Lemony Snicket (2004): B-Roll from Circuit City Bonus Disc
Aug 14, 2021 3:54:32 GMT -5
Liam R. Findlay, Poe's Coats Host Toast, and 6 more like this
Post by tsmefford on Aug 14, 2021 3:54:32 GMT -5
Hello everyone! It's been awhile. I've been quite busy, but have also been on a mission.
I discovered, a few months ago, that Circuit City offered an exclusive bonus disc with their Lemony Snicket DVD in 2005. Not sure how I had never heard about this before.
This disc contained exclusive features that were not present on the Special Edition 2-Disc and were also not brought to the Blu-Ray.
It is quite an elusive disc it seems. In my research, I found stories of people trying to buy it back in 2005 and some stores didn't even have them.
I get the vibe that it was sort of a rushed deal and wasn't quite handled properly (more on that later).
As far as acquiring one: It seemed a difficult task. I'd only ever seen record of one being sold online once on Poshmark in a bundle of other discs. I saw confirmation that some users on DVD Collector's forums had copies, but I was unable to reach any of them.
Finally, after a constant search for several months through regular and bulk listings of various discs on Poshmark, eBay, etsy, anywhere I could think of - I managed to get ahold of one!
Also included (under "Dire Warnings"), are the films two Theatrical Trailers.
As another nice bonus, these are the only copies of the Theatrical Trailers I have ever found with a full 5.1 sound mix attached to them! Even the Blu-Ray only included stereo versions.
I was able to use the 5.1 mix and high quality versions of the original tracks used in the trailers and create an isolated score as a bonus to go with my Expanded Score I did for myself.
Perhaps I can show these in the appropriate thread. In the meantime, back to the main event!
SHOOTING SORROWFUL SEQUENCES
As you can see from the menu's description above, this special feature is another two multi-angle experiences. I have found these to be great raw peaks into what it takes to get ready to film a single shot in the two scenes mentioned. There's some interesting insights as well!
Now, the disc itself says a runtime of 29 Minutes, but if you isolate and listen to each angle it expands out to be nearly 2 hours of watchable content!
I mentioned earlier that this disc seems like it was a bit rushed. I say that because the selection menu for the angles has the exact same listing of crew titles:
Upon watching each angle, it seems only the Crew Members listed on "Leech Attack" are accurate.
So, a template must have just been used with the new images and scene plugged in, but not new information on who we were looking at.
I did a little research and with context clues or first names was able to properly identify more accurate descriptions of some of the crew members that are focused on:
CURDLED CAVE (Shot on 5/7/2004)
LEECH ATTACK (Shot on 5/12/2004)
So, FINALLY, with all that being said, I took the liberty of editing this into a presentable long-form format for you guys and parting out all the individual angles and audio tracks (since we can't switch them in a video upload).
A more raw version of the exact take they're shooting in presented at the very end.
ENJOY and feel free to check out some highlights of notable moments below!
Please note: These are private uploads as I do not have a separate Vimeo page for this sort of thing and require a simple password.
Curdled Cave B-Roll:
vimeo.com/585680869
Password: 667dark
Leech Attack B-Roll:
vimeo.com/585681142
Password: 667dark
If these are too troublesome, perhaps they can find a home elsewhere.
HIGHLIGHTS / NOTABLE MOMENTS
From 'CURDLED CAVE':
From 'LEECH ATTACK':
I hope you all enjoy!
I discovered, a few months ago, that Circuit City offered an exclusive bonus disc with their Lemony Snicket DVD in 2005. Not sure how I had never heard about this before.
This disc contained exclusive features that were not present on the Special Edition 2-Disc and were also not brought to the Blu-Ray.
It is quite an elusive disc it seems. In my research, I found stories of people trying to buy it back in 2005 and some stores didn't even have them.
I get the vibe that it was sort of a rushed deal and wasn't quite handled properly (more on that later).
As far as acquiring one: It seemed a difficult task. I'd only ever seen record of one being sold online once on Poshmark in a bundle of other discs. I saw confirmation that some users on DVD Collector's forums had copies, but I was unable to reach any of them.
Finally, after a constant search for several months through regular and bulk listings of various discs on Poshmark, eBay, etsy, anywhere I could think of - I managed to get ahold of one!
Also included (under "Dire Warnings"), are the films two Theatrical Trailers.
As another nice bonus, these are the only copies of the Theatrical Trailers I have ever found with a full 5.1 sound mix attached to them! Even the Blu-Ray only included stereo versions.
I was able to use the 5.1 mix and high quality versions of the original tracks used in the trailers and create an isolated score as a bonus to go with my Expanded Score I did for myself.
Perhaps I can show these in the appropriate thread. In the meantime, back to the main event!
SHOOTING SORROWFUL SEQUENCES
As you can see from the menu's description above, this special feature is another two multi-angle experiences. I have found these to be great raw peaks into what it takes to get ready to film a single shot in the two scenes mentioned. There's some interesting insights as well!
Now, the disc itself says a runtime of 29 Minutes, but if you isolate and listen to each angle it expands out to be nearly 2 hours of watchable content!
I mentioned earlier that this disc seems like it was a bit rushed. I say that because the selection menu for the angles has the exact same listing of crew titles:
Upon watching each angle, it seems only the Crew Members listed on "Leech Attack" are accurate.
So, a template must have just been used with the new images and scene plugged in, but not new information on who we were looking at.
I did a little research and with context clues or first names was able to properly identify more accurate descriptions of some of the crew members that are focused on:
CURDLED CAVE (Shot on 5/7/2004)
- Director Brad Silberling
- Dolly Grip Operator, Brad Rea
- Grip Department, Unknown Crew Member
- First Assistant Director / Associate Producer, Michele Panelli-Venetis (Corrected 8/15/2021)
LEECH ATTACK (Shot on 5/12/2004)
- Director Brad Silberling
- Camera Operators, Unknown Crew Members
- Sound Mixer, Pud Cusack
- Visual Effects Producer, Tom Peitzman
So, FINALLY, with all that being said, I took the liberty of editing this into a presentable long-form format for you guys and parting out all the individual angles and audio tracks (since we can't switch them in a video upload).
A more raw version of the exact take they're shooting in presented at the very end.
ENJOY and feel free to check out some highlights of notable moments below!
Please note: These are private uploads as I do not have a separate Vimeo page for this sort of thing and require a simple password.
Curdled Cave B-Roll:
vimeo.com/585680869
Password: 667dark
Leech Attack B-Roll:
vimeo.com/585681142
Password: 667dark
If these are too troublesome, perhaps they can find a home elsewhere.
HIGHLIGHTS / NOTABLE MOMENTS
From 'CURDLED CAVE':
- 00:12 - Right off the bat, in Brad's angle, he starts off on the set of the Train sequence and briefly gives thoughts on an insert shot before walking over to the cave set. Just shows how busy and crammed they were to get everything they needed. I could imagine Brad having to do this quite frequently.
- 00:26 - Brad is very detailed, even in what he asks for this insert shot to make sure they have what they need. Even thinking about a potential move for visual effects as far as how close the train is.
- 01:53 - Brad walks through set and we see the journey from one to the other.
- 05:38 - Brad directs Liam and Emily
- 12:53 - Barely audible, but Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki "Chivo" expresses some displeasure with the Curdled Cave set: "This cave sucks." This is due to the lighting. He says he wanted to go "half light" instead.
- 13:16 - Continuing on, "Chivo" mentions a lighting test on a big section of wall for the Cave that he says looked "beautiful" vs his thoughts on the final lighting.
- 31:35 - In a conversation with a Production Assistant, the reshoot budget and unit are mentioned, but in a more joking way.
- 40:36 - Footage from the Camera of Scene 124G, Take 1
From 'LEECH ATTACK':
- 00:30 - Brad and Crew discuss their goal of keeping the lighthouse of of the shot while keeping in its rays.
- 02:50 - A look at the lighting rig for the lighthouse during a "leech rehearsal"
- 03:30 - Brad mentions a "new rig" for the leeches that could be mechanically cranked to create disturbances in the water.
- 03:55 - First glimpse at the leech rehearsal. Brad mentions them starting way too far away for the shot.
- 04:20 - A closer look at the current leech rig where you can actually little "leeches" swimming.
- 04:50 - Brad directs the operators on how the timing should work.
- 05:07 - Fun interaction between Brad and the kids talking about height.
- 07:23 - Brad sets up the scene for Meryl, talking about what he calls the "knock knock knock" beats of the leech scene.
- 08:30 - The crew tries to figure out where they can hide the baby wrangler for Shelby Hoffman in the boat for this shot.
- 11:25 - Brad directs the shot with many elements, the crane, directing the actors, and cueing the leeches.
- 12:18 - Much later, a clean plate of the water is filmed for later VFX use.
- 13:35 - More leech rig discussion.
- 23:50 - A nice shot of the crane and the crew behind the camera.
- 25:00 - A view of the crane operators working during the shot.
- 26:45 - The crane operators talk about how amazing it is how much easier it is to do VFX now (in 2004).
- 29:25 - Sound mixer talks with the boom operator about the logistics of getting good sound for the shot working around the crane camera.
- 32:00 - The crew interacts with Shelby Hoffman
- 33:00 - Sound mixer makes sure she can have someone catch Meryl and turn on her mic before she gets in the boat.
- 36:58 - Sound mixer discusses an idea for reducing the sound of areas where water is splashing and spilling over for a cleaner dialog track.
- 39:12 - Sound mixer at work during the shot.
- 44:35 - VFX Producer discusses what effects will be happening in this shot, such as: practical leeches as well as painting out the light source and replacing it with a lighthouse.
- 46:39 - VFX Producer discusses with another crew member the process of painting out the lighthouse rig in this shot and other shots throughout the day.
- 48:18 - VFX Producers talk about an "Aunt Josephine's The Island" discussion they will have at "Jim's" trailer. "The Island" refers to the remaining platform of her house after Hurricane Herman
- 48:55 - Conversation continues as they discuss a shot with a CG anchor being dropped towards camera and the animatic for the sequence.
- 53:06 - A look at the boom operator trying to get sound for the sound.
- 53:47 - VFX Producer and Production Designer talk about the set and details for "The Island" house platform for the aftermath of Hurricane Herman.
- 55:28 - Footage from the Camera of Scene 127AA, Take 1