13.98
(8 issues/ year)
Foreign: 519.98
__ COMICS SCENE $11. 98
(6 issues/year)
Foreign: $16.48
Allow 7 to 9 weeks for first deljvery. Foreign subscrip1ions. U.S. funds only.
Enclosed:
NAME __
ADORESS
CITY STATE ZI P
<





CAN YOU
OUTGUESS
DR. WHO?
The Game of Time
and Space
Doctor Who is a 2-6 player game
based on the classic BBCTV
series. Each player, as a different
incarnation of Doctor Who, must
search the galaxy for the Key of
Chronos. Daleks, Cybermen, and
other aliens protect the Key; and
with t he help of their scientific
know-how and assistants, the
Doctors must fight t he aliens,
and maybe each ot her, in their
strugg le to save the galaxy.
Doctor Who comes with a full-
color box, full -colormounted
playi ng board, exceptional art,
and clear, easy-la-follow rules.
..
I Send cash, check,
I or money order to:
Starlog Games,
475 Park Avenue South,
New York, NY 10016.
Please send me __ Doctor Who
game{s). I enclose $17.98 plus
$3.00 U.S. parcel post ($4.00 for
foreign surf ace) per game.
Total Enclosed: $ __
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY
STATE ZIP
NYS resiOef11' 8dd talef.
'--------------
SPECIAL
30 VIEWERS
INCLUDED IN
EACH BOOK.
STARlOG's special effects wiz r-::::::;::;;:r,i
ard, David Hutchison, has com-
piled a spectacular new addition
to the famous STARlOG Photo
Guidebook series of quality paper
backs.lnone deluxe volume Is 8 col
lection of the best articles on 3-D
techniques, movies, comics, and
much more!!!
Complete Inde)( of 3-0 comics &
magazines!
Complete guide to 3-0 movies
(credits, plots, etc.).
How to make your own 3-0 photos
with any camera!
Sources of 3-D equipment and
supplies!
3-0 books section!
Ust of 3-D clubs worldwide!
NASA/Mars 3-0 photos!
How 3-D TV works!
History of 3-D!
Movie special effects in 3-D!
This exciting 96page aook Includes
articles by 3-D expert!:! on state-ofthe-art
technology and is Illustrated with hundreds
of photos and special art. "Fantastic 3-0" Is
the one authOfitati'le covering every
of this Incredible field.
----------- ----------
Please rush copy(ies) of
I "FANTASTIC 3-D" at $11 95 each, plus
I post age.
I ADD POSTAGE:
I
I __ 3rd Class ....... $1 .55 ea.
: __ lstClass ........ $1 .75ea.
1 __ ForeignAir ...... S2.50ea.
I
I Total enclosed: $, ____ _
NVS resldenlS muS! .cId .. 1M 1 ....
I P\ea!Ie .no ... ).6 _5 !Of !lelMory
I
Send cash. ChQCk Oft monP.)I OftdAf 10:

ST ....TE
STARlOG 3-D
475 Park Ave. South
New York, NY 10016
"'
-
Producers'
BULLETIN BOARD
PleJJM. (OIWard aAAOW'Icemcnts of {Um projects in current
produdlorl or flelY completion 10 ONEMAGIC, c/o
O'Quinn Studios, Inc .. 475 pllft Avenue Sou.th, New York,
ffY J 00 16. PfeMe include /I h o t o g r ~ 0{ some phlJSe 0(
lhe produdion 1/ possibk.
The Game. A common, insignificant lind mindless pawn
in 1I simple game of chess bears II symbolic resemblance
to a common, insignificant and not-so-mindless soldier of
the future. Both lire puppets to be mimipulated in
confl icts. ProducerlDirectorlWriter: Bryan Hughes. Co-
producer: Mark Riegner. Cast: Paul Embrey as the
soldier. FX include: fades, l itho titles, energy and flash
opticals. energy impact pyrotechnics and sound effects.
Super-e. color, sound. Running time: 2 minutes, 26
se<:onds. (Bryan Hughes, MOO 3058, Camp Lejeune, NC
28542.)
Cosmic Wa-ewolf. A crew aboard an exploration vessel runs
into trouble when external damage to the vessel forces a crew
member to go outside of the ship during an unusual alignment
of the planets of the solar system which they are exploring. The
alignment of the planets has a mysterious effect on the man
and he returns to the ship and murders the rest of the crew, but
nol before they can radi o for help. When the rescue party
arrives - too late to save the crew -the fun begins. Producerl
Director/ Writer: Robert Wilson. FX include: transformation
scene, pyrotechnics, miniature spacecraft, blood and stop-
motion animation. SuperS, color, sound (Impact Films, '%
Robert Wilson, 11737 Amherst Ct., Plymouth. Ml48170.)
Ring. Horror. A strange old womans ring has a curse on a
young girl. Surprise ending. Producer: Shock Productions.
Directors: Shawn Sheridan and Jim Mcloughlin, Writer:
Shawn Sheridan. FX: Jim Mcloughlin. FX include: a living
corpse. Super-8, color, silent with music soundtrack. Run
ning time: 10 minutes. (Shock Productions, do Shawn
Sheridan, 3827 Tilden Ave., Cul ver City, CA 90230.)
14 ClNEMAG/CII/9
Blood, Guts and Gore. A parody of coming attractions
for horror movi es. Producer: Blue St ripe Films. Direc-
tors/Writers: J im Wedda and Brian Newal. Cast: Arron
Wyne, John C<!Impanella, Julie Roe, Dan Gastelum, Tina
Wedda and Roger Decker. FX include: murders commit
ted by chainsaw, hammer, axe, rifle, dynamite, flame
thrower, bow and arrow, and a car 'accident". Super8,
color, musical soundtrack. Running time: 6 minutes.
(Jim Wedda, 690 Veteran Apt. -Ill. Los Angeles, CA
90024.)
The Crystal Chalice. A group of five adventurers quest for the
famed crystal chalice of Arindel. Can they find it? Producer:
Vanguard Productions. Director!Writer/ FX: David Cavalier. FX
include: bloody makeup effects and slop-motion <!Inimation.
Super-B. color. Running time: 14-15 minutes. (David Cavalier,
161 West 54th St., New York. NY 10019.)
The Yellow Ranger _ Because God is
busy creating another world, He
sends to Earth a magic rainbow
aimed for a man of the cloth.
Accidentally, it strikes and
transforms a blind hobo Into the
Yellow RlInger, with mission to
maintain peace on Earth. For seven
days the Yellow Ranger bumbles
along In this movie made as a tribute
to the old, silent movies of thrills and
laughter! Produced and directed by:
Entertainment Enterprises.
Cast: Frazier, Jenny Ash!ock. Jon Teboe, Dan
Grazier, Rene Teboe and Dlno the Dinosaur. Supera,
color, with oldtime music and sound effects. Running
time: 15 minutes. (Entertainment Enterprises, do Jon
Teboe, 11-05 S.W. 102 Ave., Miami, Fl33176.)
Starshlp: 18. Satire of Balllestar Galaclica. Commander
Roddey leads the remnants of mankind in search of a mystic
planet until everyone gets tired of the empty script. Producers!
Directorsl Writers: Jimmy Wright and Mike Clark. Cast: Jimmy
Wright. Mike Oark, Jeff Guinnes.s and Matthew Wright. FX
include: blasters, pyrotechnics, mattes, multiple exposures,
target computers, computerized end credits and a whole ragtag
fleet of miniatures. Video with FX transferred from Super-B.
Running time: 20-30 minutes. (Jimmy Wright and Mike Clark,
743 Myrtle Dr. Rock Hill, SC 29730.)
Starwarps 3 , A comedy? Yes, thllt's
tigl tt-thi:;; third chapter of the
Slarwarps trilogy is making headwayl
See the evil Dark El evator give
Princess Layawi!lY the shaft and admit
he's her mother! See Aunt Jemlnll

-

and Uncle Ben make rice pancakes
for Luke Warmwater! See Luke flee
from the dinner table! See EatThree-
Cheerios stumble on secret plans and
his dialog! See Governor Tarbaby
""Blowup' photogrllphs of Chewing
Tobacco and Layaway on their
honeymoon! See the infamous Count
Balderdash be " de-lighted" as RU Dumb2 destroys the
l ight under his face lh<!lt makes him l ook evilJ See the



climactic dogfight between the poodles end the collies!
See the ending credits take as long as the film itself! See
e psychi etristl That's right-it's all here, end going all
t here in Slarwarps. Wri tten, directed, starring, edi ted,
financed and ruined by: Jeff Menz of Millvile. Unspeclal
effects: Richard A. Kilroy. SuperB, color, sound. Running
time: 10 minutes. (KM Productions, 1245 Nonh Orange
Dr. 1116, Los Angeles. CA 9OO3B.)
Guardian. Onl y one man can prevent the Agrons from
conquering the galaxy. He is Dartan. Dartan must endure
dogfights, planetdestroying speceships, asteroid fields. e
fleet of star cl'\Jisers and e friend tumed traitor.
Producer/DirectorlWriter/FX: Chris Alexopoulos .
Cast:Jefr Showalter, Scott Loranjo. Paul Alexopoulos end
Steve Alexopoulos. SuperB, silent. Running time: 40
minutes. (Chris Alexopoulos. lSOSixth Ave., Troy, NY
121SO.)
The Dlilthi um Crisis. A Star Trek story in which Kirk end
Spack are protecting a shipment of dilithium crystals. The
Klingons. using their new ettack fighters. pose quite a
problem for the Enterprise to overcome. Produer! Director/
Writer: Gerald Shea. Explosions FX: Mike Shanu. Cast: Mike
McAuliffe, Roger WelJer and others. FX include: double
exposures. animated laser blasts and explosions. SuperB.
color. sound. Running time: 30 minutes. (Gerald Shea. 569
W Crockett Lake Dr .. Coupeville. WA 98239.)
Terror House. Three kids are stalked by their mad friend. who
was injured in a football accident Producersl Directors: Mark
Poionia. Greg Leis. and John Polonia. Writer: Mark Polonia. FX:
Greg Leis and John Poionia. Cast: Mark Polonia. FX include:
electric bolt FX, make-up and gore. Super-8, color, sound.
Running time: 20 minutes. (John Polonia. RD2 Box 424.
Wellsboro. PA 1690 1.)
Sauced In Space. The last survivor of an attack that destroyed
the starship. Conrad, flees to Earth. There. warrant officer Elise
enlists four D(..D wargamers, a mad sdentist. and an
adventurer and gardener help in fighting the attack of the killer
spaghetti! An irreverent sendup of recent sdence fiction
movies. UnClisl Writers: Andrew Tuttle and Bartholomew
Brown. Producer: Karen Comstock. Director: Andrew Tuttle. FX
include: blood. mattes, miniatures, multiple
exposures, stop-motion animation, rotoscoping. forced
perspective. Super-B. color, sound. Running time: 90 minutes.
(T AC.E. Enterprises, % Karen Comstock, 572 f.o\agna Vista,
Santa Barbara. Calir.).
Lord of the Wastelands. Ogres,
knights and nomads confront the
young Brock on his quest for a
valuable gold piece. After crossing
the desert, the mighty swordsman
finds the treasure while encountering
an evil lord inside a medif'val castle.
&. Producer/DirectorlWriter: Robert
Hampton. Cast: John Morgan. Jill Hampton and David
Kelly. FX include: stop-motion animation, miniature sets.
perspective shots. Filmed on the dunes of Cape Cod .
SuperB, color, sound. Running time: 15 minutes. (Blue
Films, Box 583 Hyannis. MA 02601.)
Video Re\l enge. A teen dies while playing e video game.
His younger brother sets out to find out why he died. His
discovery will rock the entire world ... jf the Information gets
out. You never know when it will strike, end when it does.
there is no e5ClIpe from VIDEO REVENGEI A new ex
perience in Horror. ProducerlDirectorlWtiter: Charlie Vee.
Videotaped. VHS format. Color. sound. Running time: 25
minutes. Now in Preproductlon. (Fentasy Films limited, c/o
Charlie Vee. Coral Springs, FL33065.)
Somewhere in lime After lime. A psychopath becomes
obsessed with the photograph of a 19th century actress and
travels back in time to kill her. Producer: Wombat Productions.
Directorl Writer: Bill Hawk. FX: Catherine Searle. Cast: Bill
Hawk. Eden Brandy. Janny and Vicki Of.\elveny. FX include:
matte paintings. hanging miniatures, and some rear-prOiected
opticais, Super-B, color. sound. (Wombat Productions. % Bill
Hawk. 2579 Center Rd. Novato. CA 94947.)
Voyage. The authorities of an alien planet send a robot
emissary to explore a nearby desert planet Producerl Director!
Writer! FX: Keith Phillips. Assistant Kit 't/atson. FX include:
models and miniatures, hyperspace flight sequences. stop
motion animation and tilles. Super-B, color. silent (Keith
Phillips, 3679. Holly PI . Macon. GA 31206. )
Growth. aay. animated fantasy in which a life-and-death
struggle is waged (in comic overtones) between a hungry little
creature and a wily planl Producer: The Phillips Company in
association with David Hucke Studios. Directorl Writer/
Animator: David Hucke. Technical Consultant: Peter Loft.
16mm. color. sync sound. Running time: 6 minutes. (David
Hucke Studi os. N48 W263888 Bayberry Ct .. Peaukee. WI
53072.)
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Based on the book by
Douglas Adams, about what happened on the worst
Thursday that ever happened on the happy-go-lucky days
that follow, Producer: Galaxy Productions. Director/ FX: David
L Kern. Cast: Ford Prefect and David L Kern. All other parts
still uncasl In preproduction. Super-B. color. sound. (Galaxy
Productions. c/o David L Kern. J 733 Huy Rd .. Columbus, OH
43224.)
The V1slt or. A stranger who drops in on Dr. Richard
Matthews--developer of the ultimate weapon---influences him
to about-face his research. To be filmed for the 1983
CINEMAGIC/SVA Short Film Search, Producer. Alternate
Images Productions. Director: Eric Tolle. Writers: Eric Tolle and
Geoff Ni cks. Based on a story by Fredric Brown. Camera: Ralph
Stuart.. Production Design: Leah Battle. Cast: Eric Tolle, John
Wardlaw, Juli Lyon. FX include: mattes, dissolves, electronic
special effects. working props, supered titles and miniatures.
16mm, color. sync sound, Running time: 12 minutes. (Eric
Tolle. cia 111B Las OIas Ave .. Santa Barbara. CA 93109.)
A Voice f rom the Past. Twilight Zone adventure. A
teenager hears a pilot's last words over an old World War
II vintage radio. Tracing the pilot's last heading, the
teenager finds the plane. but the federal government is
determined to cover up the plane's long lost secrets.
Twist ending. Producer: Illinois Studios. DirectorlWriter:
Kenneth McConnell. Cinematographer: Dave Mahlman.
Continuity/Clapper: Jenny Laypins. Cast: Lynn Miller and
Kenneth McConnell. Super8, color, sound, Running
time: 20 minutes. (HMH Productions. Illinois Studios. 205
N. Green St" Carpentersville, IL 60110.) ('N
Iwasa
High School Werewolf
By JOE CARTER
A behind the scenes look at the making of this
year's ClNEMAGIC/ SVA SuperB First Prize winner,
';A.n American Werewolf in High School."
H
igh school student Matt Jack
son sits in the school planeta
rium watching the sky show. A
full moon rises. Matt breaks
out in a sweat as his neck glows ominous-
ly. The show continues. Matt feels a
strange sensation. He begins to grow
course black hair on his hands and face.
His fingernails grow two inches and his
teeth become fangs. Hi sface isno longer
human-it is wolflike. Within 30
seconds Matt has become a werewolf!
This is just one of the scenes in North
Hills High School film class production,
An American Werewolfln High School.
It is a production that took nine months
to complete-nine months efhard work.
The first thing our film class, taught by
Ralph Langer. had to do back in Septem-
ber, 1981 was to come up with an Idea.
Our class st ruggled back and forth for
three weeks until an idea was settled on
and eventually scripted. We decided to
do a version of a high school werewol f-
something that we had never done in
Super 8. This movie would take more
time and would require more special ef
fects than we had ever attempted.
We decided to elect special crews to do
certain jobs. I was elected director. and
Keith Pohl was elected director of photo
graphy. The rest of the class was divided
._ :::::--: into the following jobs: special effects
, crew, title crew, editing, filming crew and
various other crews. Each day locat ion
crews filmed while special effects crews
created props and masks.
LATEX ARMS
We wanted a shot showing Mall
metamorphosing as claws grew directly
from the Ups of his fingers. We took a
two part plaster mold of his arm. After at
tempting to pour latex rubber coating
into a mold we found that the seams
would not match and there was trouble
drying the latex. After two weeks of hard
work the idea was scrapped!
leI!: Actor Man Jackson in tile loam rubbef werewoll
mask Cfeated lor An AmeflCJn WereWOlf In High
SchoiN, a parody 01 werewoll iilms produced by the
film claSs of NOOh Hills High School in Carneg;e,
Pennsylvania. The film won Arst Pnze In SuperBln
this year's CINEMAGIC/SVA Short Film Search.





WEREWOLF MASKS
In our estimat ion the foam rubber
werewolf mask was the most Important
priority. Our special effe<:ts crew made a
plaster positive of Matt's face from a
moulage negative mold. Then we
sculpted day on the plaster armature
positive to make a werewolf face. After
molding a negative wolf face in plaster.
foam rubber was poured and baked twice
in the mold. The result-two f02lm rub-
ber wolf masks to be used on Matt. Thi s
whole process took about a month.
These two masks had to work becausewe
found that during the last foam rubber
baking the mold cracked in the Home
Fronomicsoven. By this timl'! i t was late
December or early January. We had
many outdoor night scenes to shoot. I
assembled a makeshih crew with an XL
camera and fi lmed for two hours in 28
degree temperatures onl y to find. a week
l ater. that the camera was not working
properly. Ali i got back was three and a
half minutes of unexposed film.
We shot the night scenes again. All of
our night filming was done under st reet
lights or in front of store lights. Occa
sionally. we pointed car headlights
toward the 8Ctors and since we used an
XL camera and Ektachrome 160 movie
film. our exposures were very well lit.
During the second filming of the outdoor
scenes it was colder than before, and the
camera kept stopping from the cold. We
had to keep the camera in a heated car.
like a bundled up baby. until the shot was
ready to be filmed. Needless to say. we
were lucky to escape the evening without
a severe case of frostbite. Technical pro-
blems hounded us throughout the pro
duction. Most of our filming was com-
pleted by January-but the film class
had by then unfortunately come to an
end. Matt. Keith and I took an indepen-
dent study to complete the movie.
BEAM SPLITTER EFFECT
Before the transformation scene, the
bite mark on Matt's neck glows a bright
red and pulsates. To accomplish this ef
fee-I we used a beam splitter. We put a
highly reflective piece of glass at a 45
degree angle in front of the camera lense.
Matt faced straight ahead and we put ill
piece of bl8Ck paper with ill hole cut into
our makeshift Schuftan box. Red cello
phane was taped behind the hol e. This
red hole was reflected onto the gless end
into the camera viewfinder. It was
superimposed onto the bite merk on
Matt's neck when it was lined up proper
Iy. By moving a light back end forth
behind this hole the illusion was of the
bile mark glowing dull to bright red.
WEREWOLF
TRANSFORMATION
The hard part was yet to camel A
makeshift crew Including Matt. Keith.
teacher Ralph Langer. myself and a few
other students stayed after school to film
,
. "

,
The secood hall 01 Man's arm Is readied lor a coal 01
plaster to make the latex arms ror the w e r e w o ~ . We
couldn't get tile seams to match so we scrapped tile
Idea 01 using latex arms
set up
cameras, each capable of dissolves. In
the movie Matt had to change Into the
wolf twice but in two different places. in
t he hallway and the planetarium. Instead
of moving him constantly we sat him up
against some lockers. This provided the
..
,
I
The second eml 01 ptas181" Is apptled to Matt 's arm 10
make the latex hand tor the transioonalion shOts.
Because tile seams wouldn ', match. we just appHed
crepe hair 10 Man's arms
;
scenes. For the audience it appears as
though Matt had changed twice, when in
reality he had onl y changed once. We
had to be efficient because the process
took five hours to film. Our actor, Matt,
had to endure having foam rubber, spirit
CiNEMAGIC It 19 17

\.
~ ~ ( j J
.---- -c.a
Above: The plaster !XJSltlve of Man Jackson's face is cleaned up and readied to feteMl l he day Ilia! will form the
sculpture of l he werewolf's face. Below: The plaster positive of Man' s face serves as the base anlo whICh the clay
sculplUreof Ihe Wflfewtllt'S face is applied. A plaster negative mold was then made ol\he clay $Culpl ureand two
foam rubber masks were produced 10 be usee In the IiIm.
18 ClNEMAGIC I 9
gum and smalllumpsof wig hair glued to
his face.
We used five makeups on Matt from
normal face to final werewolf makeup,
using dissolves between each makeup.
Later, we used the same dissolve pro-
cedure to make Matt's hands transform
into hairy claws. That evening we filmed
all of the d ose-up and medium shot in-
serts for the entire transformation se
quence. All the other werewolf long shots
were done with a sluch molded latex rub
ber mask that we made from the mask
mold.
The slush molded mask and foam rub
ber masks were duplicates. The werewolf
wig was made by painting latex rubber
over a styrofoam wig head and attaching
hair from an old Illi g starting from the
back to the front of the "bal d wi g" using
latex rubber as glue.
The whole eveni ng was very t edi ous,
but thi s was just one of the many nights
we put in overtime.
We got back most of the film and were
ready to edit. It was about the beginning
of Apri l when ~ i t h and I spent one Sun
day editing for nine hours with just a
lunch break. Our ultimate goal was to
have the movie completed with sound by
May 23 for our school" s annual art show.
By the se<:ond week of April we still
weren' t done .
KODALITH TITLES
We still had to film the ti tles-we used
blackonwhite t i tles on acetate. We then
made Kodalith tit les as described in
CINEMAGIC "8.
We taped the Kodal i th titles on a sheet
of glass so they appeared in reverse. We
backl it the titles so they would be
refl ected positively into a black photo
developing tray f illed with water. The
camera was aimed at the image of the
tit les reflected in the water. When we rip
pl ed the water the titles would di sinte
grate. We filmed the tit les with the
di ssolve camera. The titles rippled and
di ssolved from credit tocredit. We had to
carefull y set our lights and manually set
the proper exposure.
DEADLINE
It was the beginning of May and we st il l
had some shots to film. We were running
out of time! We had less than a month
before aUf premiere shOlli ing on M<:IY 23.
The sound editing was very time can
suml ng. We filmed three sync sound
scenes using Ektachrome 160 singl e sys
tem sound on fi lm. The sound is 18
frames or t hree inches before the picture,
so we had to fjlm our scenes with this in
mind. We fi lmed for two seconds before
the actors spoke. We tried to arrange
pauses in speech to match planned cuts
in the film. This helped in l ater editing
the sound footage. When filming synch
sound we tied the microphoneon a boom
pole to keep it above the frame l ine and
as close to t he actors' mouths as
TOIl Left : A comparison ShoI 01 the SlushmoIded l a 1 ~ k>ng ShoI mas\( (modeled I1t Man Jackson) and the loam rubber cIos&-up mask . Top ftlQht : Mall Jackson IOOdeIs
lhe l a 1 ~ hair WlQ lhat was rnacIe lor hlllllO wear WIIh the slushmoIded I a t ~ k>ng shut mask. Abovt (11ft 10 light): Kent PeasIy. Man Jackson. Keith PtlhI and Jason Uttle
down around on !he seI 01 An NrIt1tiwI Werew/)'f In HIgh Schod
possible.
On May 20th. I sat in school in the art
room editing while Keith, Beth Ann
Brady and student advisor Ralph Langer
put sound on other films for other classes
using the sound mixer In the school TV
studio. At 8:00 on May 20th I walked into
the TV room and announced that the
werewolf movie was completely edited.
We were happy. but didn't have time for
celegration because we had to work on
the soundtrack unti l 11 :00 that night. It
certainly is a strange. eerie feeling be be
working in your school until 11 :00 at
night pulling /II soundtrack on a werewolf
movie.
We spent the 2 1 st . 22nd and the morn
Ing of the 23rd putling sound on the film
with a borrowed high quality Elmo as
12.OOISound projector and the special
Dolby sound equipment in the TV room.
The movie was ready to be shown the
first night of the art show-and it was a
complete success!
The art show was held for two even
ings. On the first night the movie was
packed- the werewol f film ws the talk of
the show. Did you see the werewolf
movie?", was heard all over the bui lding.
Keith was even asked by one of his
teachers to show the movie to hi s classes
all day. Keith's teacher wanted to see the
now famous werewolf movie that Keith
had talked about all year. The film waj
just submitted to the Photographic
Society of Americas Teenage Film
Festival.
After nine hard months of work. the
movie was finished and was worth every
second put into it. As far as we know. we
have done some things that no other
Supera movie maker has done. We
pulled it off. We made An American
Werewolf In High School and It won first
place in the Super8 category of this
year's CINEMAGIC/SVA Short Film
Search! {Jf
ClNEMAG/C # I 9 19
MELIES TRIBUTE
SEEN ON CABLE TV
A recently discovered cache of films by pioneer
filmmaker George Melies becomes a new
series by TeleFrance U.S.A. Network.
G
eorges Mel ies was born in Parisoo
December 8, 1861, and died on
January 21. 1938. In the enor-
mously ttctive yellrs of his life, he pro-
duced over 700 films end presided over II
successful international film empire, yet
died Impoverished, with public: re<::ogni.
tion 8CCorded him only II few SClInt yellrs
before his death. In the minds of meny
film historillnS. Melies left e legacy of In
novation that has conti nued 10 enrich the
cinema to this day. In its current
retrospective of a recently-uncovered
In france, meanwhile, Melies suffered a
decline in fortune and morele thet led to
lin eventual breakup of e once prosperous
film op!:rzIItion.
In II period of dejection and
disillusionment, Melles destroyed all his
Eutopelln neglltlves. Thus the Vitagreph
collection became the principii I C&Che of
much of Melles' production. [n 1925,
Vitagraph was bought out by Wilmer
Brothers. In the 19305, Leon Schlesinger,
a producer of short films at Warners
(known for his HLooney Tunes and Merrie
for the filmed ffilIgidlin who Wll5 Hlirry
Houdini's nameSllke), lind beglIn supple-
menting the shows there with his own
repertoire. When the Lumiere brothers'
HMagic lantem" clime into being liS a
highlight for thelitriclil spectacles, Melles
SlIW his clilling. (He would Iliter offer the
Lumlere brothers IO.OClO frllncs for their
Invention. They didn't selL) Melles WIIS to
become the first director IIrising from II
purely thelitriCli1 beckground.
Melies' fi rst film ventures followed
essentlllily the SlIme line as that begun by
the Lumiere brothers. Initially, he mede
short OIIrratlve films that attempted a
direct, plctorilll re-telling of everydey
events and contemporary occurrences.
Soon, however, Meliesdiverged from this
" relilistic" school of filmmllking. He
beglIn to record the sophisticated stage JI.
luslons he hIId developed at the Thelltre
Robert-Houdln, and quickly SlIW that the
motion picture cllmera offered II perfect
means of capturing his magic tricks. I\c-
cording to legend, one dllY, Melles'
camera jllmmed,and the resulting foot-
IIge combined two images resulting in the
i first "specIal effec:ts" shot.
,
; FATHER OF FILMMAKING
!- In 1897, despite the conslderllble finan
cilll risk involved in this infant Industry,
Melies completed construction of the first
permanent film studio, built in MontreuIl.
He founded the Star Film Compeny,
which was the first firm devoted exclusive-
ly to making movies.
A scene from DOe of MeIies' Iims. The Good Luck aI a Souse
Melies' first films made little money.
but his sense of showmanship lind Inge-
nuity propelled his empire through these
first yellrs. He creeted an lImazing output
of films, ranging from dramatic lIdapta-
tions of fables and historical events, to
pure fllntasy. Combining his technical in'
novlltions lind extraord Inary imagination,
Melles produced films that quickly
became popular the world over. In the few
short yellrs to 1903, the Star Film cliUllog
listed over 500 titles, lind sales offices
were subsequently set up in London,
Berlin, Barcelorlll , and New York. In the
construction or his second studio, Melies
utilized many technical innovations thllt
are essential to the industry today: IIr-
tifielal lighting, interior sets, drumtype
film processing: camerll efff!Ct5 such as
dissolves, multiple exposures, lind trllvel
ing shots. Even the mechaniCli1 IIpparatus
he designed was sophisticated-for the
snow creature In Conquest 0{ the Pole
cache of Melies' work, TeleFrence USA
pays a tribute to one of the fllscinating
fllthers of the art of the motion picture,
The re-discovery of Melies' films and Its
presentation on American cable tel evi-
sion is the result of a long and fllsclnlltlng
odyssey. In 1903, concemed with illegal
duplication and pireting of his films
overseas, George Melles formed Star
Films, created a New York office, and
placed his brother Gaston at Its head, In
Frence, Melies began photographing all
his films with side-by,slde interlocked
cameras, and would send one set of the
resulting twin negatives to his brother
(also IIvoiding export duty on the ship-
ment of mul tiple release prints). In 1912,
Gliston, without his brother's knowledge.
sold his American hol dings to the Vitll'
grllph company, and promptly left for the
South SeilS.
20 ClNEMAGfC # /9
Melodies"), became interested in Melies'
work, and the collection, hoping
it would become an astute investment. In
1949, Schlesinger's widow donated the
materiliis to the Academy of Motion Pic
tUfe Arts and Sciences, where fine grain
negatives were made to preserve the
films. They were there neglected lind
forgotten for many yeers.
THEATRICAL ROOTS
MeHes was born to II weetthy Parisian
footweer ffilInufacturer. After his school
ing and milltllrycareer and II brief attempt
at managing his father's buSiness, Melles-
first creatlve urgings took hold. Living in
an era where fllntastic lind visually im-
pressive stage entertllinment enjoyed a
tremendous vogue, Melles became a pro-
fessional llIuslonist. In 1888, he pur
chased the Theatre RobertHoudin (home
(1912), a crew of twelve technicians was
needed to operate its rNChi nery(70 years
before E.T.I).
Melies' prodigious energy and careful
organization were certainly fllCtors which
allowed him to carry out his rich end pro-
fuse career. In addition to his contribu
tlons in film, he founded e number of
professional societies, and was responsl
ble for some of the first ettempts at esta
blishing uniform filmmeking standerds
the world over. He was a perfectionist,
demanding dedication and hard work of
all those around him: one of the cinema's
first true moguls.
At the end of this century's first decede,
Melies' popularity began to wane. His
divergence from the "reallstlc" school of
filmmaking end his inspiration derived
from the purely melodramatic theatrical
tradition of his time generated the basis of
his success, but his ties to the past
ultimately rendered him obsolete and un
popular. Melies was a man caught be
tween two centuries.
MELIES LAST REEL
1911 marked the beginning of his
decline, when he was forced to borrow
heavily from Pathe, his distributor.
Despite the completion of Conquest o{the
Pole in 1912, perhaps his most technically
proficient and lively work, he continued to
lose money, and his creditors began to
foreclose on his holdings. In 1915 he sold
his estate, o!Ind gradually retumed to the
theater. The war during 1917 claimed
many of his negatives, which were melted
down for their silver content. (The
recleimed celluloid was used to manufac
ture the heels of soldiers' boots.)
1923 was a ruinous year for Melies. He
was declared bankrupt, and the Theatre
RobertHoudin was demolished. In a
period of extreme dejection, and in e
tragic attempt to make more room for his
family in his then impoverished surround
ings. Melies burned his remaining nega-
tives and sold his prints by weight to a
merchant in secondhand films. A great
portion of Melies' output was thus lost.
(Read on for the story of their recovery,)
In 1925, Melies, recently.widowed, reo
married Jehanne d'Alcy, a former lICtress
from his films, and together they man
aged a small toy concession in the Mont
pamasse train station. Uke his films,
Melies faded from public view.
In 1929, Rene Clair, convinced that
Melles was alive, began a quest to honor
the neglected filmmaker. A series of ar
ticles followed, and on December 16,
1929, a grand retrospective was orga-
nized to celebrate Melies. A showman to
the end, the evening wo!lscapped by Melles
bursting forth from e paper screen on the
stage. In 1931, GeorgesMelies was award-
ed the Legion d'Honneur by Louis Lu-
miere for his achievement. An organi
zation of people in motion pictures of
fered him a modest rentfree apartment,
where he lived with his wife and grand
daughter to the end of his deys. His tomb
A scene from Mei;es' halld-tlnted !lIm. The ImpoSSIble Voyage (t904).
stone in the Pere Lachaise cemetery
reads, Georges Melies, OealelU de spec-
lade dnematographique 1861-1938,
REDISCOVERED
In 1975, Blackho!lwk Films, guided by
the detective work of the American Film
Institute's chief archivist David Shepard,
acquired the commercial rights to the
films. Prints were generated by
A,M.P.A.S., and the Library of Congress
received the original negatives. In 1978,
Patrick Montgomery of Archive Film Pro-
ductions, who represents the Blackhawk
coll ection, produced a 26-minute com-
pilation film. "George MeJies: cinema
magician," using segments from the col
lection to Illustrate Melies' life and work.
In 1981, Corinth Films, Inc, took on the
technically difficult and noble task of
preparing the negatives for public release:
commissioning an original musical score
by Curtis Selke; and compiling the televi -
sion version, using an innovative elec
tronic process that realistically slows the
formerly rapid pace of the original films.
TeleFrance USA, the French cable televi
sion programming network. launched its
fell 1982 season with-among other pro-
grams-a retrospective television
premiere of 29 films of cinema pioneer
Georges Melies, representing the first ma-
jor public showing of recently re-dis-
covered and newly-released versions of
these titles.
Many of the films shown were believed
irretrievably lost for many years, yetareof
an exceptional technical quality. The
films are being presented with an origi nal
musical score, and have been trensferred
for television using a Magnasynch
Videola, an electronic process that ac
curately renders natural the originally
rapid motion of the films-an innovation
never possible before recent advances in
video technology. The materials used for
the TeleFrance retrospective are only a
few generations from the original nega
tive, which represent an extraordinary
level of quality for films dating from the
very beginning of cinema.
TeleFrance is pleased to offer this rare
opportunity to view these imaginative
beginnings of the motion picture, The
series of 29 films which began in October
of 1982, will continue through the 1983
TeleFrance season. Of
BelOw: A scene from Mel;es' 1908 film. Tile Good Shepard and (lie Evil PrIncess.
UNDERWATER BAG
The first universal camera protection,
that works underwater liS well as in a
motor-cross race or lit III smoky fire
scene is the "EWA" Housing. developed
12 years lIgo by a German company,
Hans Goedecke [, Co. The camera hous.
ing is a tough. double-laminated heat
welded plastic bag.
Unlike other protective devices, it has
two optical glass lenses. and can be
closed by saltwater proof stainless steel
rails. The striking simplicity of the pro-
duel makes it both safe and practical. It
can easily be slowed away, or carried
around. It has no holes or sealed open-
ings for controls. The SLR model has a
built-in glove, which enables direct
fingertip control of all C8mera functions.
Trigger and focus of the movie model
can be operated through the flexible
skin. In canoei ng or on small sailboals.
the danger of capsizing is always pre
sent. The EWA housing will keep the
camera afloat. Having the camera ready
to shoot is part of the fun in sailing.
Most fantastic surfing pictures are
done with telelenses. But who would
really want to take the camera to a san
dy bea<:h, unless the camera is an old
wooden box with a hole and glass
plates?
One does not have to be a well
equipped scuba diver to fall in love with
the underwater world. A snorkel. a
mask, II pair of fins lind lIny clean lake,
river or reef, will revelilaH its beauty, its
exciting colors and variety of creatures.
Underwllter photography in swimming
pools may not show ri ch fish life, yet
more than the eye can see from t he sur
face. A movie camerll Clln be the best
assistant of a swim coach.
Many conventional underwater hous-
ings have had defective seals and unless
they can be pressurized water can be
drawn in without waming. Obviously, a
22 ClNEMAGIC" 19
flexible hOUSing can be cut or punched
or burnt, but on the other hand it can be
easily tested: Bubbles will indicate even
the smallest hole and with normal care
an a<:cident can be more easily avoided
than with rigid housings.
The maximum recommended depth
of the EWA housing is 30 ft. It will not
burst below 30 ft. but gets st iff and dif
ficult to control. Lead pieces clIn be put
inside with the camera to reduce the
bouyancy. A motor winder is recom
mended but not necessary in shallow
water with less water pressure on the
housing.
In order to bring out bright colors, a
flash is recommended underwater and II
filter to increllse red and yellow and
reduce blue, might be used.
Available in photo stores lit prices
around $69.00.
For more information write to:
Pioneer ; Co, Inc.
216 Haddon Ave., Suite 522
Westmont, NJ 08108
or callBOQ2577742
LIGHT STANDS
Made of stress proof light metals,
without any pillstic substitutes, the new
extra solid, yet lightweight (4
1
" Ibs.) Git
zo light sumds u rrel <I desirable com
bination of sturdy. braced legs with rigid
center column in black finish. for max
imum stability with minimum vibration.
Firmly positioned agai nst the 2 sol id
center rings, the strong tubular legs with
hard rubber tips and the strengthening
braces can be easily spread to the best
suitable posi tion. The detachable. rigid
(1" diameter) center column comes in 2
different lengths, with either 2 or 3 fri c
tion free extensions. which glide
smoothl y and lock firmly-with positive
locking rings-on fiber sleeves (no
metal on metal), wi thout any binding
ever. The universal tip gives you the
choice of II 5/8" pin or a reversible 3IS"
114" solid steel screw, with locking nut.
accepting any studio nash (such as Elin
chrom), as well liS other lights. booms,
screens, backgrounds, etc. weighing up
to 25 Ibs. Just like the world fllmous Git
zo photo. cine lind video tripods. the
rugged light stands have been designed
for lifelong durability and are covered by
the full 5 year Giuo warranty.
1
I
PACKABLE TRIPODS
Designed to fit into gadget bogs. suit
coses. etc. the eKtra compact GrTZO
Mini Studex tripods are surprisingly stur
dy, even if completely extended. The
solid. tubular light metal legs lire firmly
positioned against the rigid center part
without torque. to prevent camera vibra
tion. Friction free telescopic leg exten
sions and center columns glide
smoothly and lock firmly on fiber
sleeves (no metlll on metal), without any
binding ever. Combining rugged
durabi li ty and mllximum stability with
minimum length lind weight, GITZO
Mini Studex tripods are idellily suited for
heavy 35mm, SuperS, 2V."" x 21"". 6 x
7 cm. even light view. 16mm, and Video
cllmeras. up to 30 Ibs. Hand assembled
with rolled threads, nuts ond bolts of
solid steel, without any riveting. they are
covered by the full 5 year GITZO warranty.

NEW KODAK FILMS
At the recent SMPTE Conference in
New York City last November Eastman
Kodak lInnounced a new family of East
rn.!ln Color negative films featuring fas-
ter lind finer grained emulsions.
The new films stocks are bei ng made
lIvaliable in 35mrn and 16mm widths.
Those of interest to CINEMAGIC's
16mm users are: Eastman color nega-
tive 7294. a new high speed 16mm color
negative film with e recommended EI of
320: Eastman color negative 729 1, a
new medium speed 16mm color nega-
tive film which is rated at an EJ of 100
and Eastman color prim film
7384 which is intended specifically for
making contact or optical color release
prints from original color negatives, col
or duplicate negatives, or color interne'
gatives derived from color reversal
original s.
The new high speed negative 7294
will replelce Eelstman 7293 which is
rated for eln EI of 250. This new 320 EI
!'lIted film is Selid to exhibit slightly finer
groin chllflKteristics Hum its predeces-
sor. William Koch. general mal"lllg@rof
the company's Motion Picture and
Audio Visual Markets Division. says.
"This new film will rTleIke it easier for
producers who opt for the 16mm format
to produce very highquality results even
when they are working under extremel y
challenging circumstances."
The new medium speed negative
7291. which replaces Eastman color
negative II film 7247, is finer grllined.
sharper lind exhibits measurably im-
proved flesh to neutral color reproduc
tlon cilarlKteristics. According to Koch,
NThe high speed and medium speed
films match up very well. lind Clln be
easily intercut. This means producers
lind directors of photography can match
the appropriate emulsion to each
specific cinemagraphic challenge."
CINEMAGIC readers may want to run
tests using the high speed film for
generlll photography, while reserving
the medium speed film for process
plotes when mixing live action and stop.
motion anirTleltion a la Harryhausen.
Filmmakers can anticipate a bit more
lattitude for duping with the slower
7291. Contrllst build up may stili be 0
problem. though.
The new Eastman Color print mm
7384 is touted by Kodak as "the film
you can take into the future. because its
color will last for generations." Kodak
emphosizes that under normal condi
tions. 7384 will hold its color 10 times
longer tilan other release print films in
widespread use today. This improved
color stability comes from 7384's vastly
superior cyan dye stability. It also comes
wilhoul a premium price. CINEMAGIC
filmmakers will be pleased to note that
their films are less likely to fade away In
to a pink memory; 7384 offers an al l er
native to Kodachrome for dye stability. t1f
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LEARN HOW THE EXPERTS DO IT!
EXCHANGE TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
WITH OTHER YOUNG FILMMAKERS!
,Scrlptlng
-Storyboardlng
Set building
-Casting
-Directing
-Matte shots
-Puppet
animation
-final prints
-In-camera
effects
-Animation
optlcals
-front and rear
projection
Post production
-Make-up effects
-Model

Is your
-Video transfer
Join the community of young filmmakers!
CINEMAGIC/Starlog Press
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I L ___________________________ I
ONEMAG/C IT /9 23
Electronic
SPECIAL FX
Three Simple Lighting Devices
Three simple (honest!) projects that you can build
to enhance your special effects filmmaking.
A Dimmer, a Chaser, and a Flasher.
By CHRIS E. STEVENS
S
ince necessity is supposed to be
the mother of invention, I hope
she continues to supply me with
needs. This is how the first project. the
Four Channel Lamp DimmerclIme into ex-
istence. It's turned out to be such a useful
item, I thought rd pass it on to you. After
all, those of you that read ClNEMAGIC for
the photographic aspects will find this a
handy little gadget. The ability to change
lighting levels while doing your photogri!l'
phy without having to constantly get up
and move the lights around for different
"moods" makes for a more hassle-free
situation and allows you to concentrate on
the more important things, like creati vity
lind composition.
If you look a! the photos carefully, you'll
see three cords coming out from the soc-
kets in the rear of the unit. II wasaclually
in use when I shot those pictures. and
saved a 101 of time in the process. Basical
Iy. wh"t I've done is take four lamp dim
mers and put them in one box. And. i f
24 ClNEMAGIC' 19
you'll notice. J only have three variable
controls and one extra switch. This is of
course opt ional. should the need arise for
a Slraight onloff control for a room light.
or to operate some additional piece of
equipment. The triac and trigger diodel
capaci tor arr"ngement is still in place
should I later decide to substitute a
vari abl e control. If you want 10 do the
same thing, just substitute a SPST switch
for one of the variable resistors.
HOW IT WORKS
One side of the AC line is connected to
all four of the panel sockets. The other
side of the line is connected to SW) and
through the triac's main terminal J con
nection. Main terminal 2 connects to the
other side of the panel sockets. As the
variable resistor ischanged. itchanges the
slale of the impedance. With a low or near
zero vol tage applied to the gate of the
triac, a high impedance or nonconduc-
tive stale exists providing "n open circuit
J
Lelt : All three projects mvered In thiS article are
shOwn o;mpIeted ProjecI II. the Four Channel
lamp 1Xrnmet, Is IIWntfl:i in the projeCt box. ProjeCt
12. the BaSiC LED Chaser. appears in the upper right
corner of the photo (no! connected to batlesv). Pro-
jeCt 13. the Modilled LEO Flasher. Is the one con
nected to the banery Above: TIlt! pans placement
all!! c i r c u ~ panerns!of projects "s 2 and 3 are
sIlown on a single PC bOard. Circuit pallern "A" Is
lor projeCt 12, Both clrcul1 pallerns "B" and "C"
are 10( project 13.
between Main terminal one and two. bloc
king the current Row. When a voltage is
applied to the gate of proper amplitude,
the triac switches intoa low impedance, or
conducting state. providing" current now
through the triac and on to the panel can
nector. As you change the amplitude of
the control voltage through tht:: II i!:l!:ler
diode with the variable resistor, you
change the conductivity of the trloe.
The triacs are rated at si x amps. but a
safe rule of thumb is to not exceed the
rating of fifty per cent of the device's
power handli ng capabilit ies. Or. to put It
in other words, limitlhe power to a com-
fortable three ampsof current(300watts).
If you plan to go over the three-amp limit.
pltln on using heat si nks to dissipate the
heat. As it is. you have 1200 watts ( 12
amps) of total power handling capability.
which should serve most photographic
needs quite nicely. That is why 1 have the
line cord listed in the parts secti on as a
"hardware" item. You'lJ have to get a
lop prOj8CI 10 reveal
!he parts
channels.
plugs In the baCk are connected to llle dimmer
on/olf channel is noIin use SchematIc at bottom 01 page
button at IBfI)1or a room
IIghlllf extra piece 01 equipment
heavy duty power cord to handle that
much current . If you notice, theres no
fuse in the cit(:uit either. If a triac "opens'
up, the lamp won't light. and if It develops
an internal short, the lamp will slay lit con-
tinuousl y at full or partial brightness. with
no control over it"s brightness range.
Since most house wiring is rated at fifteen
amps, should you exceed a safe limit, you
can expect to trip a circui t breaker, or
blow a fuse.
The barri er strip was bolted approx-
51
RI
01
imately in the center of the box and I used circuit comes in contad with the metal box
the linecord forthewiring lothe t ri acsand In any way!!! This is Important. Your best
sockets. The wiri ng from the trigger diode bet is to use a three-conductor power
can be *22 soli d, since it doesn tcarry that cord. Attach the green (ground) wire
heavy a load. Also, make sure that you securely to thechassisboK. The white and
have good solid conned.lons at the barrier black wires are for the AC power. Another
stri p termiMls. Remember, youre play constructi on hint: cut away some of the
ing around with 8 potentially lethal plastic surrounding the lugs on the barrier
amount of power. DOUBLE CHECK your strip, so that the triacs mount securely
work and make sure that everythi ng is under the connecting screws. Once you' re
hooked up correctly before you apply any sure that everything is on the up and up,
power. BecertaJn that nopal1. o{any o{t.he plug it in and go to work.
52 5J 54 AC I N
PROJECT #1
R3 R4
5WI
CI C2 CJ C4
FOUR CHANNEL LAMP DIMMER CIRCU I T
8+
V ~
RZ
:
8-
The top view 01 the completed Modllied LED Aas/1er (projeCIl2). ThiS Cir-
cuit makes an LED llash on arK! oft like an Incandescent light bulb, thus
hkllng the lacl that the miniature "bulb" Is actually an LED. LEO al boI
tom left The black part Is VR-1 a t Megohm variable reSistor
The bOttom view of the project t2 board Is both the PC and parts ptacernenl side 01
the board. All parts except VR-1 and L-1 are mounted on this skle of the board. Bot-
10m left 01 this page is the schematic tor this project. Refer to page 24 lor the parts
placement diagram and circuil pattern (PC board "A").
6-9VDC MODIFIED LED FLASHER
Project "'2
RL.AA
PROJECT #2
h
I
e 4 R:3
7 IC-I :3
AAA,
~ r
6
2 (
+
~ (
~
+
==C2
26 ClNEMAG/C 1119
LlC
7
J
IC-2
R4
2
4(,;
I
PCBD.
A
The next project, the Modified LED
Flasher Is a !"e4uest from Josh Shields of
Seattle, Washington. That is, a way to
flash an LED more li ke that of an incan
descent lamp. An LED is a solid state de-
vice that has no filament to provide the
illumination. Unlike alightbulb. it is more
like an "instant on, instant off' type of
lamp, as8pposed toa lightbulb that hasa
brief time of filament warm-up before it
reaches It's maximum brightness. This is
what project -2 is al1 about. Ie " I is a 555
timer that triggers from ground to a level
close to the B+ voltage and has a square
wave output. By using the combination of
R3 and C2 along with a 741 op-amp as a
fol lower, it ispossibletoputacurveonthe
risetime of the output of the 555 timer.
simulating the warm-up time of a fi lament
type lamp, and when placed nellt to an
LED driven by a timer Ie alone, there is a
visible difference. Josh, I hope this fill s the
bi ll.
B+ G-9 VDC BASIC LED CHASER
RI ....
PC BD.
16
.3
VI?'
B;C
h 7
, 2
I
"
4
IC-I .3
7
R2
r
G
''c2
IC-2 10
2 I
I
5
+
,
FC.3
G
Fel
9
r
8151311
PROJECT #3
L H ~
R ~ ' A '
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
Top 01 jllge: The sclMlmatic <fl3gram IOf projecll3,
the Basic LED Chaser. left: The PC board side or the
compIeIed prOfIICI/3 drcUl1 boards (PC boards " B"
and "C"'), Bottom 01 pIg.: the parts pIacemef1! slOe
01 projecIl3 PC boards " 8" and C." Note. For
the pans pIacemef1\ and CIrculi pauern diagrams on
paoe 24 (lor botll projects 12 and 13. PC boards
" A." " 8" and " C", drill onty al the places WIlli a
wMe dol All OIIlerS aI' " soIder pads. ,.
Project #3
This project completes the series of
chaser projects. There might be one more
yet to do; that being a power chaser for
higher powered incandescent lights for
D.C. voltage use. Should that happen. it
will be only a high-powered substitute for
board "C," with all else remaining the
same. Since we did one for the two col-
ored LED, I thought it would be nice to
have one for the regular single colored
lamps. This circuit is much the same as
the last one, but without a Y2 vcc output,
and is a littte cheaper to build. espe<:ially
for those of you on a tighter production
budget.
As for some ofthe things I'd like to do in
the: future, I'm toying around with a sug
gestion for a Cylon speech duplicator, (by
the: way, if anyone has some Cyton voice
tracks, j'd appreciate a copy so that I can
analyze it)and also some strobe units: pro
bably high and rowpowered systems for
model s and effects lighting, as well as syn
chronlzing them with a movie camera. Ex
pK1 to see an intervalometer in there too,
somewhere. Meanwhile. if you've had a
brainstorm, let me know. And, if you want
a reply, be sure enclose a S.A.S.E.
ClNEMAG/C 1119 2 7
THE GOOD
THE BAD
& THE BLOODY!
You may not like ALL of the movie
coverage we've compiled in the first
edition of Th e BLOODY BEST of
FANGORIA. bul we can guarantee
that every aspect of FANGORIA's hor
rifying. sensational. astounding,
stupefying greatness will be rep-
resented in its pages.
We' ve labo red lo ng and hard 10
select those articles and pictorials that
have provoked the mosl comment
from our readers. as well as coverage
of your favorite filmmaker s and effects
artists: Tom Savini, John Carpenter.
Ri c k Baker, David Cr one nberg.
Stephen King. Rob Bottin, George
Romero and many more; and films like
Phantasm, Scanners. The Fog, The
Howling , and, yes, even Friday the
13th (I and II ),
..
YES! RUSH me my copy of The Bloody I
I Best; I guarantee that I will be thrilled I
I
and delight ed. I have enclosed the fol-
lowing: I
l O An autographed photo of Gary Moore I
I
(you get NOTHING).
a Some old ticket stubs and a pint of I
I pocket lint (same here). I

0 $2.95 purchase pr ice plus $1.05 1ST I
ClASS pstge. for which I will receive
I The BLOODY BEST of FANGORfA! I
I Moll To: O' Quinn Swd/o"IFANGORIA I
I 475 Park South. 8t h fl . I
I New York. NY 10016 I
I Enclosed: I
I Name I
I Address I
City
I I
I State Zip I
I
Mln(lri ar .. "dvl!iO!d 10 obtain parental .. nl. I
or not ' en Mom.
&-- ___________ 1
28 ClNEMAG/C # J 9
PARTS LIST
Project #1. Four Channel Light Dimmer.
SW-l
C'-4
0'-4
Q'-4
R,-4
S,-4
Misc.
SPST 10 Amp switch
.1 uf metal film capacitor
trigger diodes
6 amp, 200 volt triacs
100 K-ohm linear pots
panel mount A.C. sockets
project box
knobs (4)
275-324
272-1053
276-1649
276-1001
27J.092
27Q.642
27CJ.228
274-380
6' 18 Ga. heavydufy line cord. barrier strip connector
with male plug. 274679
Project #2. Modified LED Flasher
R-l 100 K-ohm lhwatt resistor
R-2 I K-ohm lh watt resistor
R-3 680 ohm lh watt resistor
R-4 330 ohm lh watt resistor
VR-l 1 megohm variable resistor
C-l,2 4.7 uf capacitor at 16VVVDC
IC-l 555 timer IC.
IC-2 741 op-amp IC.
L-l jumbo LED
Misc. battery connector
271-045
27J.023
27J.021
271.(J17
271-229
272-1422
276-1723
276-007
276-041
27()'325
(see project below for other miscellaneous items)
R'
R-2,3
C,
C-2,3
IC-l
IC-2
L 1-10
VR-l
Misc.
Project #3. Basic LED Chaser
1.5 K-ohm lh watt resistor
1 K-ohm lh watt resistor
4.7 uf capacitor 16WOVC
.1 uf disc ceramic caps
555 timer IC
4017 Decade counter IC
LED's (Pkg. of 20)
1 Megohm variable resistor
battery connector
printed circuit board, 3" x 6" single sided
dry-etch transfers
etching solution
271.(J25
271-023
272-1422
272135
276-1723
276-2417
276-1622
271-229
27()'325
276-1586
276-1577
276-1535
All of the parts for these projects are available at your local Radio Shack store unless other-
wise indicated. Catalog numbers are listed in italic for your convenience .
D"l.
VF
100 K
lett: Please 00111 the correctiOn to the
scl\ematic diagram to the Alternating Color
Flasher (project 13) tllat appeared in the "It "
article in CINEMAGIC It6. The arrow points to
where a connection should be made that was
not noted on schematic as it originally ap-
peared In CINEMAGIC 116. we regrel
the error.
Circuit Board for
the "Light Chaser"
Above: The ab0v9 parts layout and paI-
tern lor both proj8CIs in Ina "Chasing Light " anlcle
in CINEMAGIC 117. IhaI was mlslakenly nmlned
lrom that Issue. The PC panem appears actual size
WI! regret the error
Let's Hear From You!
I'd really like to hear your suggestions
for electronic special effects pro,iects. If J
can, I'll answer your questions about how
some of the effects are done. Also. I'd like
to know how your projects turn out, and
how you use them. For the next project,
you might see a light "chaser" system,
similar 10 the one used in the Buck Rogers
TV series, which is used to create the "light
cables runni ng to the individual craft in
the launch bay. The lights seem to flow
toward the craft in ripples. (JI
+ Sw.
01
. < .<
I

/ 0
H ere Strip
Chris E. Stevens
80m and raised in Hammond. Indiana.
Chris graduated high school in 1967, grad-
uated electronics school in 1968 and aI/ended
LlncoJnland College (Springfield. /1.) (or one
year In '971.l1p until recently he has had his
0Wt1 focal PBS-1V show called ITa 0(
himself. he says, present I'm nutklng my
1I0ing by custom designing and building
elecflOl1/c specialry equipment I have an
F:c.c. Rltdiolelephone Ucense (or i3rolIdC'lS1
Engineering and I am also a licensed pilot. I
have pursued a career as a radio OJ for the
IasI. 12 ye<lf'S and am presently looking 10 get
back Into the business.
ClNEMAG/C"19 29
PRESERVATION!
PrOTect yOUr preCIOUS (XItIIeSot CINE MAGIC,
while kee()lng them on har1d for easy re\erence tn
custom.galted lealherene Ille or magavne
boodefs embos5ed In gold with the CINEMAGIC
logo. The5e handsome enable )IOU to slop
)QUf ropoesof CINEMAGIC In-ilndoot "l(hvod""Uy.
while the melal rod binders hold )'OUr copoes of
CINEMAGIC togethef , Intact. like .. large booI<.
IIIk)wmg)lOU to leal through l$$Uealter ISSI.IE! If1
chronological order. Each bonder or case holds
tYll(l year's Issues!
UJrary CII5eS: S5.95 each, J lor $17,00& 610f
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US ..... ORDERS ONt Y - SalIS/action guaranteed
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ment must be In USlundsoni'y

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30 CiNEMAG/C 1119
Special Optical Effects In FUm. By
Zoran Peri sic. Focal Press, London, New
York. 1980. 185 pages.
Beginning as a special effects
cameraman on the legendary 2001,
Zoran Perisic has gained a worldwide
reputation in the field of special optical
effects. He was awarded an Oscar for the
special optical effects he created in the
film Superman. which made use of his
Zoptic special effects system. He wrote
and directed the animated TV series The
Magic Founlain and Caplain Cooks
Travels, which his own company,
Courier Films Ltd., produced in coopera
tion with Halas and Batchelor, who
among many other things are known for
producing the first animated cartoon in
3D. Perisic has been a television director
and has worked on over 500 TV and
cinema commercials and many
documentaries.
Special Oplical [feeLS in Film presents
the intricacies of this extremely
specialized field in crystal clear no
nonsense language, as well as being
richly illustrated with line drawings to
support the text. The book's eight
chapters break the field down as follows:
1) in-camera effects; 2) laboratory ef
fects; 3) duplicating films; 4) optical
printer effects; 5) making traveling
mattes: 6) the rostrum camera; 7)
rostrum camera effects; 8) process
prOjection.
ClNEMAG1C readers will find of par
ticular interest the chapter on incamera
effects, since such work generally yields
the highest quality at the lowest cost.
Other chapters covering laboratory
techniques, while being beyond the
means of most readers, will give them a
good understanding of the processes
and equipment with which they will be
working later on in their careers-parti
cularly the chapters dealing with travel
ing mattes and process projection. Over
the years [ have received ennumerable
requests for articles dealing with SuperS
bluescreen traveling mattes. Good blue
screen work takes precision equipment
and lots of money. It's a technique for
the "big boys" but there is no reason
why you shouldn't learn about it now.
And while the subject i s much too com-
plicated for the pages of CINEMAGIC. it
receives dear, forthright presentation by
Perisic.
This book is recommended as the
keystone for any Cinemagician's library.
At least 70% of the questions that I get
in the morning mail are answered in this
book. If your local book seller will not
order it for you. check with Larry Ed
mund's Cinema Bookshop in Hollywood
(213 4033273).

;;:::;-,:. -----..::::-


,.-'

The Modelmaker's By
Albert Jackson and David Day. Publish
ed in the United States by Alfred Knopf,
New York. 352 Pages. $19.95.
Skillfully const ructed miniatures are
at the very heart of successful special ef
fects cinematography. A poorly con
structed miniature will stand out like a
sore thumb and can ruin the illusion of
reality that miniatures can bring to a
film in scenes that would be too costly
(or impossible) to film in liveaction with
full scale props. Nothing can take away
the excitement of a scene as much as a
,
shot that causes the audience to com
plain, "That looks fake!"
Fortunately for the spedal effects
filmmaker, there are several fine books
on the subject of modelmaking that can
help him avoid the embarrassment of
the obvious and fake looking effects
shot. Albert Jackson and David Day's
The Modelmaker's Handbook is one of
the finest books available on the subject.
Beauti fully designed and profusely il
lustrated with excellent photos and
drawings, this book is truly a treasure
that the modelmaker and special effects
filmml'lkE"T willl'llways enjoy having at
hand. Aside from discussing all of the
basic modeling techniques. The Model
maker's Handbook goes into great detail
about hundreds of tips for adding those
"finishing touches" that make a model
or diorama seem to come to li fe.
The chapter on creating landscapes
will serve filmmakers well because it
shows you how to create many different
types of terrain condi tions and which
materials to use for each. It also offers
an informative lesson on how to model
miniature trees.
The chapter on railroading may seem
to hold little interest for the filmmaker,
but actually it is in this chapter that the
techniques for constructing miniature
buildings are discussed. The variety of
different materials and techniques for
modeling various types of buildings is
quite comprehensive and the miniature
CineMagic
ci tyscapes one could construct by
fol lowing the tips given here would (if
executed skillfully) look astonishingly
realistic. Tips for creating ruined
buildings and rubble (invariably
presented as World War 11 dioramas)
may be of special interest to filmmakers
intent upon making films about nuclear
holocaust.
The many techniques for painting
models for extra fine detail are all
presented. The technique of painting
with an airbrush is fully explored and
should be of value to those who want to
create realistic looki ng weathering on
their spaceship models. Tips on cutting
and shapi ng Various materials are
presented and have much broader ap
plication than the examples used to
demonstrate the techniques. Methods
for creating "battle damage" are also
covered in great detail.
Although some of the material in The
Mode/maker's Handbook may not in
terest filmmakers. there's a model maker
in every special effects cameraman.
You'll have to go elsewhere to learn how
to film your miniatures and how to
observe certain special effects laws for
miniatures (such as scaled mass for
miniature collisions). but these topics
were never intended to be part of the
scope of The Mode/maker's Handbook. If
you enjoy building models. whether for
filming or just for fun, youlllove The
Mode/maker's Handbook. Of
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ClNEMAG/CII19 31
FrontlightlBacklight
Animation
or
How I Learned To Stop Worrying
And Love My Optical Printer
D
id you ever wonder why the
background In stopmouon
sequences looked grainy and
the models themse lves
Did you ever wonder what could
be done about it? To answer the last
question first, the only two solutions thus
far attempted Involve optical corn-
positing and they are: blue screening the
model (which J don't even want to think
i!lbout) and the frontlighVbacklight se
quencing method.
The FIB system has been around for a
while, and occesioni!llly works its way in-
to a feature or two (Dave Allen's Petero-
dactyl in Caueman used the FIB system
for some shots). BasiCl!lly, the method in
valves creating a matte while the anima
tion is being shot by sele<:tively front-
lighting the model against a black velvet
screen on the odd frames while also
backlighting the model as a silhouette to
achieve the optical matte on the even
frames, (Confused? Read on, it gets
worse,)
Like any other system, this one has its
advantages and disadvantages, On the
bad side, FIB can be difficult to shoot
under the best of circumstances, and the
many optical steps involved require
some precision equ ipment and a
thorough knowledge of film quality con
trol on the part of the FX meister and his
processing lab to insure an opt imal 1m
age. (When In doubt, ask a lab techni
ciano You may have to beat the informa
tion out of him, but his experience will
usually be worth it.)
On the plus side, FIB works marve-
lously well with a variety of setups, many
of which would be difficult or impossible
with a standard rear or front screen rig.
(It's just dandy for wirebrace effects-all
the strings get lost in the optical steps.)
Also, there is virtually no difference bet
ween the picture quality of the animation
model and the b(lckground plate,
resulting in a much smoother melding of
the two.
For those of you with brave hearts and
a touch of insanity, (i f you plan on doing
FX filmmaking, that insanity is a musI),
the frontlight/backlight animation sys
tem requires the following: 1) Translu-
cent screen (standard rear screen or
frosted glass will do); 2) Black screen
(preferrably larger than the rear screen,
J2 ClNEMAGIC "19
By AL MAGLIOCHETII
black velvet stretched over a wooden
frame works well); 3) Rear screen projec
tor with oversized aperture plate (we'll
get to that later); 4) Optical printer or ac-
cess to one (must have excellent registra-
ti on): 5) A competent lab; 6)A quantity of
hair to replace your own, after you start
tearing it out.
With the exception of the blllCk screen
and a few ext ra lights, the set-up is nearly
identical to a standard rear-screen situa
tion. The camera is angled to photo
graph the stop-motion figure, which is
mounted in front of a translucent screen
upon which an image of the background
plate is projected from the rear. The dif
ference in the FIB system is that the
background image is there {or lineup
purposes only and is not rephoto-
graphed at this time, The aperture plate
in your projector should be filed down SO
that the FULL imageof the frame is being
transmitted through the lens, File it so
the sprocket holes are visible, if neces
sary, just to be sure the ful l frame is being
projected,
ALIGNMENT
Position the model so that it is lined up
with the background. The camera should
then be angled so as to photograph both
the model and the projected image.
matching up the camera's frame boun
daries to those of the background plate's
as closely as possible. (If your viewfinder
has a discrepancy, now Is the time to
compensate for it. Also. if you're using a
Bolex rex or (I similar camera. I would
strongly recommend the use of a gate
prism to complete the lineup. rather
than rely on 0 viewfinder- it', mueh
more precise. and this step is reasonably
critical. You may now front light the
model , using what ever gels or shadow-
ing devices necessary to match the
lighting on the background plate. Don't
worry about light or shadow spilling onto
the screen and washing out the image,
we won't be using it anymore,
After the lighting is matched to your
satisfaction. turn off the projector and
take a light reading off the animation
model, (preferrably an incident reading,
although you can use a reflective meter
in conjunction with a photogr(lpher's
gray card,) Set your fstop accordingly
and lock i{ of{, Next. light the rear screen
from behind with a soft white light
source; usually a photoflood bulb in a
scoop will work well. either directly or
bounced off a large white card.
Now comes a critical point-balance
the rear light so that a reflective reading
taken off the front of the translucent
screen calculates as approximately 21/2
stops under what you've already set your
lens at. Let's try that again-the model is
set and lit, you've come up with a reading
of oh, let's say f /4. We want the translu-
cent screen to read as a white back-
ground, therefore, rather than monkey
around with different fstops while shoot
ing alternate frames (and thus change
depth of field-a definite no-no), we will
light the screen from behind so that a
re/1ect.ive reading taken off the screen will
calculate as f/8
t
/2, The reason for this is
that a reflective meter reads everything
as a middle gray. We want (I white, so we
take the f/8 1J:z thai the meter tells us we
need for a gray. add stops to it in our
mind and come up with f /4, which match
es the front lighting on our animation
model. How's that for balancinglightingl
All set? Good! Now we can start,
SHOOTING THE SCENE
First, slate the shot corresponding to
the sequence and shot number on your
storyboard (well, I hope you have a story
board, or you may be in trouble later on.)
The slate should be in heavy black l etters
on a white card (or vice versa) and you
should shoot at least ten frames of it. It'll
help later on when you're looking for
it-ten frames are much easier to find
than two or three.
Make sure your model i, ,till in po,i-
tlon (you can check it by turning on the
rear projection. which should still be In
place.) Turn off the back lights, turn off
the rear screen and insert the black
screen between the model and the rear
screen- taking care not to move either.
Turn on the front lights and expose your
first front-lit frame. Turn off the front
lights, remove the black screen and turn
on the b(lcklights not the rear projection,
just the backlights. Expose your first
backlit frame. Move the model to its
next position, replace the black screen
and repeal the process for the length of
the shot.
For slow moving or still backgrounds

AI Magliochettl checks 1M original checkerboard fronl ligtnlbacklighl animation rootage from shot #27 of Dance Macabre before splitting onto alternate rolls ny skip
framing it on the optical printer. The frootllght fOOlage (duped ontO EGO 7252)15 a sellmaning positive. The baCklight loolage is duped on10 high contrast
black & stock (7362) to make a foreground hoId-out mane thai Is bi-pac.ked in Ihe opllcal printer with tM live-action background plate.
you can periodically check your progress "1
between frames by turning on the rear
projector. Of course. i f your background
plate has choreography si milar to the
skeleton attack in Jason and the Argo
nauts, you would probably do well 10
check your setup frame for frame. The
resul t should be a strip of f ilm with a
checkerboard look to it-theodd frames
black, showing a color front-lit model
and the even frames showing a white
background with the model silhouetted
as a black shape. Again, please be sure
you're metering the white screen proper
Iy. If it i s overexposed, it will give a soft
edge to your model and produce a horri-
ble m(ltte. If it', underexposed. you may
not be able to pull a clean matte from it.
FILM STOCK
By the way, we haven't talked about it
yet. but you should know a littl e about
film stocks before we proceed. (For
si mpli ci ty's sake. I'm going to speak
strickly in 16mm terms.) For the first
step. as described above, I woul d recom
mend Kodachrome as your shooling
stock for several reasons: A) It registers
colors remarkably well (necessary for the
front lit element): B) i t hasa great deal of
contrast (necssary for the backlit ele
ment) and: C) [t has about the densest
black you can possibly get from any col
Clockwise from above: 1) Matchmg up the lighting III
the Slllp-motllln model and toreground miniature tree
with the lighting III tile live-actioo backgrllund plate
and lining up tile shill ; 2) Metering the whitlt screen
with the front lights lit!. The backlight should be baf
an<:ed SIlthat a rel/e(;llve reading of the while screen
reads 2'h Istops under an inc/den! (or rellectlve
reading lilt a gray card) reading III the animalion
mode! fmnllight set-up; 3) The black screen (in Ihls
case a velWlI draPEt) being put into pclsilion behind
thlt animal ion mode! and miniature loreground tree
for shooting the lron\-lit element III the Ilriglnal fronl
light/backlight foolage.
The "6" element of shot 127!s a high coolrasl
negative of "A" used as a sky 110ld-out matte.
The' 'C" elernef11 of shol/27 is a high contrast
reversal of " 6" used as loreground oold- oUI matte.
The "0" element of shot #2715 tIme lapse footage 01
the moon and sky, used as a background plale.
or film stock (necessary for both ele
ments.) In addi tion, Kodachrome has a
harder emulsion than most other film
stocks. and can take a little more abuse.
Since this strip of film has to go repea
tedly through an opt ical printer, that is an
important factor.
However, Kodachrome'scontrast is its
one major drawback. Since that cont rast
increases substant ially with each genera-
34 ClNEMAGIC'19
The "G" elemeflt of shot the 61ten (matte)
frames 01 element " E" aher optical separation, used
as a fOfeground tlOId-oul matte.
lion of film, the final composite may be
too contrasy to suit you. [n that case you
have two alternatives-either lessen
your contrast when lighting your frontlit
element (by decreasing your key-tofill
ratio) or use another film stock, namely
Kodak's ECO 7252. ECO is a low con
trast Ektachrome stock which was de-
signed (believe it or not) to be pri nted
another generation. [ normally use ECO
The ''I'' element is an opllcal combination 01 " 6"
and "G." ThIs element is bipacked with " A" to ex-
pose lhe running thieves in the graveyard while
holding out the foreground and the sky. Then tlack-
wind and expose .oF' by itself (the black back
ground creales lis own matte), This completes lhe
shot wilh 3 passes on the flnal strip of 111m. The
competed shot appears on the next page.
to shoot all my background plates. reo
gardl ess if the nonoptical footage i s be-
ing shot negative or reversal. If it's nega
tive. the ECO opt icats are rephoto-
graphed onto dupe negat ive stock in the
printer. This cuts very well with Kodak's
7247 negative stock. If it's reversal, the
ECO is re-photographed onto ECO and
the resulting optical is hardlydiscernabte
from Ektachrome reversal stocks 7241
or 7242, both of which are higher grain,
higher contrast stocks and are unsui table
for opt ical w o r ~
Choice ortilm may also depend on the
type of shot you're compositing. Koda-
chrome's high contrast may took totally
out of place if the background plate sug
gests a cloudy day, but the same cont rast
may work to your advantage (as it did
with us) if your shot takes place in a
graveyard at midnight by the light of the
full moon. For the record, we shot the
graveyard plates at high noon and mat
ted the moon and clouds on top of every
thing else-but that's another story.
So much for quality control , back to
frontl ightlbackl ight.
DUPING THE ELEMENTS
The nell t step involves putting the
checkerboard footage from your table
top setup intoan optical printer and spl it-
ting it onto two different rolls: 1) A color
positive and 2) a silhouetted matte. This
I
,
is done simply by setting the printer to
reproduce on a I: 1 copy ratio (again, a
gate prism is advised) and skip framing.
After reshooting the slate, print all the
odd frames only (the front -lit ones) onto
ECO 7252 film (now you need the low
contrast). If you've made any sequence
errors in shooting (Le., shooting two
front lit frames in a row, etc.) they may
now be corrected by skipping over the
bad frames.
After all of the front lit shots have been
duped (you can do them all at once) you
must go back and strike the matte ele
ment. Reload the printer with black and
white film. but do not change the setup.
This will insure a precise line up between
the color footage and the matte.
The matte frames should be duped on
to a high contrast black and white stock
known as 7362 or simply "Hi Con." The
film has a very slow ASA (about 6)along
with a dense black, a dear while and very
few gray tone.;, making it ideal for matte
work. However it also has almost no elt
posure latitude (sometimes eltposure is
critical to within 116 of an f-stop) and it
produces a very hard edge to the image,
which may not be acceptable if you have
an object on film with a lot of hair or in
soft focus.
Under circumstances such as the
above mentioned, it is possible to use
Kodak's 7361 Release Positive stock in
stead (in some cases only, mind you).
Release positive is actually a low contrast
stock. however, it will give a soft edge to
the matte, resulting in a smoother com-
posite. Unfortunately, Release Pas's
black is nowhere near as dense as Hi
Con's and in certain instances a very light
background plate may print through the
matte in the final composite, resultlng in
a ghost image or "matte bleed:' (For a
classic example, see snow speeder
scenes in The Empire Strikes Back.)
Please note: 7361 and 7362 are both
positive film stocks (not reversal- posi
tive) meaning they were designed to be
used with a negative to yield a positive
print. If they are processed normally, you
will gel a negaliveimage.lt would then be
advisable to have the lab strike a positive
from this negative to create your final
matte. I say advisable because it is, in
fact, possible to process both 7361 and
7362 as reversal films-i.e., with a
positive image. This usually isn't a good
idea because the film's emulsion can't
take the elttra reversal processing steps
without picking up some problems,
namely emulsion shrinkage(or swelling)
and haloing (softening of the image
edge). In any case, you'll find that the
matte will no longer fit. The extra step of
going negative/positive will cost a few
bucks, but it'll be worth it-trust me, I
learned the hard way.
Anyway, we're now at the final step. If
you've followed the hectic process so far,
you should have three pieces of film: l)a
low contrast background plate-shot on
ECO 7252 or some simil ar stock: 2) a
strip of frontlit animation against a
black background (2nd generation, be
cause of the skip framing, and, hopeful
ly, also duped onto 7252, and: 3)another
strip with a positive matte of the same
animation (i.e., a black image on a clear
background-most probably done on
7361 or 7362,) All three strips should be
on separate reels or cores and have
leaders. slates and sync marks at the
head and tail of each.
OPTICAL COMPOSITING
The rest is easy, especially if you've
gotten this far. Simply bjpack the matte
element with the background plate in the
optical printer and re-photograph it.
Then rewind the raw stock back to the
sync mark and print the frontlit anima-
tion over it on a second pass. Since the
animation was shot against a black
screen, a background matte usually isn't
necessary. If, however, the black back
ground has lost a little of i ts density due
to all of the optical steps and you think
there's a danger of ghosting you can: A)
underexpose that element slightly as you
reprint it or; 8) bi-pack it with the
negative of the matte element, thus bloc
king out the background entirely.
Well, there you have it-a completed
optical that would please even the sharp-
est of critics. Of course, you could jaIl it
up a bit by matting out the daytime sky
and replacing it with a star field, or
rotoscoping holdback mattes for certain
foreground elements on your plate for
the animation to actually move behind or
through, , ,but that's another story. (II
Lelt: AI Magliochetti animates the stop'motion
skeleton model with the black screen in place for
the lrontlight/backlight animation footage elements
of shot ff27 in his film, Dance Macabre. He is mov
ing the animation model Into its position belore
shooting the next trontligtll trame. Below: The final
optical composite (taken from an answer print that
has not been I corrected or timed) at shot 127

SPECIAL EffECTS, Vol. 1
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SPECIAL EffECTS, Vol. 2
Exclusive interviews with masters of matte painting.
effects, make-up and cel animation. A festival of effects
films from space epics to splatler movi es-picwred i n
color photos and technical diagrams. Special secti on on
making the giant squid from Disney' s 20,000 Leagues
U"der The Sea, the Time Machi ne from George Pat's
movie, and the Enterprise designs- from TV to theatri cal.
All this ... plus morel
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