Cinemagic #23 (1983)

Effects-Starbu

"Zyzak Is King"

-On Location With An

Adventure Game Fantasy

Guide to CINEMAGIC

r-

~=~~:

Back Issues, page 26

~

SPECIAL FEATURE

Animation With

Your Home Com

0;;",0000.,

S

1.

95

9"

CONTENTS

Editor

's

4

On Location

18

Bench

_ _ _

_

Microcomp uter

6

Animation

_

A special feature on how to create dazzling animation with your home computer.

By

James Leatham.

Filmmakers

'

1 2

Forum

A regular department devoted to readers' comments and cor· respondence about fantasy filmmaking.

Cinemagic

Market-Place

_ _

13

Classified advertising and announcements.

Easy

Effects

_

15

Make your own cross-star fitter and create super starburst flares.

By

JlIck Imes, Jr.

ClNEMAGIC goes on lOC8tion for the making of an adventure game fantasy film, Zyzakls King. By John Cleyton.

Stop-motion

Studio

Armatures for Less, CINEMAGIC veteran Ken Walker builds an

armature for a model AlloslIurus from a design by Kenneth Brilliant.

By John Dods.

Producers'

Bulletin

Issue

#23

Latest news of our readers' productions.

CINEMAGIC

Back Issue

Guide

_

26

At last, a comprehensive guide to every subject ever covered in the pages of ClNEMAGIC.

Success

30

Story

_ _

_

(

A CINEMAGIC success story: Mark Sullivan rises from basement film· maker to Hollywood SFX artist with his fantastic short film, Highrise. By John Dods.

Issue "'23 Publishers

Norman Jacobs/Kerry O'Quinn

Associate Publisher

Rita Eisenstein

Circulation Director

Richard Browne

Assl'tant Publisher

Milburn Smith

Editor David Hutchison

Art Director

W.R. Mohlilley

Managing Editor John Clayton Assodate Art Director

Neil Holmes Senior Designer Denise Lewis Designers Daniel Abello Sook Han Editorial Contributors John Dods Jo!Imes Lelltham Hugh Stegman

Mark Sullivan

Spedal Projects linda Loias Damon SlIntostefano Production Assistants Ed Bergenza Richerd Cebek Elizabeth DeJesus Eileen Dempsey Norma Garda Shawn Hodes Chris Kwlath Andrea Passes Flnandal Manager Joan BlIetz Founder of CINEMAGIC Don Oohler Published by

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4 ONEMAG/C"23

Editor's

BENCH

Guest Editorial:

Lucky You!

W

hen I wa,a kid. I would have killed to find a magazine like CINEMAGIc' I wanted to meke movie, more then enything else. and there wes no publication to tell me how to do mlnleture sets. titles and cobwebs-no publication to put me in touch with other filmmekers In my area-no publication to teach me about ,cripu end sloryboards.

Above all. there wa, no publication that sponsored e contest where I could strut my sluff. There was no Short Film Search.

Lucky you-you have e wonderful opportunity to learn from this magazine lind then to put your learning Into practice by making II ntm (or tape) that might be a prize winner.

By the time you read this we will hllve just staged the 5th Anniversary awards night for Ihe Short Film Search Uointly sponsored by the School of Visual Arts~ and It was a glit· tering event. Our Lincoln Center lIuditorlum was packed to overflowing with both profes· sionals and students.. We screened all the winning films to a cheering audience. and we • presented trophies and specitll prizes to the thrilled winners.

II was II mllglcal night! Look for II complete report In the next issue.

If you were flol there. you aIR ,UII gel In on the fun when some of the winning films are shown on Nighl flIght. Friday and Saturday. November 25th lind 26th. beginning at

11:00 PM Eastern (8:00 PM Pacific) on USA cable Network. Nlghl flight Is a four·hour.

fllst·paced. youthful variety shOll/lind Is the hIghest· rated cable series in the wortd. The exposure for our winning filmmakers will be sensatlonll1.

And if viewers respond positively. Nighl flight will schedule regular CINEMAGIC segments for the future. and we'lI supply them with past winners from the Short Film Search as well as other original films.

But that's not all-we are making deflnlle plans to televi,e the entire awards night In 1984-the 61h yellr for this non·proflt event. We'll show the world what kind of electrlcl· ty Is generated when fans tlnd c:elebrlties come together to discover. and honor. young

talent on the WlIy up. We'lI show 'em the ffitlgicl

As II result. next year's winners will heve II national ~howcase for their work that will give them an incredible career boost.

If you lire an aspiring producer. director. writer. actor. cinemlilographer. special ef· fects creator or Interested in any branch of movies or TV. you owe It to yourself 10 start-righf flow-TODAY-planning and organizing a film production for next yeer's contest.

Don', try to ffitlke Gone With The Wind. Just do a lillie film thllt shows how clever and creative you are. Make It the best work you're capable of-In concept and in execution. This is your chance; 90 {oril!

Then. milybe. just maybe. you'lI be Judged as one of the best films-and you'lI have your work ,hown to an impommt audienc:e: ilt a big New York theater-and maybe one of

the professionals In the audienc:e: wilt see it and SlIy. "Hey. that kid has tlilent!" Sounds corny. but it could happen!

Still. you'lI never know unless you put out the effort. Breaks like thllt don't hilppen to people who sit around and WlIit for the phone to ring. Get up off your butt lind stop daydreaming!

When! was II kid, I would have killed to find a contest like this-an opportunity to show off my talent. If the Short Film Search had existed when I wes In school. I might be directing films todey.

Of course. that would mean that I neY(!r would have become II magazine publisher. lind the CINEM .... GIC Short Film Sellrch wouldn't el<ist.1 guess ftom your point or view It's II good thing there was no magazine like this for me. lucky you!

!l;erry O'Qulnn/Publisher

CINEMI\.QlC Is publloMd bl.monthly by STAALOO PRESS. IriC. 47' P .. k A.' ... Soulh. Mew Yo.k. MY 10016 This 1.

1._

·23

(VoI .. me 4. No.'~ ISSN ~JOOO. C .... lonl II CI 1983 by ST ... RLOO PRESS. INC .... II rilJh ... earnd. R~lnl Of rep'odOCIIon of..,. malerllllln .... 1 01' In .. hole ... 11'IOIJI wrlUm permloolon lrom the pubI~ II IIrlctlylor· blclden. ONEI'VIOIC ~I no .efI>OIUIbilltylor uruoIkited manllKriplJ;. pilot ... norothermalerMl. but 111.Mlllna OlIbmItt.ols .. e~le<Iby.oeII_-'lWnfIedm~.tMy1//II!"<:orUIck,~IOn(!.l/rI«flICrry.r ... ""'.

ProducU _ l i e d •• e ...

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MICROCOMPUTER

ANIMATION

Create

dazzling

co

mput

er

animation

with

a

personal microcomputer

By JAMES S. LEATHAM

James Leatham with his ApJ)le II plus home comj)lltet. The lOP is off 10 keep the comptJter from owr·heating. Tile camera set·up and secorMf moRIa aAlln the closet,

M

ost ter people associate animation" with Disney"compu's , TRON, the briefing room scene inSlar Wars and the Voyager Saturn films.

You CINEMAGIC readers have sharp eyes

for new and unusual special effects and often want to find some way to incorpor -ate them Into your own films. Computer

animl!!IIion effects are no exception. Sometimes even the set Is a special ef· fect, A common example Is the computer

display on a spacecraft's instrument

panel. For the film Asteroid (see CINEMAGIC -16) I used my Apple II

microcomputer and trick photography to make the "Paradox" logo, titles. credits

and various instrument readouts. Most of

what I've done is use a computer to "fake"

computer displays! Those displays a re ac·

tuelly feef'projected images on the sets suggesting a computer readoul A real computer end CRT (TV set or video

monitor) wouldn't work liS well as rear

-6 ONEMAG/C-23

projection for several reesons. For one thing. the TV Image is hard to photograph under movie lights-the picture is dim and operates ata different frame rate then

the camera. The other problem is the computer. Any microcomputer can tell you the square root of 12 before you let go of the keyboard. but if you want to do enything complicated. like enimetlon or picture displays. it needs time.

Time lapse photography can compress

hours of computet time into mere

seconds. We've all seen time lapse films of flowers bursting magically Into bloom in seconds. the same principle can be us· ed to "speed up" the length or time a com· puter needs to create eech frame of enimation for the camera.

Further more, the computer can take over the operation of the camera, automat lcally open i ng the sh utter for ex· posure each time an image has been ful· Iy created on the computer's screen. After

drawing an image. a radar screen for ex· ample, the computer can operete the <:amera's shutter release, then start work·

Ing on the nf!)tl frame

Shooting this way will also eliminate the "roll bar" or flicker that Is normally associated with video Images that have been filmed. Holding the camera's shut·

ter open for a second or more "unnickers"

the I V Image and allows the use of fine gr8in Kodachrome flIm and color filters.

To understand how this works. let's call afilm framea "frame" and a video frame

e "field." Unless the camera's shutter opens when the video field begins and

doses when It ends. either more or less than one complete video field will be film·

ed, If one complete field and an incom·

plete field are photographed during one frame, part of the frame will be 100%

brighter. If this situation continues. the

photographed video screen will appear to

Professionals go to great lengths to synchronize their camera's shutter very

precisely to avoid flicker. But most amateur Super.8 movie cameras do not have adjustable shutters. But by using comparatively long exposures, we can make the flicker effect completely unno· ticeable.

If 100 complete fields and one in· complete field are photographed In II several second exposure, part of the frame will only be

1

% brighter than the

r~st, The flicker Is now Imperceptible. So by using an exposure of a few seconds you don't have to synchronIze the shutter to the video signal.

If the camera will allow the shutter to

stay open for a minute or more, the com·

puter can add color, without using a col·

or TV-even if the computer can't display in color. Placing a green filter on the

camera to film our radar screen example will make the display look moreauthen· tic. But you don't want a World War II radar

screen in a 21 st century space battle. so

use more colors. Enemy blips can appear

in red and the good guys in blue. for example.

The computer can position a red filter in front of the lens, draw the enemy blips, then erase them before changing filters and drawing the rest. Although it's more

complie&ted than usIng a color computer and TV. the choice of colors, exposure conlroland increased resolution is worth the effort.

The favorite trick of the computer animator is to have the computer control the entire system. The program that draws the images to be photographed

also controls the camera's shutter and moves color filters In front of thecamera's lens. This way you plan what is to be film·

ed and the computer does the work,

HOWl DOlT

I always wanted a computer. so I was

one of the first to purchase an Apple II.

Fo

r

years it had the best graphics and it has many features that make it a natural for computer animation.

It can display text (letters, numbers.

etc.). graphics or graphics with subtitles.

The computer's operation can be inde· pendent of the image being displayed. It

can draw while showing text, print text

while showing graphics or show one pic-ture while drawing another.

Erasing one screen lind using the other can act as a second camera shutter. The blank screen can be displayed while the

computer is busy drawing a picture, when the color filters are being changed and when the camera is in the proces.s of opening or dosing its shutter. Electric -powered Super·8 cameras can open and close their shutters far faster than a motor driven 16mm Bolex can. A "wait for me to finish" sigMl is required forthemorelse errors will occur.

The computer Is wired so that when it's

in the graphics mode it produces 8 TV

signal that shows the onbff state of a large

chunk of its memory. (An Apple II has 8192 bytes.) When the computer draws anything. iI's actually storing numbers.

My most complicated program tricks

the computer into drawing several p ic-tures at once outside the display memory area, then moving the "numbers" to where the cameTll can

see

them, expoSing each image through a different filter.

The Apple II is also easy to interface

(hook up to other things). In addition to

The camera set-up. The motor In the ioreground in chain-drive 10 the 45rpm record is driven by an output signal and controls !he camera's $huner motor. An

Input signal (cued by the stickers on the rerord) tells !he computer 'NtIen the

camera Is finisMd opening or closing lis shutter. Other disk Is tile filter wh~L

ArIolher view shows !he monitor thatlhe camera shoots. Tile camera is turned

~ lor p/lotography purposes. The little rellective StickelS on the large tiller

wh~1 (a cut-out33rpm record) trigger an Input s1gnallhal a filter

Is

In place,

turning ott the output signal driving the motor and holding the wheel in place.

A 16mm sequence mal seems 10 have deplh.ln color, it Is aU green.

four potentiometer inputs. the game pad· die connector can send four and re<:eive

three onloff signals. The output signals

control the camera's shutter (on - open,

off _ dose) and the color filter drive motor. The input sign/!lls tell the

com-puter when the camera has finished open·

ing or closing the shutter and when the

color filters are in position. The signals havr: to be bufferr:d (amplified) to be ablr: to light an LED (light r:mitting diode)or

can lead directly to other TTL (tran· sistor/transistor logie, not "through the

lens") circuits. Buffered signals can

operate relays to control the camera and filter motors. A SSR (solid statr: relay) is an LED facing a photo electric switch. Not

only does it keep house current a safe distance from the computer's circuits. it

waits until the AC voltage crosses zero

beforr: turning on or off. This minimizes electronic noise that may confuse the computer.

Conne<:ting the camera to the compu·

ter is another problem. For my Super-B

camera a small relay connected to the

B ClNEMAGIC "23

remote socket opened the shutter, and an LED in front of the photocell dosed It. (My

camera was In the single·frame and time exposure mode for this to work.) The whole set·up must be in a completely dark room or else the ambient room light will cause the photocell to dose the shut· ter. This is also necessary to prevent am·

blent light from creating reflections on

the monitor screen. A few ICs(integrated

circuits) handled the relay and LED tim·

ing inste/!ld of having the computer con·

trol each separately. Because many com·

puter sequences take over 12 hours to

film, lalso had tobuilda9·volt DC power

supply for the camera.

The 16mm version usesa smal14.rpm

AC motor to turn the handcrank spindle.

An improbable arrangement of phono·

graph records, reflective stickers. photo· detectors. LEOs /!Ind several les start and

stop the motor at the points where the

shutter is fully open or completely closed.

In each case, a 4-rpm motor turned a

color filter wheel. I used an ordinary

12·inch LP record (that I didn't want to

play anymore~ cut eight two·and-a-half· inch holes In it and t/!lped three-inch square gelatine filters over the holes. I us·

ed six filters: red, green, blue(the additlvr: primaries), and cyan, yellow and magen-ta (the subtractive primaries). One hole was used as "noWter," and the eighth hole was not used. Reflective stickers were

placed on the circumference of the wheel, so that when a filter was in position, the

"color" photodetector saw a sticker. A sticker at a slightly different radius from the rest representr:d "reset." When the "no·color" photodetector sees this stick-er, one of the open holes is in front of the

lens. The computer positions any filter in

front of the camera's lens by turning the

wheel motor on and off, To select green

(color

-3)

the computer turns on the wheel motor and waits for the "no·color"

signal. Once it gets it, it counts "color" signals until the number it has matches the color number It wants. then it turns off

the motor, Tosavetime, the programsal·

ways select the colors in sequence. Although it sounds complicated, the

section of the program that selects filters 15 fairly simple. The main reason I chose

this method is that it requires only one

output and two input lines.

While I lim discussing the

computer·controlled motors, let me ex·

plain why I avoided using "stepper

motors." Stepper motors are made to be

computer controlled. (There Is at least

one In every disk drive and printer.) They

work like a compass surrounded by elec· tromagnets. The sequences the magnets

are turned on and off in determines which direction it will turn. The computer can lIIi1kt: tht: !!Iulur yo fd!>t or slow just by

changing the speed the magnets are turn·

ed off and on. I didn't want to use stepper

mot~rs because: the computer has to be

directly involved with each fraction of a

revolution; they require four control lines;

they are expensive; they <:Ire hard to Inter·

face to the computer and I didn't need

them for the job.

THE PROGRAMS

The photographs should make the

equipment looksimple.lt is. thecompli.

ClIted part is the computer and the pro·

grams in the computer. The program tells

the computer what todo and how to do it.

The computer will follow these instruc·

tions to the best of Its ability, no matter

how stupid they are.

I program in Basic, the Illnguage that

comes with the computer. Recently I

changed to a faster version called

CCSOFT. This language does everything

the Apple Basic does, but it's faster, because it uses an "Arithmetic Processor

Unit." It's a calcuilltor that plugs Into the

computer and performs tough math func·

tions like division. When Basic isn't fast

enough, [ use "mllchine language." This

is the langullge the computer's CPU{Cen·

tral Processing Unit) understands. Its

much fasterthlln BASIC, but much harder

to write. The machine language program

is controlled by the Basic program. After

the Basic program sets things up. the machine language program does its job

then returns control to the Basic pro·

gram. The BlIsic progrllm then h<:lndles

the photography of the result and pro·

ceeds to the next frame.

The two twin peak lInimatlon displays

(colors Bessel figures) have II program

which uses

BaSic

,

machine language, and

the APU to perform 300,000 ClIlculations

in one minute. That's five to 15 times

faster then BlIsic alone. It took lIlong time

to get the machine language section to

work properly. A very long time. But

now

thllt it is working, it's easy to change the

Basic program that controls It.

THE

LIMITATIONS

The Apple II can't match the resolution

of the system used to make TRON. The 280 dots wide by 192 dots high display is

about a quarter of what was used for the

Voyager films. Further, each pixel (dot)

ClIn only be completely on or entirely off.

I hllve to rely on varying the exposure

times lind multiple exposures to give

graduations of intensity.

The other problem is ClIused by the way

tht: picture is formed. On arcade games

like Slar CasUe a straight line can be

drawn between any two points. The Apple

II can only draw lines by turning on the

pixels that are lIrranged like the squares

on graph paper. Take a sheet of graph

paper, select any two squares a few inches

apart and using a ruler draw a line be·

tween them. Now fill in every square that

the line touched, Except for special cases,

the line is jllgged, "sta irsteppy··, because

A 16mm sequeI\C8 of two very colorful. collapsible Bessel figures. A 16mm version, originally SUpef·a PfOQflIms can be run countless times.

you can't split pixels.

Sometimes this effect can be minimiz, ed because of a quirk in the method the computer uses to calculate lines. By draw-Ing from point A to point B and then from point B to point A, the computer may make the line wider and the staircaSing

less noticeable,

Because the picture is a series of

numbers In the computer's memory, the plcturecan besoved on a diskond return-ed to the computer's memory at anytime,

To speed up the end credits for Asteroid,

I stored the images on a disk, had the computer recall the Image outside the displayoreo, and move the picture a sec'

tlon at II time to where the camera could s~ it. This process replaced the previous imtlge beingdispltlyed resulting in an in,

terestlng "venetian blind wipe", because

of the odd way the Apple's display memory is arranged,

THE EQ(J(PMEN

T

Select your camera with care, Sound

cameras may not offer both single frame and time exposure features, A through, the, lens viewfinder will allow proper framing and focusing,

Be sure

it can focus

on the nine or twelve,inch monitor, A camera with an electric remote release will make it easy to interface with the

computer, (The Eumig 881 PMA is a

silent Super-8camera with these features. and it accepts sound film cartridges.)

Some computers come with a monitor,

Usually it's possible to connect a second monitor, You should h~ one monitor for the operator, and another in a light proof enclosure with the camer", Many video

monitors for computer use are tinted green, You may have to hunt around or

special order a monitor with white phos

-phors. (Try the monitors used for closed

circuit TV. but be sure it haSilin odjustable

focus.)

I use an Apple microcomputer because

of its features. Other computers moy be

cheaper. but may not be suitable for your

needs, There is no limit to thellmountof

money you can spend on peripherals(ac·

cessories). Don't buy stuff you don't need and can't afford.

rve recently purchased an Apple lie. J had to make minor changes to my equip,

ment and programs, but now I have a new

computer with thecapability(but not yet

the ability) to double the horizontal resolution to 560 pixels.

THE ADVANTAGES

If you need copies of your computer· animated films and don't want an expen· sive second generation dupe, Just tell the

computer to do it again, The programs

can be run several times to get the right exposure, color and speed,

Because I do the programming and the

computer does the filming, films can be

made cmytime, That's what Steve Parady meant in the Asteroid article. I don't have to take a nllp during the animation pro

-«$$, it just works out that way.

FortheAsleroid end credits. J made one wldt: screen version for SF convention

showings and a narrower version for

videotllpe. The same program was used

for each, but to make the narrower version

I used II screwdriver to chllnge the moni·

tor's width control. Try /hal with rub·on

letters!

If you are fascinated with this technl·

qut: of microcomputer animation. but

need further information lIbout the

specifics involved, send a SAS.£. with

your questions lind I'll try to get back to

you liS quickly as I can. Send inquiries to:

James Leatham, RD 2, Box 198, Laroe

II. -NlrIOl'II'I'I;KjeOptoca,

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NAME

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AOORESS :

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CITY SrAn ZIP

1.. ___________

1

Filmmakers'

EORUM

A regular department devoted to re.der.' comment. about filmmaking. their problema and solutions.

Miniature Planets

· .. For those of you who need realistic plllm!ts for your next splice adventure. here 1511 cheep

ond very realistic way of cfl~lItjng them. First. If you have seen pictures of the Earth tllken

from space you will notice Ihlll

It seems to give off lin intense

Inner glow. To reeTellle thi, ef·

fect, buy II globe light fixture

cover. Ughtlng stores carry them

in varying sites from one Inch In

diameter to 20 Inches lind the

cost range Is between llboul $1

to $25. Airbrush IIlIghl coating of paint on Ihe globe In the pal· tern you wish the planet to be.

Next, insert II light bulb through

the opening lind you will 1m-medllllely see the great results.

If you want the planet to rotate

simply mount the globe on a

lazy susan. /4.lso If there are an) readers in the Santa Barbara

area who are interested in or

make science fiction and horror

films please write me and

maybe we can collaborate on a

project or exchange informa· tlon and ideas.

Kurt Hanson 1621 Castillo- I

Santa Barbara, Ca. 9310 I

Tasty Spawns

• •. The cake in the above photo

may have a familiar appe/mlnce 10 CINEM/4.GIC readers. It's a

deadly spawn cake made by

Canadian makeupertlst

Merlene Stoller. with some

asslslance from her friend Kim

Vegllante and a feil amount of kibitzing from myself (Ihey

made me carve most of the teethl)

The occtrsion was mekeup ar·

tist (The Deadly Spawn) /4.rnold

Garglulo's birthday. Believe It or not, the cake was completely edible (teeth were made of white chocolate and candy corn) and

quite tasty! /4.rnold·s birthday

coincided with the premiere of

The Deadly Spawn, so we hed to do something.

A.I Magllochettl

150Thompson St. Hamden, CT 06518

· .. &c Arnold GOlrgluto':J

makeup work In CINEMAG/C

-17, "Secrets o{Graplt1c Gore";

CINEMAGIC -20, "Masks Thai Move"; and In FANGORIA -22,

12 ONEMAGfC"23

"A New FfJ.ceo( Frigltt". See AI Magliochelll's work In the Pro/lle

In CINfMAG/C "18 and Itls art/· cle about {rontJlgltllbllckllgltt

animation In ONEMAG/C -/9.

Also see CINEMAG/C -18 for

John Dods's lIrtlele on Ihe mak·

Ing 0{ tlte spawns /hunse/oes.

Norwescon Film

Contest

. NORWESCON 7, Seattle's own regional science fiction convention (held March 22·25,

1984) Is having Its second an·

nualemateur film contest. En·

tries should be 8mm silent, Super·8 silent or sound (lor 2 track). 16mm optical sound or VHS video. Films should not be

more than 30 minutes In length.

Entries should be sent In a reuseble ctrrton (marked distinctly on the box. film can lind leader) lind be insured, If

possible. /4. It filmmakers not at·

tendIng the convention must

paye s5 entry fee to cover casu. NORWESCON and film

contest personnel are not

responsible for lost. stolen, or

dameged properties. No entries

from last year's contest may participate. If you would like

more information about the

conlest or to enter your film

{deadline March l,l984)senda S./4..S.E. to the address below.

NWClFllm Contest

P.O. Box 24207

Seattle, WA 98124

Contact Fllmmaker-sl

... You can contllct film.

makers whose work interests you or who happen to live In

your area, simply by writing

to Ihem at the addresses

listed with Ihelr letters.

CINEM/4.GIC encourages

filmmakers 10 contllCl. each

other and posslbly col· laborate on projects. For more names and addreS5es,

see Producers' Bulletin Botrrd page 24.

New Jersey Film

Casting

••• 1 am making a fentasy film

with some friends and we could use some help from Interested filmmmakers In the New Jersey,

New York metropolltlln area. The name of the film Is BeIWIl!!

/he Huntress, and [t will be shot in Super·8, featuring prosthetic

makeup that makes Ihe cherac· ters look hllif human. half lion.

We need actors end people to

work on selsand help film. If you live In the area and are In· terested, please contact me. The film will be aboul 45 mInutes long and Is the first

story In a trilogy. One location will be a locel castte.

ArlhurCox

115 LewIs St. Patterson, NJ 0750 1

(20 I) 523·651 I

Flushing

Film Club

••• 1 am a fllmmaker who lives

in the Flushing, Bayside erea of

Queens. New York. I do makeup effects trnd make movies. Besides myself. I htrve only one friend who helps me on my film

projects.. If there trre any other

filmmakers in the Queens aree

of New York City woo would like to gel. Irwolved In a colltrboratlve filmmaking effort. please write

to me al the address below. Chivalry Productions cb Vincent Schlcchl

29·27 168th St.

Avshlng. NY 11358

CINEMAGIC

Writer's Guide

... The CINEMAGIC Writer's Guide Is now available. If you

have on article In mind for

ClNEMAGIC lind would like 10 know what we Cltpect to see from

our writers, $end II self·addressed.

stllmped envelope (business -10

size) 10 the IIddress below.

C1NEMAOIC Writer's Guide 47.5 Park Ave. So.

New York, NY 10016

Rust Effects

... 1 hllve found an easy wily to

quickly give props a "I:;orroded"

look with IlIke "rust", All you

need Is plastic: model glue, tee btlgs lind rust-colored paint. First, with a brush or your

fingers, spre8d an even COlit of model glue on Ihe surface where you wanl the "rust", Before It

dries. sprinkle the crushed tell lellve' you find inside" tell bog onlO the glue. Lei it sit until the

glue herdens. then brush rust· colored ~int over the tell. Leave some ofthe tea unpainted

to give the "rust" a varied color. ThIs "rust" can be peeled off of

painted and unpainted metal surfaces without leaving a trace as long as your use only pllIstk model glue and not epolCys or

resIns. Steve 8ydal 2912 Jaffe Rd. Wilmington. DE 19808 Address ~

COfTeSPOIldenc:

to; ONEMAGIC-FUmmakm' Forum. clo O'QLdnn SiudJos, Inc.,

475 Parle Ave. So., New York, NY 10016

Due 10 the enotmOU$ volume 0{

mail recelued. the dar regrets lnditJIdua/ replies are /mpo$sIble.

CineMagic

MARKETPLACE

For as lilll. as $15.00 you can reach .11 our speelal effect, IMII. CATEGORY: PlEASE BE SURE TO INDICATE THE CATEGORY YOI.I

DEADliNE: CINEMAGIC f2,4 inouroffice by November 23rd. WANT TO BE LISTED UNDER.

CINEMAGIC '25 In our office by January 18th.

BASIC RATE: $5.00 per

"ne.

UmiI-45 dlerKlefe per line. Minimum PAYMENT: Cash, chedc Of moneyorder mutt IICaIrT1j)IIny lid order.

three ~nea. Punc:tualiGn.symboil end spa«Ie coum CIS (checb peyable to StatIog Press. Inc..)

chVtlaer.. Sm.11 OiSOIay 1Id1-140.00 percolumn Inch

(camera·r . . dy ON~YII! MAil TO: CINEMAGIC, c/o Starlog

Pre.

Inc.

First line only-'M>rd(1 oIyourchoiCe(underilne them) 475 Perl( Avenue South

will be printed In CAPS.' -_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ New'tbrk, N.Y. l001e. HEADLINE:

PlASTIC MODEL KITS: I deal In ~ figures, alC. from TV, movies. comics, etc. Send SAsE !of list.

John F. Green, 1821 W. Jacarend8 PI .• Fullanon. CA

""'"

BLUEPRINTS: Oeiailed stz. OOfTIPIUIson d"IarI Of\

5p11C8going vesseb--KUNGON 07. AOMUlAN 06,

s!al'Shlp Cf&ss Space Cn.Iiser and more. Info Of\

weight, crew, power. etc.. Send 53.00 plus $1.00 lor sNppIng to:

STAAlQG MAGAZINE

475 Parll Avenue South. New YorI<. NY 10016

ANIMATION MOOELS-lOo Quality .1 low prien.

Send. SASE lor cataloQ to: 'WaUaoe Jones. Roula"

Bole 393 Julian. N.C. 27283.

STOP MonON MODELS' Custom IIlmalUres end components' Sculplureand foam casllngMl"Vltes. Send for Information & prices. Ken Brilliant, 24 Sa ....

ford Rd .• East Brunswick, NJ 08816

IUgnelk Sound Striping. finest ~ striping Webening Iamooatoon $upef·8'8mm6t p&r 11, 61t

p&r 11 WIth balance stripe Rush Service

MAGNESTRtPE.

m

AyaJQg AVB . PassaIC. NJ

07055. (201) 733·4633.

Filmmakers

'

RUM

Reader

's

Page

... My "lime Is Carl E. Horner

lind I hove been reading

CINEMAGIC since: II became /I

STARLOG publication. And [

think it Is lin elleellen! publica. tlon to "grow·up·· with. The af' Ucles thot focus on the talented. young filmmakers are of special Interest to me, lind Just the other

day the rellllzDtlon hit me thllt r

could be one of those young men who lire fefllured In the ~ges of CINEMAGIC.

No. I'm not losing my mind.

(At iel:lst I don't think sol) The

following Is ellsl of some ormy lIchievements liS III young film·

maker.

I am the first student ever (at the lIge of 17) to receive a scholarship for cinematography

from Point Perk College lind Pittsburg Filmmakers. Inc.

Michael Gornick, Olrector of Phologfllphy for George Romero, has viewed my film,

Obelisk. Mr. Gornick liked

Obelisk lind set up 8 viewing of It for Rick Dltllone, or Anlvision r",me.IRlck C"tllone talks about

the technique of replacement

"nlmation. "M",klng Stop-Motion Models Tldk." In CINEMAGIC -11.11 am now Rick's IIpprentice.

I WIlS offered a job by HlIrwlck

IPrzyborski Productions. based on my work in Obelisk. HlIrtwlck

IPrzyborskl Productions Is a pro-duction house thllt does mlljor natlonlll commercials. Induslrllli

films. lind many other things. Obe/15k is '" Super-8 film with II

running time of 16 minutes thllt

An automalic delense sr.;tem seen In Obelisk. Incloded ill the sells a miniature lake. ThIs phokl

was

taken part-way IhI"OUgh the construction 01 the miniatull! sel 14 ONCMAGIC #23

took one·and·lI·half years to make. with II budget of $3.000.

111m ClJrrently finishing my first 16mm production, entliJed My WIlf. I hope to enter It in the Student Film Competition spon· sored by the Aaldemy of Motion Picture Arts lind Sc::lences.

I am elso a professlonlll model and IIctor. I h!We done local and national commercials. fashion modeling, lind Industrial print work. There has been some in·

terest In me for feature nlm

work. There's more, but I won't bore you. Rick Catilone sug· gested I send you a brief outline

i

of

::~:d~::~~~

career.

I'

I

Box 124

I

411 Beaver St., ,o.\a(s, PA 16046

A

IoreOround

minlatllre 01 the White

House,

rioged lor miniature explosions and a IOOYing spaceship, lor

a scene

in Obelisk. It was rather effectrve In Ihe film.

•

I

I

i

Starbursts

Make

your

o

wn

cross

·

s

lar filt

e

r

and

c

r

ea

l

e s

triking

starbursl effects

A

"star point" effect lSI! gTeat way to

add yisual energy to an ordinary shot. Unlike many other kinds of optical effects, the star point(alsocalled II staT bUTst) is easily done lit the time of the original photography using II special filter. A profeuional"staf filter" is basical·

lya sheet of optically flat glass or plastic

engraved with 8 pattern of tiny lines. The spacings between the lines and the grid pattern determine what kind of star point will be formed. The "E·Z Effects Star

Filter" is based on the same idea and can introduce you to the "sparkle" effect. As shown in the photo, the results ~n be quite dramatic with bright streamers and rays shooting from every highlight. The star filter is most effective on glass, chrome, and other shiny, highly refle<:tlve surfaces.

Before you meke the filter itself, you need to make a paper filter holder and the filter lens mount to attach the filter to the camera. The methods for constructing these two items are shown in the follow-ing steps.

THE FILTER HOLDER

Step 1: Purcheseen AmbicoAdepter Ring matched to your camera lens filter thread size. This plastic ring, available at most camera stores, greatly simplifies the mounting of the ster filter. It will elso be used on all other E·Z Effects Filters in ruture issues. It costs about $2.50. The

FIGURE 1

A

B

y JACK

I

MES.

JR

.

FIGURE 2

00

00

*

0

c

FIGURE 3

A

FIGURE 4

STAR POINTS PATTERN

D

c

SANDING ANGLES

} i

A sttlny pinwheel makes a good subject for the starburst effe<:t. Poinllight sources are good subje<:lS.

A

B

c

16 ONEMAGIC#23

Ambico ring is available in standard millimeter lenssizesof49 to 72 mm. The

correct size foryour camera can be deter· mined by checking the normal filter size, checking your camera Instructions. or simply taking yourcamera to the camera

Slore to be fitted. See figure #1.

Step 2: Trace the ring onto a large in

-dex card. Ordinary construction paper will serve, but the index card Is more durable. To make a proper tracing, first

draw a center line (or fold the card in half and then unfold). The ring itself should likewise be marked with a soft pencil line on the flange to aid in positioning the ring. Align the ring's guide line over the

line seen on the index card as shown in

figure 2A With a pencil trace both the in·

neT and outer edges of the ring.

Step 3: Make a second tracing on the other half of the index card. This tracing uses the same procedure and center line as described in Step 2. The finished trac· ing should look similar to figure 2·B.

Step 4: Cut out the tracing. Make sure you do not cut the dashed line indicated

in figure 2·C. The inner circle areas are

also cut out and discarded.

Step 5: Fold the cut-out in half along the dashed center line. The two half sec· tionsshould overlap perfectly as shown in

Figure 2·0. This completes the paper

filter holder.

THE FILTER SHEET

Step 1: Cut out a 4 x 5 inch sheet of clel!lr l!lcetate (obtained from a plastic

"photo" protector or overhead projector transparency sheet). This sheet is shown

in Figure 3·A.

Step 2: Usea medium grit sandpaper

or emery paper (200·400 grade) to light· Iy stroke the surface of the plastic sheet.

Onlyoneor two strokes in one direction across the entire sheet are needed to

engrave dozens of fine parallel lines. Don't press the sandpaper to heavily or

this will cause a "frosting" or white arel!l that will ruin the star effect. The stroke ac

-tion and result can be seen in figure 3·B and 3·C. Only one side of the plastic needs the sanding action.

THE STAR PATTERNS

The sanding stroke angle determines

the direction and number of star points.

4. 6, and 8 point patterns are shown in figure 4. Each stroke should be made lightly and in a continous motion Ineach direction required for a given point pattern.

CUTTING THE SHEET

Step 1: Slip the finished pl!ltternsheet between the two halves of the paper filter holder as shown in figure 5·A. Carefully trim the excess acetate around the holder with scissors to produce the filter seen In fjgure 5·8. Secure the filter sheet in place

A Shiny tool is Shown here withOut tile cross-star filter startMJrst effect. The same I0OI with the CIOSS'Star filter i'l place /of me dazzling startMJrsl effect.

FIGURE 6

F

R

I I

by folding short strips of adhesive tape around the paper holder. The finished filter is shown In figure

5·C

and should be

marked with the type of pattern, 4·polnt,

4-star, or 4·5, etc.

MOUNTING THE FILTER

Step 1: Screw the Ambicoadapter ring onto the camera lens. The plastiC flange

forms the f~cing to hold the filter In pro·

per position. as shown in figure 6.

Step 2: Place the star filter against the Ambico ring flange and anchor it into

position with two ordino!lry paper clips. The filter is now ready to be used in photography.

PHOTOGRAPHY

All star filters including the E-Z Effects Star Filter, are intended for use with

FIGURE 7

bright, ne~r pin. point tight sources or shiny reflected highlights. The best roilY and streamer effects are obtained by

shooting at light sources in a scene. The

more direct the light source (or reflection) to the lens, the stronger the ray effects.

You can qu ickl y estimate your fi Iter"s pat

-tern over the film frame by first looking through the camera's viewfinder (and

through the filter) at a single studio light or flashlight about 10 feet away from the camera.

The angle of the star point rays should be decided upon before the filter Is

clipped into place, since adjusting the

lens focus may cause the fi Iter ring to ~Iso

rotate on many cameras. An intentional

"pinwheel"' effect can be done by simply

rotating the filter unattached to the Am· biro ring.

,

_.

..

_.

_,

~~

...

, \ , .'

.'

.

..

"

•

•

,I . . .

.

'

.

.

,

..

The subject being photographe~

should be relatively bright and contrasty,

with extremely sharp highlights and deep

shadow areas for the maximum star burst

effect. Too much flat or overall scene

lighting tends to wash out the star streamers. Use your imagination to

create dazzling starburst effects. Good

filming! (J(

MATERIALS

Sheet of clear acetate, 8 x 10 inches

Index card, 5 II 8 Inches

Ambiro Adapter Ring, mated to

camera lens Two paperclips Adhesive Tape

Sandpaper(or Emery paper~ medium

grit (200·400 grade)

On

LOCAT

ION

Z

YZ8k is King, a "dungeons and

dragons fantasy" film made by

filmmaker Hugh Stegman as a

pro-jectat USC film School, has been making

the rounds and has met with audience

ap-proval everywhere that it has been shown.

The film centers around a group of young

adults who get together to play dungeons

and dragons war games on a computer.

Each player assumes an identity and

By JOHN CLAYTON

must battie the other players by rolling

dice and feeding the information into a

computer, Thecomputer determines the

outcome by interpreting information fed

into it and printing the results of the roll

onto its

scree

n

.

The

compe

titi

on

gets

pretty intense and, as is known to happen

in some games thi!lt people take

serious-ly. rivalries and tempers flare.

Each roll of the dice is punctuated by a

cut to a fantasy sequence of the action of

each player's turn being played out. We

see two young men arguing around a

computer and a satanic· looking game board with bizarre occult pieces, and then

we see one of them in armor fighting a

wolfman. The production values in the

film are very high and the effects in the

fantasy sequences are very slick and con·

vincing. Zyzakis King took second prize

The BaJrog creature is a cable-controlled articulated mask. operated 'rom out of

the lrame 01 two effects lectmicians. It was designed and made by Steve Koch.

Zyzak'S IWman (Char18f1e Stevens) watches in hOrror as tile devious BaJrog sets hlmsell on fire and tries to pull Zyzak into the flames with his whip.

\

t

in the 16mm category at lest year's

CINEMAGIC!SVA Short Film Search.

"ZyzakwlIsa USC student production."

Stegman begins. "I wrote the script, did

almost all of the preproduction and

directed. The way you get II student film

m8de at USC is to go in with the

preproduction work completed. The

s<:hool put up $5,000 to produce the film.

It wound up costing about twice that

much

(roughly S IO,OOO)tocomplete. The

rest of the money came out of the pockets

of people in the crew.

"J was very fortunate to have a number of

very talented people working with me all

Zyzak.

I had an especially talented effects

crew: Tassilo Baur,

S

teve

Koch end Ralph

Miller. Both Koch and Miller have been

past winners of the C1NEMAGICISVA

Film Search with their own films and the subjects of articles in CINEMAGIC [Koch

in issue "II and Miller!n issue *15J. They built an amazing dungeon set out of Styrofoam blocks that were sanded down to look like bric:ks and painted a neutral

blue· gray color that looks great on film, regardless of whether it's lit with tungsten or daylight. They added great touches to the set, like very realistic· looking cob-webs made of eirplene glue strung over strands of monofllliment. Th~ built a copy of e cob\webber thet's e very popular rental item out here in Holl~ for hor· ror and fantesy films. The cobwebberthey

made simply attaches onto an electric:

drill.lSee CINEMAGIC "19 for the artlde on how to build your own colNteb spinner that attaches to an electric: drill.J

--Ralph Millercreated e wolfman make-upfor the film." Stegman remembers with a sml1e. "He also played the wolfman character because he had sculpted it over hisown life casts for a perfect fit. He put a great deal of work Into itand ifsonly in a

few

shots, but it creates a perfect effect. Steve Koch created the makeup for a character called 'Balr09: which is de· scribed as a creature that sets himself on fire and pulls his victims into the names with his whip. Steve designed the Balrog as an articulated mask. The mask looks great on film, but it limited my freedom of movement with the camera because I couldn't tilt down without showing the two crew members-who were operating the mask from out of the frame. ISee CINEMAGIC

'20

for John Dods' article on erticulated full· head mask5-J The storyboards called for much more camera movement than I was actually able to shoot when I got onto the set.

"The actor who played the Balrog character could only work for about 15 minutes at a time because he kept pass· ingout under the mask. Hecould hZlrdly breathe and he was sweating to death under all of the hot lights. The Balrog ac· tor wanted to back out of the project because of the discomfort of wearing the mask, but

we

couldn't replace him after Steve Koch had designed the BalTog

The wollman lies ITlOftIIIy wounded at Zyzak's reet. Ralptl Miller designed and made Itle v.ullman makeup creation and played the part as wei. The very elaborate costume is seen only very brietty if! the film.

mask to fit his head exactly. There are several close·ups In the film showing the Balrog on fire and spitting flames. These were done with Just the mask itself on a stand being operated without the actor in· side. We had tubes inside the mask blow· ing smoke out of its mouth, nostrils and eyes and we had flames in front of it so it looks like it was catching fire. Although the ector who played the Balrog had a hard time of It-he complained that he couldn't breathe when Steve Koch was casting his head in alginate-Ralph Miller was mane experienced end didn't seem to mind the discomfort.

"The fleme scenes were shot one night on a closed set with about six people stan· ding around with fire extinguishers,"

Stegmen remembers. "If anything had gotten the leest bit out of hand, that

whole sound stage wouldn't be there any· more. The soundstage was built at USC around 1919. There's a placetotiea horse

up in front of it. It was built right after the First World War as a craft shop for the ar-chitecture department as e project to see what they could do with recycled lumber

from the war. One stray spark would have

Ignited that place like a torch. Thewhole

effect had been very ct.Irefully planned for

a long time.lt'snol the type of thing you should try in your garage. There's a safe way to create any effect you can think of, but you have to take the time to think of the safest way to create an effect.

"Tassilo Baur, Steve Koch and Ralph

Zyzal( (Bob FoIward) enters !he dungeon sel. The set is

construcIed~~~~~~~

ed. Note the cobwebS hanging In tile ar.hway. The effects CI'\!W ~iIt

20 ClNEMAG/C-23

Miller stayed together as an effects team

after we finished shooting Zyzak. They

helped to raise the production value of

severlll films made at USc. After Zyzak.

they stl!lrten rh8rging lOr their servi~s. I

was the only filmmaker lucky enough to

have these talented people create effects

for free. Tassilo Baur is a maSlerat casting plastic and latex. He made many of the

props as

well

as acting 85

FX

director and

optical compositer. He's better than alOI

of professionliis out here in Hollywood,

although I Imagine that by now he's 8

pro-reslonal himself."

There are seYeral optical shots in

lyzak

that also add to the slick look of the film.

One shot lit the end of the film shows

Zyzek at the summit of a mountain with

his beautiful woman by hisside as he pro·

clllims himself king. He lifts his sword

skywllrd and it is struck by lightning, but

they are unharmed. The lightning bolt

was the gods forging a superior weapon

for the great warrior.

"We shot the opticals on 35mm to help

reduct: generation loss," Stegman reo

members. "It was the first time In many.

many years that the USC optici!ll printer

hi!ld been used for 35mm work. The

mounti!lin was really only three feet high.

The whole foreground of the mountain

was a glass painting done by Steve Koch.

The clouds were also glass paintings,

lInimated in multiplane for perspective.

There lire three sepi!!rate planes of clouds

In the shot, all moving at slightly different

speeds. A hand.painted rotoscoped hold·

bllck matte WliS ne<:essary to composite

ZyzlIk Into the frame. We shot the scene

on an old 35mm Mitchell with dual

registration pins. The camera was an·

cient, It hand't seen the light of day for

years. We worked with short ends to save

money, and as a result the color on the ef·

fectsscenes isn't perfectly matched, but

It's not all that noticable and quite

acceptable.

"In lIddition to having a full time effects

crew, which was unheard of at USC, we

also had a full time costume person, Valerie Bonne, who was a beginning

cinema student. She also did the glamour

mi!lkeupon the girl, and she did fanti!lstic

costume work,

MUSICAL SCORE

"The music for

Zyzak

is an original

score composed by a USC music student named Mike Abels.. We used the largest

orchestra ever assembled to record the

soundtrack for a student film at USc. We

used between 25 lind 30 musicians on the

soundtrack-all of whom were USC

music students. The soundtrack was

re<:orded in a room in the music building.

Although the capabilities existed at USC

at that time to record music soundtracks

In sync with the film, the equipment was

very old and forced you to be creative to

is going to change in the very near future

alUSC and things will be quite dirferent

than when I madeZyzak.

CIN

E

MA CENTER

"USC is about to get a brand new

cinema center tnat will consist of three

new buildings. The old cinema «;nter is

ancient. It dates back to the twenties and

most of the equipment Is fairly old. The

new fllcility will be called the Luclls

Cinema Center because George Lucas

donoted lots of money to the project and

bealuse he's one of USC's most visible

alumni. Uther notable film InduStry peo.

pie who also contributed to the project

are Steven Speilberg and producer

Howard Koch. The new facilities will rival

what the big studios out here in Holly.

wood have. The new Cinema Center will

include a state·of·the·art music scoring

stage, and plenty of amazing new equip.

ment. USC'sHlm school is really moving

up in the world with its new Cinema

Center.

SOUNDFX

"Even though most of the equipment

available to students at the time I made

Zyzakwas old, USC still had everything [

needed to achieve the results I wllnted. it

just took longer. Some of the more in·

teresting sound effects in the film in·

volved the voices of some of the

chllracters. For example. Zyzak's voice

was run through a synthesizer. We

mutated his voice from normal to a

menacing synthesized voice by having

both a normal and a synthesized sync

track. The synthesized track was made by

taking the normal sync tack and running

it through the synthesizer. We ran both

tracks in sync and cross faded from the

normal to the synthesized track. causing

Zyzak's voice to mutate.

''The Balrog's voice was synthesized on

a digital Eventide Harmonizer, which is

the standard method of creating an extra·

terrestrial's voice for science fiction films.

Zyzak's voice was recorded in sync, but

the Balrog's voice had to be luped

~ause the actorcouldn't speak through

the articulated mask-it would have

sounded like a muffled mumble. The

Balrog's voice had to be post·synced by cutting frames out of the fultc:oat to

match the movement of the mouth on the

articulated mask.

"Both the sound man and I took syn·

theslzer courses to allow us access to

equipment. We were able to get thou·

sands of dollars worth of synthesizer time

for free because we were taking the

courses. [took every synthesizer course

thtttUSC had to offer, which meant that I

had a synthesizer course every semester

for about two years.

GOING BACKWARDS

"We also had some reverse film effects

in Zyzak." Stegmen recalls with a boyish

grin. "The scene where ZYZltk gets shot by

a crossbow was shot in reverse, Tassilo

BlIur made a latex appliance of the arrow

in Zyzak's chest-covered with blood of

course-and

we

yanked itoffwith a wire

while filming the scene in reverse. We cut

out the only frame In which the wire

showed, and no one is the wiser." [See "Going Backwards Made Easy" in C1NEMAGIC

·8

for tips on reverse fllming.[

THE asc

EDGE

"Going toUSC has advantages over go·

Ing tootherfilm schools be<:ause you're

right where all the action is in Hollyv.-ood

and there's a good network once you get

out," Stegman asserts. "You can spend

your years in film school making contacts

in the industry so that you can be well·

connected by the time you get out. and

hopefully one of your connections will

lead to a job In the industry. There's also

the advantage of having access to all sorts

of filmmaking equipment available for

rental. Some of the students get access to

amazingly sophisticated equlpmenl

-dollies, cranes-you name it. One kid

even shot a class lIssignment with a

panaflex camera-try that in some midwestern film school.

FUTURE PLANS

"Now that I've finished the graduate

program at USC's Cinema Department,

I'm out writing scripts and workingon low

budget films," Stegmen reveals. "I think

my main interest lies in writing-al·

though I love driecting as well. I've been

taking some of my scripts around. trying

to get a feature produced. I have a feature

length version of Zyzak that I've been tak·

ing around, as well as a feature about a

college football team and the relation·

ships between the players.

"As far as the short version of Zyzak is concerned, I've shown it around and got·

ten prelty good reactions to it. I showed it

at Forry Ackerman's birthday party and

everyone loved it. John Millius(director

of Conan) showed it 10 his scriptwriting

class at USc. He couldn't believe that it

was made as a student production. most·

Iy because of the quality of the spe<:ial ef·

fects. which liS I've said lowe to Tassilo

Baur, Steve Koch and Ralph Miller. I'm

busy now trying to generate interest in my

feature·length scripts and in my script.

writing abilities. I'm also thinking of ap·

plying for an AFI grant. which would be

the only way that I could afford to make

another short film now that I'm out of

school."

Hugh Stegman is a young filmmaker

with the talent and the will to succeed.

like many other talented young filmma·

kers, he'sdoing what he should be doing

pursuing his career in Hollywood, the

"dream capital of the world." where-if

you will it-your own dreams can come

true. (J(

I

Make Magical

Special Effects

I

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NeW' York.''''092. U.S.A

PRESERVATION!

PrOlect,oor preoous

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wholl! keepot'C lhem on hoand lor usyrelf<ence W1 cuslom-aalled leatherene 1,Ie cases or ~lone

bonders embl)Slotd 'n gold w«h the CIN£MAGIC

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.

Stop-motion

STUDIO

Armatures

For

Less

ByJOHN DODS

Y

ou·ve probably heard about those stop-motion ar·

matures that cost thousands of dollars to build. This

onec::osts

$19722

and it's good. What's more, that price

includes the cost of the drill press used to make it.

Using II guardian "OP-Mini" $85.00 drill press, a $20 vise

and about $55 worth of drill bits, counter sinks, and rottlry

files. Ken Walker fabriClited his first armature-for a model Allosaurus-from a design by Ken Brilliant. AJlIHmllture

mater

ia

ls were

purch8sed

fr

om

Small Parts, Inc. 6901 N.E.

Th i rd Ave" P.O. Box 381736, Miam i, FL 33138, for til modest Am\aIUi'l desIQIW Keo BriIan4 puI a bel joi1I in IhI jaw 10 allow lor side 10 SIde and ci'.

cost of $40.27. (If culatgriMing f!IO\ftITI8f1t$