Cool News
Merrick Thinks That Anyone Calling Themselves A "Geek", "Nerd", Or "Film Fan" Should Check Out SCIENCE OF THE MOVIES Tonight!!
Merrick here...
Technically, this article belongs over in Coax because it's about a TV show. But, this TV show isn't really a TV show in the traditional sense. It's on TV, but it's devoted to nearly anything and everything about the film making process - and is imbued with Geeky pandering paralleling only AICN. As such, this piece seemed more appropriate for AICN's main movies section - cause I think folks who regularly read the site will not only appreciate this show, and find its tone agreeably familiar.
How Geeky is SCIENCE OF THE MOVIES? The best way I can think of to describe it is that...if AICN were to make a TV show about creating movies...this is the show I'd want us to make (not that anyone would listen to me about such matters). Every episode plunges headlong into discussions of the intricacies and minutiae of the film making process, via reports pushed along by the perpetually energized Nar Williams (whose film history and pop culture references regularly rival the most stalwart Talkbackers). What kind of minutiae does Nar talk about? The same stuff most of us freqeunting this site talks about with our compatriots, even if we're ashamed to admit it.
Past episodes have featured discussions about:
** motion control technologies...
** digital manipulation like aging/de-aging...
** IMAX technologies...
** Henson's revolutionary motion capture tech which, essentially, enables performers to act out their characters and be animated into sequences in real-time...
** gnarly make-up effects for shows like DEXTER (this was much more complicated than it sounds, invlving accurately recreating the trajectory of blood splatters at a crime scene & whatnot)...
** frequent segments on how to create your own camera rigs, make-up effects, and practical effects on a highly limited budget (we're even taken along on a shopping trip to gather the materials needed & shown how to put them together).
** the sculpting of an action figure (feature the laser mapping of Nar, the physical creation of an action figure sculpted around said map, etc.)
** the list goes on and on.
SOTM has been on a break for a few months, but it returns tonight with fresh material . A press release describes the impending batch of episodes thusly:
Science of the Movies Returns with All-New Episodes
Science Channel turns its microscope once again on Hollywood with all-new episodes of SCIENCE OF THE MOVIES beginning Thursday, November 12 at 8 PM (ET/PT). Host Nar Williams is back every Thursday at 8 PM (ET/PT) revealing the tricks behind some of our favorite costumes, stunts and scenes from the big screen and the small screen. Williams gets hands-on experience, acting as the guinea pig to demonstrate the science and technological genius of movie making. SCIENCE OF THE MOVIES celebrates the world of movie magic by highlighting the equipment used in creating the latest visual effects and computer graphics, as well as interviewing the award-winning artists, stunt men and technicians responsible for making movies and television come to life.
In the premiere episode "Zombies! Science of the Undead," Williams meets Garrett Brown, the Oscar-winning inventor of the cutting-edge Steadicam and Skycam, which were used in the movies "Rocky," "The Shining" and "Star Wars: Episode VI." Nar also gets a zombie make-over from Quantum Creation FX, Inc., the people behind creating the make-up for "Star Trek," "Watchmen" and "G.I. Joe," and unveils the future of entertainment at Obscura Digital, Inc. by using effects right out of the Tom Cruise film "Minority Report."
Future episodes find Williams entering the incredible world of award-winning filmmaker George Lucas; reconstructing a 20-foot replica of Bumblebee from the summer blockbuster film "Transformers"; riding a computer generated horse from "The Chronicles of Narnia" at Creature FX; getting a crash course in the special effects from the hit television series "24"; and much more.
All of this is conveyed with high levels of dorked-out enthusiasm and humor, but it's always reverent and invariably thorough.
As noted above, new episodes of SCIENCE OF THE MOVIES begin airing tonight on The Science Channel & Science Channel HD (website HERE). The show's official website is HERE.
I thought I knew quite a bit about the film making process before discovering this series (God bless American Cinematographer, CineFex, and the ever-expnaidng pile of "Making of..." titles on my bookshelf), but I've learned something new from every episode thus far. Even Merrick's woman... who usually holds such technical yammering in disdain and disinterst...watches, enjoys, and anticipates this show.
And if she can get into it, so should we all. Check it out!
Here's a behind-the-scenes preview of tonight's episode generated by Nar himself:
And here's some clipage from the actual show installmenmts, giving you a decent sense of what to expect...
Science Channel turns its microscope once again on Hollywood with all-new episodes of SCIENCE OF THE MOVIES beginning Thursday, November 12 at 8 PM (ET/PT). Host Nar Williams is back every Thursday at 8 PM (ET/PT) revealing the tricks behind some of our favorite costumes, stunts and scenes from the big screen and the small screen. Williams gets hands-on experience, acting as the guinea pig to demonstrate the science and technological genius of movie making. SCIENCE OF THE MOVIES celebrates the world of movie magic by highlighting the equipment used in creating the latest visual effects and computer graphics, as well as interviewing the award-winning artists, stunt men and technicians responsible for making movies and television come to life.
In the premiere episode "Zombies! Science of the Undead," Williams meets Garrett Brown, the Oscar-winning inventor of the cutting-edge Steadicam and Skycam, which were used in the movies "Rocky," "The Shining" and "Star Wars: Episode VI." Nar also gets a zombie make-over from Quantum Creation FX, Inc., the people behind creating the make-up for "Star Trek," "Watchmen" and "G.I. Joe," and unveils the future of entertainment at Obscura Digital, Inc. by using effects right out of the Tom Cruise film "Minority Report."
Future episodes find Williams entering the incredible world of award-winning filmmaker George Lucas; reconstructing a 20-foot replica of Bumblebee from the summer blockbuster film "Transformers"; riding a computer generated horse from "The Chronicles of Narnia" at Creature FX; getting a crash course in the special effects from the hit television series "24"; and much more.
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BOOOOOOOOORRRING
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The Minority Report like ones are awesome, as is the hologame, just hope asteroids don't escape and cause havoc, like a holo Moriarty.
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devolve into everyone calling each other faggots and saying george lucas raped my childhood.
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Where idealistic newbie writers have their awesome ideas whittled away through an endless series of meetings with producers, executives, executive producers and corporate sponsors. The one technical innovation my show will have is to bring my patented DIGITAL PERCEPTO process into the home. We'll have PERCEPTO for all of the story meetings but you won't be able to experience it until the next generation of Blu-Ray players that will come out @ Christmas 2012.
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about cool stuff. It's because of stuff like this leading to inspiration that motivated me to make something like this for under $200 bucks:
http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/4955
I will def try to catch this show and see past episodes. -
People call me that too!
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geek or nerd is a FUCKING MORON. how about that merrick?
regarding the sciencey thing, this is actually cool news! except it's all really old as per usual but still cool for once.
"All of this is conveyed with high levels of dorked-out enthusiasm and humor" ah forget it then, it's gotta be shit. -
Looks like "How it's Made" but all about the movie industry. Count me interested. www.osnspodcast.com
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Fuck Merrick. Fuck him up his Dad's asshole.
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Didn't they already do that? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363305/
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everyone knows Citizen Kane was made in 6 days, and on the seventh, Orson ate.
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I think I'll go fuck Betty Childs from the PI's. WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS MY FRIENDS!
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DVDs available anywhere?
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so I must watch this!
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Or at least tone it down a bit. Too much time was spent in those first few episodes on him and these little sketches and dopey jokes. We don't watch shows like this for the comedy. Just gimme the science. Gimme the goods.
That said it's definitely worth a watch. Each episode has had some really great bits of information. -
You nerds.
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It would be an hour of kissing Whedon's ass and slamming everything else.
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The worst possible day at one of the worst possible times to show something on TV because there are so many other things on at the same time.
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I would normally have agreed with you if it weren't for the predictably terrible match-up between two teams who haven't been relevant in at least 15 years(longer for the Bears). And for what its worth, on my website(www.scoutsnotebook.com) i CALLED this Cutler shit would blow up in Chicago's face. Orton doesn't have the flashy arm of Cutler, but he's got a winning pedigree and he manages the game. The only good thing Chicago got out of the deal was taking Johnny Knox with the 5th they got back in the deal... if Robert Ayers develops for Denver, this trade is going to be REALLY lopsided. Oh, and uh... I like Science of the Movies, for what its worth. thats why I have a DVR.
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because Herc doesn't allow anything that has any geek cred to live there unless it's a story about the show's ratings.
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and sometimes contributing to the net. i hate what the net has become. and i agree with our presidents views on it. she used to be a journalist on rte before becoming a member of fianna fail. her daughters use the net. and i agree with what she had to say about the net.
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earns more than obama. as do aour leaders.
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