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Silence of the Lambs

ussinners

ussinners

I just saw a behind the making of Silence of the Lambs documentary on Biography, and they made this big stink about the final scene in the dark. They talked about how that day of shooting took 23 hours and that they had a hell of a time setting up the lighting so there were no shadows. Because in darkness there would be no shadows. Then Jody Foster said "But there is this one shot" and they show the shot and a glimpse of a shadow.

Anyway, I watched the movie (haven't seen it in years) and the amount of shadow in that scene is incredible. Her shadow is everywhere. I never thought about it ever. Never even occurred to me there would be no shadow. But, after pointing it out, I couldn't help but think "What the fuck are they talking about!" If it was suppose to be shadowless, they failed miserably.
 
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SILENCE OF THE LAMBS won the oscar for editing. It deserves it. The cross cutting scene where
the FBI is surrounding the house and the doorbell ringing while showing Buffalo Bill in the basement
and it's result is one of the greatest examples of using the principals of editing AGAINST the viewer, for a perfect effect.

The CRITERION COLLECTION version on DVD and Laserdisc has an amazing edited commentary track of Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, and Jonathan Demme. The idea that they used submarine sounds for the mental hospital where Lector is being held are subtle sound ideas that played into the subconscious. The set dressings for the serial killer's home had all kinds of visual storytelling - like orange and white swastika's on his bedspread, a Vietnam war helmet on the ledge next to the window - all these things tell you a lot about character that is never mentioned in dialogue.

A lot of craft and care went into every aspect of that movie.
 
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The "night vision" He is using in the movie is a passive system. Meaning it amplifies ambient light. If there is enough ambient light for the system to work, then there is enough to cast a shadow. If he were using an active system it would use some light source, probably infared. Then there would def. be a shadow. you wouldn't be able to see it with the naked eye but it would be there.

Here is a good example of a "passive shadow"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fucfXvHtK1g&feature=related

Here's active (WARNING: IF YOU DON'T LIKE TO SEE ANIMALS SHOT, STOP WATCHING AT 30 SECONDS!!!!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCfOMQPz-sE&NR=1

I guess I dont know why it was a big deal for the SOTLs folks to get rid of shadows??
 
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Gonzo_Entertainment said:
No, they succeeded completely because you never noticed it until it was pointed out to you. They created the illusion and sold it. That's the object of the game, not duplicating reality.
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I never noticed or thought about it. I never think about things like that when I'm watching a movie. But. if someone who was part of the process (Jody Foster and someone else) says "Hey this scene only has one little shadow" then it should only have that one little shadow. There shouldn't be shadows all over the place. It's not a matter of them achieving the process or not. It's a matter of someone stating something so factually wrong, and the documentary keeping it in.
 
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Murdock said:
The "night vision" He is using in the movie is a passive system. Meaning it amplifies ambient light. If there is enough ambient light for the system to work, then there is enough to cast a shadow. If he were using an active system it would use some light source, probably infared. Then there would def. be a shadow. you wouldn't be able to see it with the naked eye but it would be there.

Here is a good example of a "passive shadow"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fucfXvHtK1g&feature=related

Here's active (WARNING: IF YOU DON'T LIKE TO SEE ANIMALS SHOT, STOP WATCHING AT 30 SECONDS!!!!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCfOMQPz-sE&NR=1

I guess I dont know why it was a big deal for the SOTLs folks to get rid of shadows??
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It doesn't make any difference to me. They made a big deal out of it near the end of the documentary. Passive or not, that's not what they were saying or talking about. The room was fully lit, so you're really seeing a filter over the lens. Though I'm not really sure they said how they got that effect. But, the lights were fully on "casting no shadows". Yeah.
 
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Filter over the lense, right. Got it. But why did they put the filter over the lense?? To simulate night vision. And with night vision comes shadow, just like day vision. So that they were trying to get rid of all shadow is impressive, but unnecessary. It's kinda like shooting a film in the day, and getting rid of all hte shadows = impressive but unnecessary.
 
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Murdock said:
n. And with night vision comes shadow, just like day vision. So that they were trying to get rid of all shadow is impressive, but unnecessary. It's kinda like shooting a film in the day, and getting rid of all hte shadows = impressive but unnecessary.
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You're preaching to the wrong person. Call Jody Foster, Jonathan Demme, the DP and lighting people. It's their story. Just terribly false on all accounts.

The same day I saw a behind the story on Jaws. There's a part where Spielberg and company are talking about shooting on the water outside Martha's Vineyard. They'd have everything set for a shot and off in the distance would be a sail boat. They'd have to wait for it to leave frame, because you couldn't have a boat in the background. It added a lot of time to shooting. I haven't watched Jaws in years, but the next time I watch it, I'll be looking. They say there's no boats in the background, so I'm taking their word for it. I don't honestly care one way or another, but if you're going to spend time stressing a point, it should at least be correct.
 
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It’s clearly just another conspiracy perpetrated by Jodie Foster and Biography, to deceive.
I fear now that you’ve outted them, it’s only a matter of time before you’re silenced like a lamb !

This all kind of reminds me of the time I started running my mouth about some continuity inconsistencies I noticed in a Panic Room trailer I saw on Access Hollywood. Soon after, I began receiving episodes of The Courtship of Eddie’s Father stuffed inside of a dead mackerel, episodes on Betamax!

Was in Jodie? Was it Pat O’Brian? Or was it all just a clever little mind game put on by that chick that used to play Mrs. Livingston? I’m not sure, but then again I didn’t stick around long enough to find out, I gathered what little I could and fled into the night faking my own death as a cover.

With SOTL being as iconic as it is, I don’t see you making it through this unscathed George, but I could just be overreacting.

-Thanks-
 
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Buddy Greenfield said:
It’s clearly just another conspiracy perpetrated by Jodie Foster and Biography, to deceive.
I fear now that you’ve outted them, it’s only a matter of time before you’re silenced like a lamb !

This all kind of reminds me of the time I started running my mouth about some continuity inconsistencies I noticed in a Panic Room trailer I saw on Access Hollywood. Soon after, I began receiving episodes of The Courtship of Eddie’s Father stuffed inside of a dead mackerel, episodes on Betamax!

Was in Jodie? Was it Pat O’Brian? Or was it all just a clever little mind game put on by that chick that used to play Mrs. Livingston? I’m not sure, but then again I didn’t stick around long enough to find out, I gathered what little I could and fled into the night faking my own death as a cover.

With SOTL being as iconic as it is, I don’t see you making it through this unscathed George, but I could just be overreacting.

-Thanks-
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With a movie so good, it's unnecessary to make up bullshit. I'm sure there's a million great true stories that could have been told. Instead they sensationalized on something so obviously false. I hate bullshit, and will point it out when I see it. Especially when they pinpoint it so dramatically.

Everyone else can accept lies as truth, or cute anecdotes. But, I won't. I just found it fascinating how they bragged "We did this, and it took all day long to achieve it", and the truth is "No you didn't".
 
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ussinners said:
With a movie so good, it's unnecessary to make up bullshit. I'm sure there's a million great true stories that could have been told. Instead they sensationalized on something so obviously false. I hate bullshit, and will point it out when I see it. Especially when they pinpoint it so dramatically.

Everyone else can accept lies as truth, or cute anecdotes. But, I won't. I just found it fascinating how they bragged "We did this, and it took all day long to achieve it", and the truth is "No you didn't".
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no offense, honestly, but as i was reading this thread all i could think about was who cares?

and btw if ur going to point out bullshit everytime u see it, ur finger's gonna get pretty tired in this world :lol:
 
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Ernest Worthing said:
no offense, honestly, but as i was reading this thread all i could think about was who cares?

and btw if ur going to point out bullshit everytime u see it, ur finger's gonna get pretty tired in this world :lol:
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The others cared enough to write. Some cared enough to try to give explanations for the shadows that weren't there, but really were.

BTW: You got way too much time on your hands. If you didn't care after the first post, to continue reading must have been torture. Personally, when I don't care about a thread, I just pass on it. But, that's just me, I'm weird.:bang:
 
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Wait a minute! I thought the little animated smilie's that Zensteve uses are exclusive to Premium Members. How did you do that, ussinners?

I'll never be able to watch "Silence of the Lambs" the same way, again. This revelation has completely rocked me, to the core.
 
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Cracker Funk said:
Wait a minute! I thought the little animated smilie's that Zensteve uses are exclusive to Premium Members. How did you do that, ussinners?

I'll never be able to watch "Silence of the Lambs" the same way, again. This revelation has completely rocked me, to the core.
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I'm sure it has. But, it doesn't take much to rock your core. But, that what comes from being an ass.

It didn't stop me from thinking it's a great movie. :D:clap:
 
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I have to admit that the nightvision scene was always the hardest for me to accept. From the first time I saw it in the theater, I had a real problem believing the scene. I kept thinking that I would hear the high pitch whine of the nightvision, or his movements, or I would fire a few shots in a 360 degree spread, using the muzzle flashes to illuminate the room. This was an "act quick or die" situation.

I feel for the scene to work for me, there needed to be her P.O.V. of the darkness, using light coming from under the door and the sides, so that the outline of that could be made out, as the handheld camera looked around. Intercut that with a couple of nightvision P.O.V.s and it would be great. The fear would come from the moments when you couldn't see anything (save the door outline and maybe a slightly illuminated vent), because you didn't know where Buffalo Bill is, except for brief glimpses from the nightvision. Obviously, I would use his P.O.V., when she turned around and fired.

Could you imagine, if she fired a couple of shots? The flashes would illuminate him behind her, just for a fraction of a second, each time. She fires once and he is against the wall. The second time she fires and he is much closer, right behind her....

The movie is great though; one of the best ever made.
 
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I never really cared for the film. I saw in the theater and just wasn’t into it for some reason. (For years I have been avoiding the film because I want to read the book, then see it again, but haven’t yet.)

I can see where Sinners might be coming from. There is already enough hype and bullshit in life, so while not at all surprising from Hollywood, it can be disheartening to get the perception of more of it from filmmakers or “Great” instances of film making.

I like BTS stuff, but sometimes the interview BJ’s everyone is giving each other, and the drama they back feed into shit so the show has an entertainment story arch kind of, and the “We were like a family on the set” stock line nonsense is a grind. The production of the shows is silly at times too. –SLAM- (Ease in on a still photo) “When we come back, the day someone got coffee on set and nothing really unusual happened, or did it?”

-Thanks-
 
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Thanks for wrecking Silence of the Lambs for me, guys. I was going to watch it, too. I was just waiting for the pre-pre-pre-prequel of The Red Dragon to come out so I could watch it all in sequence.

I can do anything Zensteve does.

.. _it is a mystery
_]oo]_
. / . /
 
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