SG1: Commentary on Talion
Oct. 1st, 2007 04:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tenayaCommentary on Talion by Director Andy Mikita and Actor Christopher Judge.
They discuss how to pronounce it. The teaser was shot out towards Zero Avenue at night (sometimes they just shoot exterior night scenes in the studio.) This episode was about ten minutes too long. They cut out a big opening sequence. Fire and explosion effects look so much better on film than HD (you don't get the layering and texture.) That explosion 'melted' the filters and add on parts of a camera--the one that was on a crane above the fireball. Luckily it was locked off and not manned. They talk at length about the cool (photographically speaking) stuff from the explosions in the Jaffa village.
CJ enjoys working with AM. AM compliments CJ's hard work during the last fight scene. AM talks about the SG1 style of camera work. They talk about the challenge of trying to make things look a little different after shooting a show for ten years.
The little girl Teal'c talks to is Meagan Cooper, Rob's daughter. AM says it was great to have Lexa back.
The scene with Teal'c in the tavern had a lot cut off the front of it. CJ notices that his hand no tension as he gripped the guy's throat; he thought his hand was off camera.
They compliment Tony Amendola; he could read the phone book and give it gravitas. AM compliments the sparing way musical cues are done on SG1; he'd just work on another show where they were nearly constant and very distracting.
CJ has been emailing Ben about a play he'd seen Oaks Christian play (sp?). CJ and AM compliment Ben--he's always game, works hard, never complains about long days, always wants to do more and suggest stuff that will be the better of the show. CJ thinks Ben talks a lot. They both laugh at that.
Was it a continuity error that the bad guy with a scar didn't have Jaffa tattoo on? Or was he only impersonating a Jaffa? He wanted a lot of blood on himself. AM and CJ chuckle about the pyrotechnics when the guy exploded.
They were concerned about Arkad's cockney accent but they both felt it work. They discuss shooting stock footage of Cheyenne Mountain and how that is done.
Craig Fairbrass' (Arkad) first day of work was the big briefing room scene, about six pages worth. He was kinda nervous because it was a long scene and he did most of the talking with the lead cast in the scene. They cut it up into seven parts and filmed his coverage first. CJ adds that the SG1 specific dialogue can be very hard on guest actors.
CJ and AM talk about how weird it is that SG1 is over. AM mentions that that last day, CJ, Michael and Amanda spent a quiet moment together. CJ admits it was really tough, and very emotional.
They talk about the evolution of vis-effects shots, like the gate kawoosh. In the beginning it used to take four hours to set up. The first few seasons they shot with 16mm film, super 16. Then they had a whole additional camera package of 35mm they would pull out for the vis-effects. Since those scenes would pop out, they eventually shot the whole show on 35mm. And now they are on HD for the past few years. With HD, you can shoot all day, whereas with the film, they had a budget of 7500 feet. They talk about the improved technology in the past ten years.
They used to have a lot of forest locations but they've all gone away, have been developed including the Richmond sand dunes. Zero Avenue is under development. The GVRD where they shot for the first 4-5 years is completely changed though AM heard recently that certain sections would be opened back up for filming. They talk briefly about Battlestar and AM asks about SG1's ratings numbers.
AM says Talion was his last episode and on the last day, he had a couple more shots of that big fight scene he wanted to do but they pulled the plug on him. He says he was really pissed off; he'd been with the show for ten years and it was his last show ever on Stargate and they pulled the plug. He'd never had that done before (he was laughing about this.)
The scene where SG1 tries to talk to Teal'c in the forest: they were running late. The Daniel and Vala stuff was done in one shot. Teal'c's stuff--it was dark at that point. The fight between Mitchell and Teal'c was shot in the morning. CJ says Ben loves the fighting stuff and getting dirty, he's so gun ho. Dan Shea didn't choreograph that fight; Bam Bam from SGA did. They wanted to get a different feel.
They talk sets and slow motion during the fight where Teal'c is captured. For the fight with Arkad, CJ thanks AM for the soft floor. They decided to use an actual training mat in the scene. It made a huge difference. Literally, all the shots, save one, in this sequence is CJ and Craig. Every fall is the actors'. One problem they had was that the rubber fighting sticks would start to bend and fall apart. AM likes how sparse the set is decorated. One of the influences of this scene was the miniseries "Rome." It was their inspiration, especially that moment when Teal'c skewers Arkad. This whole scene was done in less than a day.
When Teal'c begins to fight back in earnest, they are using the short shutter to get a sharpness. CJ thinks this fight is the bloodiest they've ever been on the show. They use a retractable blade when Teal'c shoves the blade into Arkad's chest. It was an effect shot of Teal'c pulling the sword out of himself that had the plug pulled on that day by Mr. Lenic. The short shutter was used in Saving Private Ryan and gave that movie it's 'look.' AM used it the first time in the battle scene in Heroes.
AM has been reading a lot about the film "300." It had no new technology in it. It was shot on film, and they used green screen and organic stuff like chocolate filters to darken the skies. They did a lot of practical stuff. They added grain and scratches to the film.
AM says what an absolutely incredible job Chris did on the show. And Chris says it was so much fun, and a pleasure and an honor to do this episode with AM and he really enjoyed it.
Eh, kinda boring.
They discuss how to pronounce it. The teaser was shot out towards Zero Avenue at night (sometimes they just shoot exterior night scenes in the studio.) This episode was about ten minutes too long. They cut out a big opening sequence. Fire and explosion effects look so much better on film than HD (you don't get the layering and texture.) That explosion 'melted' the filters and add on parts of a camera--the one that was on a crane above the fireball. Luckily it was locked off and not manned. They talk at length about the cool (photographically speaking) stuff from the explosions in the Jaffa village.
CJ enjoys working with AM. AM compliments CJ's hard work during the last fight scene. AM talks about the SG1 style of camera work. They talk about the challenge of trying to make things look a little different after shooting a show for ten years.
The little girl Teal'c talks to is Meagan Cooper, Rob's daughter. AM says it was great to have Lexa back.
The scene with Teal'c in the tavern had a lot cut off the front of it. CJ notices that his hand no tension as he gripped the guy's throat; he thought his hand was off camera.
They compliment Tony Amendola; he could read the phone book and give it gravitas. AM compliments the sparing way musical cues are done on SG1; he'd just work on another show where they were nearly constant and very distracting.
CJ has been emailing Ben about a play he'd seen Oaks Christian play (sp?). CJ and AM compliment Ben--he's always game, works hard, never complains about long days, always wants to do more and suggest stuff that will be the better of the show. CJ thinks Ben talks a lot. They both laugh at that.
Was it a continuity error that the bad guy with a scar didn't have Jaffa tattoo on? Or was he only impersonating a Jaffa? He wanted a lot of blood on himself. AM and CJ chuckle about the pyrotechnics when the guy exploded.
They were concerned about Arkad's cockney accent but they both felt it work. They discuss shooting stock footage of Cheyenne Mountain and how that is done.
Craig Fairbrass' (Arkad) first day of work was the big briefing room scene, about six pages worth. He was kinda nervous because it was a long scene and he did most of the talking with the lead cast in the scene. They cut it up into seven parts and filmed his coverage first. CJ adds that the SG1 specific dialogue can be very hard on guest actors.
CJ and AM talk about how weird it is that SG1 is over. AM mentions that that last day, CJ, Michael and Amanda spent a quiet moment together. CJ admits it was really tough, and very emotional.
They talk about the evolution of vis-effects shots, like the gate kawoosh. In the beginning it used to take four hours to set up. The first few seasons they shot with 16mm film, super 16. Then they had a whole additional camera package of 35mm they would pull out for the vis-effects. Since those scenes would pop out, they eventually shot the whole show on 35mm. And now they are on HD for the past few years. With HD, you can shoot all day, whereas with the film, they had a budget of 7500 feet. They talk about the improved technology in the past ten years.
They used to have a lot of forest locations but they've all gone away, have been developed including the Richmond sand dunes. Zero Avenue is under development. The GVRD where they shot for the first 4-5 years is completely changed though AM heard recently that certain sections would be opened back up for filming. They talk briefly about Battlestar and AM asks about SG1's ratings numbers.
AM says Talion was his last episode and on the last day, he had a couple more shots of that big fight scene he wanted to do but they pulled the plug on him. He says he was really pissed off; he'd been with the show for ten years and it was his last show ever on Stargate and they pulled the plug. He'd never had that done before (he was laughing about this.)
The scene where SG1 tries to talk to Teal'c in the forest: they were running late. The Daniel and Vala stuff was done in one shot. Teal'c's stuff--it was dark at that point. The fight between Mitchell and Teal'c was shot in the morning. CJ says Ben loves the fighting stuff and getting dirty, he's so gun ho. Dan Shea didn't choreograph that fight; Bam Bam from SGA did. They wanted to get a different feel.
They talk sets and slow motion during the fight where Teal'c is captured. For the fight with Arkad, CJ thanks AM for the soft floor. They decided to use an actual training mat in the scene. It made a huge difference. Literally, all the shots, save one, in this sequence is CJ and Craig. Every fall is the actors'. One problem they had was that the rubber fighting sticks would start to bend and fall apart. AM likes how sparse the set is decorated. One of the influences of this scene was the miniseries "Rome." It was their inspiration, especially that moment when Teal'c skewers Arkad. This whole scene was done in less than a day.
When Teal'c begins to fight back in earnest, they are using the short shutter to get a sharpness. CJ thinks this fight is the bloodiest they've ever been on the show. They use a retractable blade when Teal'c shoves the blade into Arkad's chest. It was an effect shot of Teal'c pulling the sword out of himself that had the plug pulled on that day by Mr. Lenic. The short shutter was used in Saving Private Ryan and gave that movie it's 'look.' AM used it the first time in the battle scene in Heroes.
AM has been reading a lot about the film "300." It had no new technology in it. It was shot on film, and they used green screen and organic stuff like chocolate filters to darken the skies. They did a lot of practical stuff. They added grain and scratches to the film.
AM says what an absolutely incredible job Chris did on the show. And Chris says it was so much fun, and a pleasure and an honor to do this episode with AM and he really enjoyed it.
Eh, kinda boring.
