4 2 7 behind the scenes (social studies)

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 scene

by Kaye Gager

Behind

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ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02319-9

ISBN-10: 0-547-02319-7

by Kaye Gager

Behind

Table of Contents

Screen Tricks 4

Lights, Camera! 5

Lighting Equipment 8

Let’s Hear It! 9

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.

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

Lighting helps to make the actors look good.

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.

A whole room of lighting equipment is used to make

a movie

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

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

Sound editors are rewarded for their hard work

behind the scenes

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

has to be added

Think about one

of your favorite movie scenes Imagine what it might be like without all those sounds

Every sound you hear in a movie has to be added

Sound effects

are made in

Foley studios.

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

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.

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

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

Lighting and sound are very important parts of a movie.

Write About It

Text to World Why do 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.

Responding

TARGET VOCABULARY 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.

Movie

thrilling

scary

?

Sunset glorious pink

?

Pizza hot cheesy

?

TARGET VOCABULARY

advertise

angles

critics

entertaining

focus

generated jolts

promote target thrilling

TARGET STRATEGY Summarize Briefly tell the important parts of the text in your own words.

ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02319-9 ISBN-10: 0-547-02319-7

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: P

DRA: 38

Social Studies

Strategy:

Summarize

Word Count: 894