Dispatches – Sun. Sep. 14, 2014 – Recommended Viewing Tonight on AMC Hello Folks, Breaking Bad devotees, including dedicated Film Students, can binge on a Breaking Bad marathon tonight. Tonight on AMC - Breaking Bad Marathon 5:00 PM through 12:00 PM (7 episodes) 5:00 PM – Open House 6:10 PM – Bullet Points 7:20 PM – Shotgun 8:30 PM - Cornered 9:40 PM – Problem Dog 10:50 PM - Hermanos 12:00 AM - (Mon.) Bug Commentary – Other than the Sopranos, this has been one of the most magnetic series in television history. Consistent excellence in production, direction, performance and cinematography, mostly by Michael Slovis, have lead the show to be an impressive Emmy winner or nominee in different categories year after year. It’s interesting that the storylines of two of the most popular television shows in cable history have had revolved around charismatic yet very bad characters and criminal themes. I’m not sure it that says something about American society or not – I’m not a sociologist. One thing is sure, however, in terms of Production Value both of these series are excellent studies for Film Students. Just don’t get any wild ideas – especially about Meth. Breaking Bad Technical Information - Seasons 2008-2013 Running Time: 45 min. Camera: Arricam LT, Cooke S4, Angenieux Optimo and Canon Lenses Arricam ST, Cooke S4, Angenieux Optimo and Canon Lenses Arriflex 435, Cooke S4 and Angenieux Optimo Lenses Aspect Ration: 16:9 Lab: FotoKem Burbank. CA Negative Format: 35 mm Kodak Vision2 50D 5201, Vision2 200T 5217, Vision2 500T 5260) Cinematographic Process: Digital Intermediate (2K) (master format) Super 35 (3-perf) (source format) Printed Film Format: Video (HDTV) --- --- Production Notes – Walter White (Bryan Cranston) was originally written to be 40 years old. AMC felt that 40 was too young for Walter to have a mid-life crisis and requested his age change to 50. When characters on the show are smoking meth, they are actually smoking sugar or rock candy but do not inhale. Aspiring Actors take special note - RJ Mitte, the actor who portrays Walter Jr. in the series actually has cerebral palsy like his character on the show. However, his affliction in real life is much milder than his characters. He had to learn to walk with crutches and slow down his speech to play the part. I think that is the mark of a very courageous actor who has learned to adapt to his personal reality. Aspiring Costume Designers take special note - Characters and their values are represented by the colors they wear. Skyler White is usually dressed in blue and Jesse in yellow and red (when he is in recovery, he wears gray). Walter White wears green because he is stuck between his family and the drug trade. When the Whites daughter is born, pink is introduced to the spectrum. Similar color patterns show up during the series. The DEA agents, Hank and Gomez, wear orange, representing police. Marie is usually in purple and many of the other doctors on the show are seen in it as well. And Jane, the recovering heroin addict, wears black. As the series progresses, the character of Walter White starts wearing more and more white or light-colored clothing. Several Season 5 episodes have him wearing almost no other color than white or light beige. Aspiring Location Scouts and Location Researchers take special note - Breaking Bad was originally set in Riverside, California, but it was moved to Albuquerque to take advantage of a tax rebate on production. The location shoot of the series in New Mexico pumped roughly $1M per episode into the local economy. (South Carolina legislators should also take special note…) The remote desert sequences where the RV meth cooking sessions were done were actually filmed on the backlot of the production facility in New Mexico. --- --- --- Thoughts - An actor’s perspective from Bryan Cranston: “In order to be an actor you really have to be one of those types of people who are risk-takers and have what is considered an actors arrogance, which is not to say an arrogance in your personal life. But you have to be the type of person who wants the ball with seconds left in the game.” “The imagination is part of the arsenal that actors draw from.” “Given the right set of circumstances any one of us could become dangerous - so why not show that in our programs?” “If you have a screaming angry director, everyone else will be panicked as well.” “Part of an actors job is to draw up a back story.” “Hollywood has known this for quite a while: Cable is the place to go because they truly have a supportive network and they want to do things that cannot be seen on broadcast. That stimulates the writer-producer. Cable is king.” --- --- --- Enjoy and learn from the magic. Observe – Think – Absorb – Respond in 360. And be safe out there. Frost
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 21:17:54 +0000
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