Film Making Believability Is Often Wiser Than Accuracy and Unfortunately

Sometimes I am blown away by the political correctness of the socialist elite in Hollywood. They tell us that we shouldn't stereotype, that we should live and let live, and that everyone is equal, and not to pick on any group or segment of our population. For that, I do concur, however I am upset because I see so much hypocrisy going on in Hollywood. Specifically, in the filmmaking industry, so let me explain, because this is not only a critique of the folks in Hollywood, but more so our entire population, as so many are unable to see through the fog of society's entertainment.
It seems that all too often to make a film believable, these movies have token stereotypes which fit the general overall perception of our public. One might ask if we are not perpetuating the stereotypes in doing so, and then condemning people for adopting those stereotypes into their belief systems. I was discussing this not long ago with a gentleman who was getting his degree in filmmaking, and we got into a lively debate, although we were pretty much on the same wavelength. He told me it was funny, because while you need artistic creativity, you also have to appeal to the audience's beliefs.
If you don't, they won't like the movie, and they won't tell their friends to go see it, and therefore it will be a bomb or a bust. I explained to him that accuracy is quite important as well, and while he agreed, he also explained that if the movie doesn't make money, those screenplay writers, directors, and movie producers won't be able to produce anything else in the future. He explained that the movie industry is quite harsh in many regards.
He explained to me that the trick was to put in the various stereotypes, but have a storyline which went behind the scenes, and told of the differences behind the stereotype, in other words on the surface the stereotype was there true enough, but behind the scenes was a real person, albeit a character in the film, which wasn't like the stereotype that all. He said that was hard to do, but he had those sorts of scenarios in each and every film that he had ever produced while working with his friends on projects at the film school. In fact, they have one which should be ready for the next Palm Springs Film Festival coming up.
You see, it's hard to change people's minds and belief systems, and you have to make your film believable, which is actually more important to its success than accuracy. Therein lies the rub, and the challenge for all good filmmakers. It was so great to talk to him and get his perspective, because now I understand what they are dealing with, and how much impact the art of filmmaking has on our population. Please consider all this and think on it.

Should Film Makers Take More Responsibility for Their Effect On Society?

There's been quite a bit of talk about the violence in video games, comic books, Hollywood movies, and even on children's cartoons. Sometimes it is quite alarming, and although it is disguised as entertainment, it sure puts a lot of negative thoughts into people's head, and it is quite disconcerting when we see violence in our society mimicking the art we see on TV or on the silver screen. Should Hollywood moviemakers and script writers of screenplays take more responsibility for their effect on society?
Well, we can't force them to do this because that would be limiting free speech, and the last thing we wish to do is quell the creative and innovative minds of those who produce these movies and TV shows, even the video games. Yet at the same time, we realize how we are challenged by all this. Personal responsibility is the key, and people shouldn't go around shooting things up, just as they saw in an action drama, or a comic book storyline made into a movie.
A case study might be the tragic Colorado shooting at the premier opening-night of a Batman film, where just over 70 people were shot, and 12 of them died that night, and it was the worst shooting by a single shooter in US history. Yes, the weapons that are available are getting better, and in this case someone with high intellect came up with an insidious plan to do the most carnage. He was a PhD neurology candidate at the local university there. He was smart, cunning, devious, and evil all in the same breath, and he even dyed his hair red and called himself; "the Joker" to go along with the movie theme that night of the shooting.
Anytime something tragic happens like this, everyone looks for blame, or to try to make sense of it. The anti-gun rights activists are out in full force wishing to bring that into the national discussion. Surely, there will be people who will bring up the violence on TV, video games, comic books, and at the movies, as I have here today. Some long-standing movies, many of them very violent have almost a cult following, sometimes that can be a good thing for branding, and big money at the box office, other times it can turn into a real negative, and in this case a tragedy.
Although by the time it is over hundreds of millions of people will see that movie, as hundreds of millions of people have seen Batman movies and cartoons, or paged through comic books before. Unfortunately, on that day, one person turned an obsession of that branding experience into a terrible tragedy for all. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Prehistoric Mammoths in Films

Prehistoric Mammoths in the Cinema
No prehistoric movie or television series which is set in the Stone Age seems complete without at least one Woolly Mammoth being included. Normally it is the dinosaurs that dominates the movies, but if you are going to write a script about the Ice Age or about early mankind then a Woolly Mammoth seems a prerequisite for film makers. Now that CGI has come to the fore, depicting these large elephants with their long shaggy fur coats is not too much of a problem. Although we have been told by technicians and CGI operators that getting the fur to look realistic on screen is quite a challenge, at least with dinosaurs (feathered ones excepted), the computer experts are not encumbered with these skin features and dinosaurs are to some extent a little easier to re-create for the big screen.
Making Prehistoric Animals Look Realistic
From studies of the exceptionally well-preserved, fossilised Mammoths from Siberia, scientists have a fairly good understanding of how the hair on these creatures looked. The coat consisted of two basic layers, a coarse outer layer of guard hairs and an undercoat that helped insulate these animals from the cold. This is a typical adaptation to cold, harsh environments seen in many mammal species, both extinct and extant (around today).
The degree of hairiness varied with the Mammoth species, Columbian types (Mammuthus columbi) were less hairy than the Woolly types (M. primigenius), perhaps an adaptation to a slightly less harsh climate. It is likely that Mammoths had a spring moult to produce a lighter summer coat.
Their heavy coats were not their only source of insulation, many Mammoth fossils have revealed a fat layer up to 10 cm thick just below the skin surface. This would have provided exceptional insulation, an example of adaptation to colder climates and a food store inside the animal to help it overcome leaner times.
Long Shaggy Coats
The outer guard hairs were up to six times thicker than human hair and in large specimens some of these hairs grew to over a metre in length. This outer coat provided effective water-proofing. The inner coat was made up of thinner, softer and far shorter hairs this coat helped provide insulation and keep out the cold. The coat colour in Mammoths varies with some dark brown whilst others appear almost reddish/orange in colour. We have the frozen carcases of Siberian Mammoths to largely thank for providing us with a Mammoth colour chart. Such information about coat colour is used by film makers and animators to give their models or animated creations a degree of extra realism.
Many of the models of prehistoric animals supplied these days are hand-painted. Each model has tiny variations which is very appropriate given that the structure and format of every Mammoth's coat would have been slightly different - just as the hair on our heads is different from person to person.
Depicting A Herd on Camera
Unfortunately, for film makers, when trying to show a herd of these prehistoric elephants in a scene (these animals just like modern elephants lived in herds), there are a number of obstacles to overcome. Firstly, there is the obvious difficulty of depicting different sized animals in the group. This is further complicated by needing to ensure that the computerised animations used; add subtle variations in colour and hair length to each animal's coat. Without these refinements the Woolly Mammoth scene would not look realistic.

Basic Steps of Movie Making

In order to provide you with less than three hours of entertainment, movie makers toil for years and spend millions. Once completed, a movie could provide enjoyment to millions and it also has the potential to earn millions for its producer. It is interesting to look at how a movie is being made as it is a long process.

Production of a movie is done in a few stages. The first stage is the preparation for the production. The most important two figures in a movie production are the producer and the director. While the producer does the investment the director does the rest of it.

In the first place, a story has to be selected and the screen play has to be written. Once the screen play is ready, the director chooses the actors and actresses who will play the different roles of characters in the film.

Once the actors and actresses are selected, the locations are found. Finally, the sets are made and the shooting could start. While some of the shooting could be done inside a studio, the rest is shot in other locations. Every film has parts filmed in such locations.

There are various people involved in providing different kinds of facilities when the shooting is in progress. The cameramen, providers of lighting, makeup artists, and providers of transport and a host of others are involved when the shooting of the film starts.

Depending on the length of the film and various other factors, the shooting could go on for a period of a few months to a few years. Once the shooting is over, the director is ready with the basic movie on celluloid film.

Editing is the next step. Editing a film is an expert's job to be undertaken by and experienced editor because he has to examine each frame of the film. Once the editing is over, the visual side of the movie is ready. However, the sounds need to be added at a later stage.

Sound recorded in a special studio is added into the film in order to complete the job. Once the final touches are made, the director has to satisfy himself that the movie offers exactly what he wanted.