It’s like he never gets to just walk out of the Strike Gate. The price he has to pay just to see his girlfriend…
Bobservations
Ripped and Shredded
So I’m sure many of you saw this week’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D – the one with the opening of a courier carrying a briefcase of diamonds handcuffed to his wrist? Who gets killed and his hand ripped off at the wrist to free the briefcase of gems? Seems awfully familiar.
Not that I am accusing Marvel of heisting an idea from an ex-employee’s webcomic. In fact, I believe that the concept of hacking off the hand to get at the briefcase is a fairly common trope; a way to show ruthlessness in the villain and increase the shock value for the audience. In most cases it would be easier and less messy to cut the chain; a pair of cutting pliers would do the job, and would fit in the pocket as easily as any axe or serrated knife.
Truth to tell, I believe that when I wrote the Fynch script I called for Roland to actually shoot the briefcase chain and snap it. Because I am a gentle soul. You may have noticed. Saint Bob of Chatsworth, they call me around here. It was my bloodthirsty son who decided to blow the guard’s hand off, and who seems to delight in just shredding hell out of our hero in every adventure.
Raised right, he was. You will forgive a father’s quiet pride.
Nonetheless, given the similarity of our respective openings, I am damn glad ours went up first. Because while no one would accuse Marvel of ripping us off, you can be sure the same courtesy would not be extended in reverse. Coincidences happen, but if the S.H.I.E.L.D opening and ours had happened in the same week, or even on the same day, somebody would be claiming we lifted it, even if there was no way the page could have been done in time.
But ours went up first, so we’re in the clear. I prefer to simply believe that great minds think alike.
Joss, baby! Call me. We’ll do tea and dumplings.
–Bob out
Report From The Lab
Another one of those minor mishaps. Trying to shoot a Debris Blast effect ends up with the camera getting knocked askew.
It is so weird how none of my friends with Red cameras will let me borrow their gear…
nobody turns down morphine?
I guess I qualify for that, then. I did and don’t regret it.
Do you record your explosions from behind a plexiglass screen? Because that can keep the camera a wee bit safer…
I could hold forth on that for hours, and the boys know I have built several different housings for cameras over the years. One of the easiest is just a five-gallon fish tank turned upside-down. Tempered glass works better than plexiglass, just for optical clarity. However, the big problem is reflections. You can cover everything surrounding the camera with black duvatyne, but if the shot gets bright enough it will illuminate the camera behind the shield, and the camera will then cast a reflection — it will “see” itself in the glass, and ruin the shot. Also, tempered glass isn’t cheap, and burning titanium (for sparks) will burn small pits even into glass, ruining it for further use. So sometimes I just wrap the camera in a thick towel and let it take the hit, replacing UV filters as needed. They are actually cheaper than tempered glass shields. As long as no humans get hurt, that’s the important thing. Cameras can be replaced. Of course, I’d probably feel different if I had a Red. 🙂 (“Quit whining and protect that Epic with your body, boy!“)
Morphine is contraindicated in lung problems ie it makes them worse
Ooo. A quick Googling shows you are right — but that it is often still administered for pain anyway while they effect repairs. Good catch though! Fortunately, Max turned it down.