Behind the the Scenes by Kaye Gager H O UG H T O N MIF F L IN Behind the Scenes by Kaye Gager PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover © Marcus Lyon/ Getty Images; © Patrick Camboulive/Corbis; © Jim Sugar/Corbis; © Chris Sattlberger/Photo Researchers, Inc.; © Chizuko Kimura/Alamy; © dpa-Film Zephir/dpa/Corbis; © Patrick Camboulive/Corbis; © Vince Bucci/Stringer/Getty Images; 10 © Marcus Lyon/Getty Images; 11 © Press/Newscom; 12 © Lawrence Manning/Corbis; 14 © Steve Bonini/Getty Images Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Company All rights reserved No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law With the exception of nonprofit transcription into Braille, Houghton Mifflin is not authorized to grant permission for further uses of this work Permission must be obtained from the individual copyright owner as identified herein Address requests for permission to make copies of Houghton Mifflin material to School Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Company, 222 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116 Printed in China ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02319-9 ISBN-10: 0-547-02319-7 RRD 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 Table of Contents Screen Tricks Lights, Camera! Lighting Equipment Let’s Hear It! Foley Artists 11 Guess That Sound 13 Picture this movie set: Streams of lava bubble and flow over the top of a large, steaming volcano The weird light and clouds of steam make the place look hot and dangerous! But it’s not real Colored lights and smoke help create the smoky effect And would you believe that the “blup, blup” sound of the lava comes from someone behind the scenes blowing a straw into pudding? Sound and light experts make things like erupting volcanos look and sound right in movies Screen Tricks You may not realize how many ways you are tricked each time you watch an entertaining movie A movie scene that looks and sounds thrilling takes months of planning and work by the director, costume and set designers, make-up artists, camera crew, and many others behind the scenes Two of the most interesting jobs are the lighting designer and sound editor Making movies takes a lot of planning Lighting helps to make the actors look good Lights, Camera! When you think of a movie, you probably picture the actors A movie studio will advertise its famous actors to promote the film Critics also spend a lot of time talking about a movie’s acting and directing Actors are some of the most visible parts of a movie However, movies would not be very interesting to watch without lighting and sound A lighting designer works on the movie set to make sure each scene looks real, sometimes setting the lighting up at angles to make the light shine in different directions Lighting designers also use light to create a certain mood If the designer wants a comfortable, happy look, he or she will make the scene brightly lit To create a feeling of danger, the designer will focus the lighting so that there are lots of shadows This makes the viewers expect something scary to happen Then a sudden movement or sound jolts the audience Shadows can make a scene look scary Lighting Equipment Lights are important pieces of equipment They can be on stands or even lifted by machines Sometimes they have to be as high as 200 feet in the air! Computers have also become important tools for lighting designers Computers can control all of the lights in a movie A whole room of lighting equipment is used to make a movie Sound editors are rewarded for their hard work behind the scenes Let’s Hear It! The sound editor is another important person behind a movie scene Most of the dialogue, or speaking parts, are recorded at the time each scene is filmed A sound editor then adds all the other sounds the film needs, which means he or she watches the movie and works with the director to target the music and sound effects needed in different scenes Then each sound must be generated and recorded Many sounds have to be added to a movie to make it seem realistic When someone walks down a sidewalk, the sound of footsteps on concrete needs to be added If a character washes dishes onscreen, the sound of the clatter of dishes Every sound you hear in a has to be added movie has to be added Think about one of your favorite movie scenes Imagine what it might be like without all those sounds 10 Foley Artists A Foley artist creates sound effects for a movie The name comes from Jack Foley, a famous sound editor Foley artists work in studios with soundproof walls One wall has a large movie screen so they can see what sounds the movie needs The floors of Foley studios are split into small sections of wood, gravel, and concrete That way, the Foley artist can make the sound of footsteps on any of the surfaces Sound effects are made in Foley studios 11 If an actor in a movie runs down a gravel road in sneakers, the Foley artist also runs in place on the gravel section of the floor while wearing sneakers A Foley studio is filled with metal scraps, old tools, hubcaps, and silverware There are also piles of shoes, and maybe even a pool of water for making splashing sounds Any of these items might be used to create sound effects A Foley artist might bang metal pipes together to help make the sound of a car crash 12 Guess That Sound Sometimes a Foley artist will record the sound of a real object, like jingling keys or a car door slamming Other times, different objects have to be used to make the sound more “realistic.” Here are a few secrets of a Foley artist: • The sound of footsteps crunching in snow can be made by walking on sea salt covered with cornstarch • The sound of a car crash can be made by dropping and banging tubes filled with metal objects like keys and silverware • The sound of a swinging hammock can be made by twisting a leather jacket 13 Lighting and sound are very important parts of a movie Making a movie involves many people doing all kinds of jobs behind the scenes Thousands of people who work full-time in the movie business never have their face on the screen The next time you sit in the theater, think beyond the actors to those behind the scenes Just imagine how different the movie would be without lighting and sound experts 14 Responding Word Builder Thrilling is an adjective used to describe a person, place, or thing What are other adjectives for “Movie,” “Sunset,” and “Pizza”? Copy and complete the chart below TARGET VOCABULARY Movie Sunset Pizza thrilling glorious hot scary pink cheesy ? ? ? Write About It Text to World Why you think people spend so much time making movies? Write a paragraph explaining why movies are so important in the world today Use one word from the Word Builder in your paragraph 15 TARGET VOCABULARY advertise angles critics entertaining focus generated jolts promote target thrilling Summarize Briefly tell the important parts of the text in your own words TARGET STRATEGY Which vocabulary word rhymes with the name given to young male horses? 16 Level: P DRA: 38 Social Studies Strategy: Summarize Word Count: 894 4.2.7 Build Vocabulary HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02319-9 ISBN-10: 0-547-02319-7 1032176 ... Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Company, 22 2 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 021 16 Printed in China ISBN-13: 978 -0- 5 47 - 023 19-9 ISBN-10: 0- 5 47 - 023 19 -7 RRD 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 Table of Contents Screen... Studies Strategy: Summarize Word Count: 8 94 4 .2. 7 Build Vocabulary HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books ISBN-13: 978 -0- 5 47 - 023 19-9 ISBN-10: 0- 5 47 - 023 19 -7 10 321 76 ... jobs behind the scenes Thousands of people who work full-time in the movie business never have their face on the screen The next time you sit in the theater, think beyond the actors to those behind