Movie Effects

[Sirius Glass]

instagram.com/reel/CuYcKoAIWMt/?igshid=ZTJlZmI4ZjZmNw==

 

[foc]

Thank you for posting.

How it was done before CGI.

 

[Kino]

Hmmm. Guess you need an Instagram account to see it; delivers a blank page to me...

 

[guangong]

Regarding the famous HL clock scene, it is my understanding that the set was so close to the edge of the roof, so that later when a dummy was dropped, it bounced off the roof.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Hmmm. Guess you need an Instagram account to see it; delivers a blank page to me...

I do not have an Instagram account. Sometimes the urls stop working. Try the url on your smart phone and see if it works there.

 

[pentaxuser]

I can see the film but it is only about 2 inches square. I cannot get it to fill the screen

pentaxuser

 

[Kino]

Regarding the famous HL clock scene, it is my understanding that the set was so close to the edge of the roof, so that later when a dummy was dropped, it bounced off the roof.

There was no set, as such. It was done on the face of the actual building. Lloyd stated that after the shot was done, they dropped a dummy from his position and it simply bounced-off the "safety platform" rigged underneath.

Remember, Lloyd performed these stunts with only 8 complete fingers and some missing palm on one hand. He had been playing around with a supposed prop bomb early in his career when it went off and nearly blew his hand off. If you look lose at his hands, he's always wearing gloves to hide the prosthesis.

 

[Kino]

I do not have an Instagram account. Sometimes the urls stop working. Try the url on your smart phone and see if it works there.

Thanks, that worked... I think. Three were only 3 clips and no sound.

 

[btaylor]

Thanks, that worked... I think. Three were only 3 clips and no sound.

Silent pictures, dude!

I am still amazed with what early filmmakers were able to achieve. When one gets a chance to see these scenes from a good source the quality is something to behold (i.e., not a scratched worn print transfer played back at the wrong speed). I still remember the Focal book I checked out of the library in the '60's that explained special effects- many I could replicate with my 8mm Bolex.

 

[Kino]

Yeah, I am quite familiar with Silent Film, I was just unsure if the clip was supposed to have audio.

Some of the most astounding films ever made were in the Silent Era. I have been lucky to handle and time for printing a huge number of surviving silent films; some from camera original negatives, some from best surviving copies.

I tried last year to tally all the film titles I have timed in the last 30 years and stopped counting at 600.

Nothing like a fresh print off a 100+ year old negative in good shape...

 

[cliveh]

Just as in Movies, in still photography, what is not included in the image makes the shot.

 

[Kino]

Here's a few random frames from an 11 Chapter Serial (we have all but one chapter) I recently timed to make a preservation dupe negative: The Evil Eye )1920.

I typically snap a few iPhone frames of each type of tint or tone for reference.

 

[guangong]

There was no set, as such. It was done on the face of the actual building. Lloyd stated that after the shot was done, they dropped a dummy from his position and it simply bounced-off the "safety platform" rigged underneath.

Remember, Lloyd performed these stunts with only 8 complete fingers and some missing palm on one hand. He had been playing around with a supposed prop bomb early in his career when it went off and nearly blew his hand off. If you look lose at his hands, he's always wearing gloves to hide the prosthesis.

What you described is what I always accepted as fact. However, the clip contributed by Sirius shows something quite different. The clock set sits on the roof of a high building, most likely to get correct angle and perspective so as to appear on film as if actually dangling high above the ground. This may also be how the whole sequence with scaffold and flag pole in another film was shot. Lloyd admitted that a man dressed as Lloyd, whose specialty was being a “human fly”, climbed part of the building facade.
Sometimes the facts of a situation are not quite what many cine histories tell us. The studio publicity departments were also selling dreams about how movies were made.

The genius of Lloyd, Chaplin, and Keaton was their ability to appear to be spontaneous, although they practiced long hours and reshot scenes many times. That’s why they were great.

 

[Kino]

What you described is what I always accepted as fact. However, the clip contributed by Sirius shows something quite different. The clock set sits on the roof of a high building, most likely to get correct angle and perspective so as to appear on film as if actually dangling high above the ground. This may also be how the whole sequence with scaffold and flag pole in another film was shot. Lloyd admitted that a man dressed as Lloyd, whose specialty was being a “human fly”, climbed part of the building facade.
Sometimes the facts of a situation are not quite what many cine histories tell us. The studio publicity departments were also selling dreams about how movies were made.

The genius of Lloyd, Chaplin, and Keaton was their ability to appear to be spontaneous, although they practiced long hours and reshot scenes many times. That’s why they were great.

Believe as you wish; it's not worth debating with you.

 

[guangong]

Believe as you wish; it's not worth debating with you.

A debate? Or my attempt at conversation.The question then remains: what is the reason for the set on the roof in the clip shared by Sirius? From my viewpoint this clip only underscores the creative powers of Lloyd as a movie maker, compared with the usual narrative. The version you related has been accepted by everybody interested in Lloyd, myself included, but this clip revises the process for filming the scene. However filmed, the scene is one of the funniest ever put on film.

 

[Kino]

The clips shown are reconstructions by the author with CGI elements inserted to show speculative elements of set construction; not actual film clips.

I have handled the surviving material on this subject quite a few times and in researching the title (for my own enjoyment) have yet to find anything (stills, alternate takes or even verbal accounts) that suggest such a set as this was constructed in this manner, let alone documented. If anyone can provide such documentation outside of this obvious fabrication, I would be happy to see it.

Nothing I am saying takes away from the creative genius of Lloyd; that is a given, but to fabricate an element that suggests that the stunt was any less dangerous is both unfounded speculation and actually derogatory toward Lloyd and his crew's skill and bravery.

The clip is revisionist and unfounded; the intent notwithstanding.

BTW, I do not doubt your respect for the filmmaker; that was never my intent.

 

[guangong]

The clips shown are reconstructions by the author with CGI elements inserted to show speculative elements of set construction; not actual film clips.

I have handled the surviving material on this subject quite a few times and in researching the title (for my own enjoyment) have yet to find anything (stills, alternate takes or even verbal accounts) that suggest such a set as this was constructed in this manner, let alone documented. If anyone can provide such documentation outside of this obvious fabrication, I would be happy to see it.

Nothing I am saying takes away from the creative genius of Lloyd; that is a given, but to fabricate an element that suggests that the stunt was any less dangerous is both unfounded speculation and actually derogatory toward Lloyd and his crew's skill and bravery.

The clip is revisionist and unfounded; the intent notwithstanding.

BTW, I do not doubt your respect for the filmmaker; that was never my intent.

Thank you for the correction. I was under the impression that what was illustrated was actual contemporary photo, and not modern reconstruction.