OT - technically inept commercials

The quickest way to get a smack it to keep stopping movies to say "look, they're using the correct pin and link coupler for the railcars!"

Or, "look, that's exactly the right phone for the period, it's a 102."

Or "they never used that kind of cord on telephones then."

Some of the set dressers are getting very, very good. One of the best period films to watch is _Road_to_Perdition_ because those folks really knew their stuff. I can only find one or two goofs in the entire thing.

Jim

We did the SFX for a movie this last spring. It was set in 1966. The Cushmans ran (and started) like Cushmans. The fireworks were all paper-and-string styles authentic to the sixties. The clothes, the cars... everything. The continuity folks were hawks, finding all sorts of anachronistic things, like the wrong styles of signage on buildings, jewelry that was wrong, etc. We even had an arborist on set to ensure that there were no PLANTS visible that wouldn't have been commonly available in 1966 in Florida.

'Course... going back ONLY to 1966 isn't quite as hard as being authentic to a period, say, a hundred years back.

LLoyd

Not in _my_ design, nope, couldn't be. Besides, the replacement functioned for years, at least. So I still suspect the markings or, possibly, the guy who fab'd the board but that's unlikely (ahem) maybe.

jim rozen wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@drn.newsguy.com:

One of the best I've ever seen is the movie "ZULU" - the one with Michael Caine and Jack Hawkins.

Among other "details", they even managed to find Martini rifles for the cast to use - and use properly!

"ZULU" is one of those movies that I can't walk away from when it's on. Superb attention to detail, acting and a great story.

Not technically inept, but I really get pissed off at the portrayal of mental disorders in popular culture.

I am quite familiar with the very challenging condition of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and the movie "As Good As It Gets" and the tv show "Monk" totally misrepresent(ed) the problems as humorous and amusing eccentricities...

That cheeses me also....except in my case it's misrepresentation of depression and bipolar the same as being on the edge of axe murderer.

Relly cheeses me also when news uses the term "...history of mental disrder." The only purpose is to make people assume that anyone with any mild and treatable disorder is potentially "scary". The scary ones are the ones who HAVEN'T had any treatment.

Koz

Koz wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@seanet.com:

Yabut it's easier to identify those that *have* had treatment than those that *haven't*!

Well, sure. But the thing is, they're ~artists~, and can't be bothered learning about the subjects they're portraying. And they never let the truth get in the way of telling a story, on this or any other topic. I'm sure it's not intentionally singling out mental illness, it's just a case of "You notice errors in the subjects that matter to you". How many times have we seen revolvers with silencers, or with dozens of shots without reloading, or which magically eject brass? Someone who doesn't understand revolvers wouldn't see much if any problem with that. Keep in mind the writer just wants a plot device; they're not knowledgeable enough to know how ignorant they are.

The exceptions, when research is done well, are rare enough to be notable.

Dave Hinz

Oh, yea. I do understand that the story is not as good unless you take it to the extreme. It's just frustrating that the message which gets across is generally the "insanity" of the small percentage rather than the coping and operational abilities of the high percentage....rough stastics show that 10 percent or so of the people you deal with have some major mental related problem..mostly likely it's not the 10% you think..those people are just plain ol crazy :)

I suppose it's similar to the protrayal that people with guns in their house are either all gang members/crooks or nutcase rednecks who shoot anything that walks across their yard. MUCH better story than the safe gun owner.

Reality is boring.

Koz

Hmm. I think the number here where I work is higher than that.

"ya don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps!"

Jim

I used to think the same about a dirt road until my brother and I started playing with a "bomber" stock car at a local dirt track. Yep, the tires do squeal on a clay track when you got it pitched sideways in a turn.

Bart D. Hull snipped-for-privacy@inficad.com Tempe, Arizona

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