Chapter 227
The Other Guys
9/29/2009
shooting on location
link to my (30) movie still photos (fullscreen & F11)
Had the opportunity to "learn" very little movie making when Director Conrad Palmisano (red hat), the second unit for action sequences chief was in Albany shooting Columbia Picture's Will Ferrell comedy "The Other Guys". Caddy stunt driver on left. The monitors indicated the take was successful, move on. I used my 3" playback monitor and 3 scene angles in similar fashion for my two videos, the same content, one high one low res. Pretty sparse as access was restricted, had to improvise and shoot what I could. I think it's legal. Chase scenes like late 60's ride home afterhours. Interstates not yet completed then, we were building them and a bit of tire squealing was going on downtown. This chase scene will become a real historic moment for me, if I go see movie.
Palmisano's an interesting guy having stumbled into being a stuntman / then director after serving as a Marine in Vietnam, 1968. Perhaps a claim to fame is his work on Rambo: First Blood.
Their annoying security tried to keep me away, but I have my sources. Like using a corporate client I once served at the end of Broadway for this shot. Nobody cares but this crash sequence will be the opening scene for the movie which is down this corridor that was my home. DEC bldg with dome where I gave my life, Dormitory Bldg on right where I served summons, Foley Court House off camera where I was inducted, and later picked up rhodamine dye from USGS for stream surveys. Water sprayed down to aid squealing tires, yellow painted cabs to simulate the movie set in NYC.
Just down the street is the D&H Bldg. Started on a drafting table in design on the third floor right corner in 1968 with the NYSDOT (now SUNY). Finally got a good shot of this handsome railroad building, telephoto from the Corning Tower. Pavement now covering the cobblestones and trolley tracks there.
tech note to self: I love my camera. It teaches me to see more to learn more and enjoy the living process more fully.
at wide angle I get a general sense of what's happening
at moderate zoom I begin to realize the scene is made up of individual components
at full zoom I have discovered the key to the universe
Russian innovation accepted in movie industry is the Flight Head = gyrostabilized system.
The D&H 9 ft tall Halfmoon ship replica Weathervane claimed to be the largest working one in US by Smithsonian is the tiny blob on the center spire in the above photo. After 41 yrs never knew there was a weathervane up there till I took the nice Aquaduck tour, I went back 11/09 for this shot below:
Met some SUNY students while I was filming as they set up next to my location to shoot for a class assignment. This is a nicely done documentary on Trolleys etc produced in the SUNY Albany Documentary Studies Department.