Odd things you notice in the background.

[Billy Ruffian]

I was channel surfing a while ago, and noticed something in the ad for Rosarim (sp?, I'm not going to go look it up... it's a sleep med)

A long time ago, I was a hard hat diver in the USN. If you ever saw "Men of Honor", with Cuba Gooding Jr., that's the kind of rig I used.

In the TV ad, where the subject is talking with Abe Lincoln and the groundhog, there's a deep sea diver in the background.

There probably not 1000 people in the US that would notice that the deep sea diver didn't have the helmet bolted onto the suit, nor was there a weight belt. I don't think the legs were laced up, either.

I feel bad for the actor in the suit. I can't imagine wearing that helmet without the breastplate bolted onto the suit, held down with the belt. The way he was standing, the full 57 lbs of the helmet was resting on the back of his head.

[u4ic]

1. Scenes with horses

When they use 2 or more horses (like in Seabiscuit), I'll always point out the different horses (either their markings are slightly different, or their conformation, or their movement).

Continuity in scenes with horses are often problematic, and I'll point them out, as well.

[ironflange]

3. Remind me to never go to the movies with you

Especially horse movies.

Everyone will attest that I'm a perfect gentleman the whole time, I only allow myself a light snicker whenever somebody says, "Let's get outta here!"

[u4ic]

4. Oh yeah

Like I'll ever ask YOU for a date. :eyes:


I rarely go to the theatres, anyway. This would all be done at home, or someone else's home. I'm pretty respectful in the theatres. A friend of mine isn't, starts blathering out the plot or the next scene (they studied a lot of play and screenwriting) and everyone around used to get quite angry.

[ironflange]

14. I don't get out much either

When I do, it's with ironflange-girl more often than the missus. We saw Night at the Museum recently, and Happy Feet in IMAX. They were both great fun. She's a musical theatre nut, so we just saw the community theatre production of "Chicago," that was really good too. Waaay better than the movie, I didn't like the film so I was a little leery about the show. No problem.

[u4ic]

23. If I get out to the movies

it would be at an independent theatre - I'm just not in to Hollywood stuff. Mostly documentaries or international films.

Not many horses in those. ;-)


I'd much prefer to see live theatre, myself. Not into musicals, but I can see the appeal of them. Some community theatre groups do a grand job.

[skygazer]

12. Also they alway have neighing sounds when the horses are running

Which is something you never see (hear.) In fact, they always have to insert horsy sounds whenever there's one on screen, as if to punctuate the fact that yes, this is a horse. :eyes:

And stagecoach horses are always galloping, even when no one is chasing them. Which is absurd - worst possible gait for a team of horses, off balance and out of control and they'll be exhausted in no time. A trot, people.

Or when a horse is supposedly spooked and you can see that the person holding them is just making them back up and move forward (there's a scene in Lord of the Rings like that).

[CottonBear]

17. Horses don't neigh or nicker when they canter or gallop.

In fact, they are usually very quiet. My horse rarely makes sounds other than the normal sinus/nose clearing sounds.

Draft horses are not allowed to canter or gallop when hitched. It's too dangerous and out of control. I know a woman who raises and shows Belgians in driving competitions and I have been learning about driving from her.

A spooked horse will usually rear, back up forcefully or trot in tight circles. My horse got scared by New Years fireworks on a neighboring property that started at 7pm on New Years Eve. :grr:
She was really frightened and it took me about 10 minutes to calm her down. Thank goodness that she is well-trained and I was able to calm her down and bring her under control. She followed me to the gate for comfort when I was leaving the pasture. She is a sweetpea. :)

[u4ic]

25. Ah, yes

the neighing...:eyes:

Too many times I've seen them try to 'calm down' a quiet, passive horse. "Whoa boy!" and jerk on the reins or lead shank, which of course leads to a reaction.


I've also seen a few movies that had a race involved, and they were not even using the same group of horses for each shot.

[doc03]

33. Something that bugs me is in the old westerns

when the rider gets shot the horse falls down.

[hickman]

2. Any scene I've ever seen that is supposed to be in a factory.

Too many people standing around or(Roseanne comes to mind) not in any hurry. Factory's only make money if everyone goes balls to the wall from the minute the shift starts till the line stops. Nobody has time to stand around expounding about crap. You talk while you're doing the work a mile a minute, and you don't pause for reaction shots.

[ScreamingMeemie]

5. As one who has visited my husband at work (he's a CNC programmer)

in a production/prototype shop, quite a few of his coworkers find the time to goof around. Think rubber band fights, greasing phone handsets. :D

[hickman]

6. We did a lot of that but on a moving line.

Every time the line stopped for any reason, the company lost $1000 a minute. If we stopped too long and couldn't meet our contracts for the assembly plants and they had to stop it cost our plant $10,000 a minute. No offence but I don't think your husband works for the big 3. Every minute is money.

[ScreamingMeemie]

28. Ummm... My husband's job is completely big 3. As is my Dad's

Sloth happens all the time. My dad (GM) laughed at this post.

[AllegroRondo]

7. maybe the helmet was a plastic replica?

especially if its for a commercial, they would probably just go down to the hollywood costume shop and get a realistic looking prop.

[Billy Ruffian]

32. I did think of that

But I really have to wonder how much of a demand there would be for fake Mk V helmets ;-)

If it IS a fake, it is VERY realistic (now I'm going to have to stop frame next time I see it, and examine the fittings on the back. We never see the front.)

[mainegreen]

8. Generally the 'software' they use on computers in movies drives me bonkers.

I love the 'search features' they often have, with rapidly switching images of whatever they're searching for blinking by on the screen, until it nears what it's looking for and the image switching slows down like some price is right wheel until it comes to a spot on the match. What the fuck? What kind of searching software shows you everything it's looking at? Or the fact that every piece of movie software has huge 800 point font lettering. That just irritates me. If any of my programmers made software like that I think I'd get mighty pissed.

[MorningGlow]

15. Oh god the huge computer font

I HATE that--and those BIG BLINKING graphics boxes they use for an alert that the audience "needs" to be able to read. Ugh.

[ironflange]

18. Don't forget. . .

The way the good guys can easily figure out passwords. Gimme a break.

[av8rdave]

9. I did in fact notice the deep sea diver. However, I know nothing about the gear

[Left Is Write]

10. I thought this said "odd things you notice in the basement"...

which could take this thread in a completely different direction!

[NewWaveChick1981]

11. I noticed the ATM in the background in The Two Jakes when

I saw it in the theatre... kinda anachronistic for the time it was set... :rofl: Not many people around me noticed it. And I also noticed the traveling bloostain on Kirk's uniform in Star Trek II.

One of the all-time funniest background scenes I've ever seen was in The Butcher's Wife. Jeff Daniels is dealing with a patient and Dem Moore's character knocks at the door. While everything else is transpiring in the scene, the patient is in the background messing around with Jeff Daniels' stuff in his office. There is an African mask on the wall, and he takes it off and puts it on and starts dancing around. As Jeff Daniels is wrapping things up, the patient puts the mask back on the wall and sits down, and no one's the wiser. :rofl: Hysterical!

[MorningGlow]

16. Stop it, you!

Get out of my brain! I was just thinking about The Butcher's Wife yesterday! Such a terrible movie but I really love it for some reason. "I want to sing the blues..."

[NewWaveChick1981]

19. LOL!

:rofl: I think it's a cheesy movie too, but that scene is hysterical.

How do we keep doing this psychic connection thing???? :shrug:

[MorningGlow]

20. Snarf

If we just get our of our own way, the parallel universe takes over, apparently!

Saaayyy...we're not the same person, are we? Have we ever been seen in the same place at the same time? (Cue Twilight Zone theme)

:rofl:

[NewWaveChick1981]

22. Now you're making my brain hurt...

:rofl: Are you my split-apart??? :rofl:

[MorningGlow]

24. ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!

:rofl:

[NewWaveChick1981]

29. ...

:spray: :hi: :rofl:

[trof]

13. Too bad you weren't here when 180 was.

Ed was also a Navy hard diver.
He passed away a few months ago.
Great guy and quite a writer.
Welcome to DU.
:hi:

[PVnRT]

21. I like the analytical instruments on CSI

Especially the magical chromatography setups that NOT ONLY completely analyze a sample within a few minutes, but has a complete breakdown analysis and a picture of the exact chemical they were looking for! Oh, and they never require calibration! Bully!

I wish I'd had one of those, it would've made grad school so much easier than using a real gas chromatograph.

[Phillycat]

26. And when they're looking for something on that show

They just open a browser, type it in to the big ole "search" box, and get the exact result they want. I want the internets they have!

[krispos42]

27. I'm the one that counts the bullets a gun fires

Like in "Death Wish 3", where apparently all the revolvers carry a dozen rounds or more.

I was watching "Die Hard with a Vengence" a couple of weekends ago, and the US Marshal in the Federal Reserve Bank of NY apparently has a shotgun that holds about 15 rounds.

Oh, and I like how they add safties clicking on and when the characters are using pistols like Glocks, which don't have seperate safties. No hammer to cock, no safety to disengage, yet somehow they 'click' when pointed at somebody...

[Redneck Socialist]

31. Ads with people fishing, who...

have obviously never cast a line in their life. :mad: That shit bugs the crap out of me.

[trof]

30. You don't ever want to see an airplane movie with me.

Fighter pilot movies, airline movies, I just pick 'em apart.
;-)

[Generic Brad]

34. There's a Nutra-System add that cracks me up

Some retired ball player announces that his wife doesn't consider him quite as disgusting as he used to be after he lost his weight. All I can think of is that she must still find him disgusting in some way. Man, was that bad ad copy!

[XemaSab]

35. Birds

They're frequently from the wrong part of the country, or the wrong part of the world.

Trust me, there are no California quail in Queens, and the vultures in Nevada look nothing like this:



Those are Old World Vultures, and don't occur anywhere in the Americas. On edit: they're not even RELATED to New World Vultures. One is an ugly hawk, the other one is an ugly stork. :P

Finally, bald eagles make the shittiest little calls you ever heard in your life. That bold, charismatic "PE-ARRRRRR!" is a Red-tailed Hawk. :grr: