When movies or TV shows are filmed on location, how do they manage to film a scene without interference from the local public?
raywest
6th May 2023
General questions
Answer: Some big budget shows like the Law and Order franchise have recorded outside scenes with green screens to block out the public but keep natural lighting, building exteriors, sidewalks etc. They add a nondescript city background later.
11th Jul 2023
General questions
It seems to me that older shows, for the most part, had more "stand-alone" episodes: you could easily watch them if you missed the previous episode or two. If I am correct, this is why characters often had new love interests for just one episode. Nowadays, a show is often called a "series" and all episodes must be watched, even a "Previously on..." recap doesn't cover everything. Any thoughts on why this is?
Answer: Well, in the old days, people couldn't really watch whenever they wanted or even record what they wanted to see. So trying to follow a continuing show was a lot harder. That's why there were way more shows where every episode was standalone, as you didn't have to bother watching every single one to be able to follow it. You could skip a few without a problem. These days, watching all episodes is a lot easier because of recording and digital releases. You can watch whenever you want, in the right order.
Answer: There's a lot of factors that go into this. I think the biggest one is that seasons in general have gotten shorter, meaning there is less room for stand-alone episodes. It used to be the norm for shows to have 20+ episodes per season, whereas now, seasons with 13 or fewer episodes are more common. (This is for many reasons, including higher production costs, viewership fluctuations, streaming making shorter seasons more in vogue, etc.) And as a result, many shows now just basically feel like one big movie that's split up into chapters/episodes since there's less time for side-stories or stand-alone episodes. There's good and bad to this. On one hand, it means shows need to be more efficient and concise, and there's likely to be fewer dull moments. But on the other hand, it also means that there's slightly less time for side-characters, sub-plots, world-building, etc. So it's a double-edged sword. Also, "show" and "series" have always been used interchangeably. That's nothing new.
I don't remember what year it was, but if I understand correctly, one of the results of one of the writers' strikes a while back was reduced episodes to make a complete season or a half season (with some exceptions, like daily shows).
Yeah, from what I recall, during the 2007 writers' strike, a lot of seasons had to be produced with fewer episodes due to lost time from the several months the strike lasted. And that did help set a certain precedent that many shows could be successful with fewer episodes per season. Although, I think it wasn't really until about five years later that you started to see shorter seasons becoming more widespread.
Answer: I also think another point is, there's just so many more shows being produced today, so we see more examples of these types of series shows. And, if more shows are being produced, there's more competition to get viewers to watch live (as opposed to recording to a DVR or streaming). Companies that buy ad time during a show know if viewers are recording, they can skip their ads (which is why we see more countermeasures to this).
Answer: Adding to the other answers: In TV's earliest days (from the 1950s), shows had more episodes per season, over 30. During the summer hiatus, fewer reruns were shown until the new Fall season. That resulted in self-contained episodes and one-time characters or situations that were rarely mentioned again. Episodes could be shown in any order, without losing continuity. The half-hour sitcoms were like extended skits. Many early TV shows were written by radio-era writers when maintaining a consistent, non-visual storyline was more challenging. It was just a different way of doing things. As TV evolved, plots became extended throughout a season with fewer episodes. Keeping viewers involved and guessing what happens in the next episode helps ratings.
26th Sep 2023
Cliffhanger (1993)
25th Oct 2018
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
Question: After finishing the game, did Spencer, Fridge, Bethany, and Martha still have detention or did changing the timeline prevent them from their punishment?
Answer: They still had detention. The only thing that changed was Alex. But since they had become such close friends, detention would hardly be a punishment for them anymore.
It seemed like they just simply walked out of detention. I mean, did they finish their detention or did they have to continue on a Saturday?
The movie doesn't explain. But regardless, it also really doesn't matter.
They probably didn't go back on Saturday. When they go back to school, Spencer acts like he hasn't spoken to Martha since their adventure, while Bethany says she's been texting Martha 'all weekend'.
22nd Sep 2023
Casper (1995)
Question: What kind of hairstyle is Fatso wearing when he pretends to be Amelia?
Answer: The style looks similar to an updo with the Rockabilly Curl or Victory Roll at the top.
It doesn't look like any pompadour I've seen.
19th Sep 2023
The Little Mermaid (2023)
Question: In this version, when Ariel becomes human, she loses her bra. What happened to it? Did it just come off?
Answer: Her long hair covered her up.
There are a couple of shots after her transformation where you can tell she's no longer wearing her bra. However, I rewatched her transformation scene, and her bra is never seen coming off. It's just gone.
19th Sep 2023
Twilight (2008)
Question: When Bella discovers Edward has snuck into her room and reveals he's been watching her, Bella has no pants on - just a shirt and underwear. Wouldn't Bella be upset about being seen in her underwear? She doesn't try to cover herself.
Answer: Apparently she wasn't bothered by it. One thing I find so amusing about our culture: If a woman is wearing a bikini at the beach, no-one thinks anything of it. But a bit of underwear showing raises eyebrows.
As a woman, one slight difference is that I would intend for people to see me in a bikini. Underwear can be more "ugly." I wouldn't want most people to see me in an old bra with polka-dot panties that don't match. But I understand your point - it's still sort of funny.
18th Sep 2023
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Question: When Ariel rescues Eric from drowning, he still has boots on, but when she brings him to shore, he is barefoot. What happened to his boots? They couldn't have slipped off, as they appear tight on his feet, and Ariel couldn't have removed them and kept Eric above water at the same time. Later during the climax, Eric spends a good amount of time in the ocean with boots on, but after he defeats Ursula, he's barefoot again. Why and how do his boots keep coming off?
Answer: Co-director John Musker was asked this on Facebook. He said that they had Eric wash up barefoot because they thought he looked more like he'd "been through Hell", and didn't really think about how or why his boots came off.
18th Sep 2023
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
11th Sep 2023
Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)
Question: At the end of the film, Kip shows Memphis the car he's brought him, and Memphis says, "It's Eleanor." How can it be Eleanor? Eleanor was grey with a black stripe down the middle. The car Kip bought was brown and rusty! Even if they'd have saved Eleanor from being shredded, it still wouldn't explain the change of color.
Answer: Eleanor refers to the type of car, a 1967 Shelby GT500, not the specific car they were trying to steal.
Answer: In the movie, the name "Eleanor" refers to the one car, a 1973 Ford Mustang (Internet sources say it was a redressed 1971 Mustang). Two different Mustangs were used for Eleanor, one for stunts, the other for close-up shots, which may account for the color differences. This seems like a movie mistake. The name "Eleanor" was later used for the customized, limited-edition Shelby Mustang GT 500 (a reissue of the 1967 Mustang) that was produced in 2000.
11th Sep 2023
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Question: Is it ever explained how Voller managed to survive his encounter with being hit square in the face and falling off the speeding train without a scratch? My thoughts were that he touched the spear of destiny earlier (focused on in a scene) and became immortal, but Indy said it was fake. Plus, Voller dies at the end in 217BC. He also seems to have aged little compared to Indy. Is that a plot point they dropped or forgot about or something?
Answer: It was never explained and seems impossible that anyone could survive such an impact. My own thought was the scene was deliberately exaggerated to appear as if Voller was killed in order to fool and then surprise the audience when he later turns up alive. I also thought it looked as if he hadn't aged. Voller may have been much younger than Indy, possibly as much as 25-30 years. When Voller reappears in the 1960s, he looks more like actor Mads Mikkelsen's actual age. The film should have made him look younger at the beginning. There's a lot of "suspension of disbelief" here.
11th Sep 2023
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Question: Why did Hermione change her mind on cursing Malfoy if she was just gonna punch him?
Answer: Hermione is obsessed with following rules and knows she could be expelled for inflicting a spell or curse on another student. She isn't someone who gives in to her emotional impulses. For Hermione, reasoning, calmness, and logic always prevail. She may also have been bluffing and only wanted to frighten Draco, knowing he is a coward.
10th Sep 2023
The Disaster Artist (2017)
Question: The producer in the restaurant scene, played by Judd Apatow, who rudely tells Tommy that he's never going to make it big - was he a real person? If so, did he ever see "The Room" and bump into Tommy since?
4th Sep 2023
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Question: How did Hermione realise they were in the Shrieking Shack?
Answer: The Shrieking Shack was actually well-known to everyone. The dilapidated house was located near Hogsmeade and was believed to be haunted, as wails and screams were regularly heard. There wasn't another similar-type house in the area, and Hermione, being very smart, merely deduced that based on their location from the Whomping Willow tree, that was where they were.
2nd Sep 2023
Gilligan's Island (1964)
2nd Sep 2023
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Question: This question could be for the movie and book since I don't remember it being answered in the book. Why has Snape continued to live in his childhood house? It's in a predominantly Muggle neighborhood, and his childhood was unhappy.
Answer: Interesting comment. I live in my childhood home, which I love and will never sell, even though it was not a particularly happy childhood. I've always separated family issues from other good memories and the house itself. Maybe Snape does the same and finds some comfort in familiar things. It was his father who was abusive, not his mother, so he may associate the house with her or even with Lily, his childhood friend he came to love.
I think Lily is a big reason. They grew up in the area, and they probably spent summer holidays together before Lily ended their friendship.
29th Aug 2023
Red Dawn (2012)
Question: What was the actual reason why Russia and North Korea (actually, it was intended to be China) chose to invade the United States? Was it because they saw it as a threat to them? What purpose would dedicating troops and logistics to an invasion of the USA have served?
Answer: The flimsy plotline was that the European Union's economic crisis had weakened the NATO alliance so much that they were vulnerable to a North Korean and Russian invasion. American troops were deployed to support NATO defenses, which supposedly left the U.S. mainland and its infrastructure open to terrorists and cyberattacks. Presumably, Russia's and Korea's joint objective was to weaken/cripple the USA's power, economy, and global influence by creating internal chaos.
29th Aug 2023
Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1981)
Question: What was the reason why the two divers at the start of the film chose to go down into the sunken boat to strip and make love? Of all places, why do it there?
26th Aug 2023
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Question: How is it possible that Harry has no problems with trusting Alastor Moody in this movie? At the end of the previous movie, he discovered that "Moody" was an evil imposter who conspired against him. He only saw the real Moody briefly when he was trapped inside his trunk and didn't even interact with him. So how come he isn't distrustful/suspicious towards him if he barely knows him?
Answer: How can Harry trust anyone, knowing they could be a Polyjuice imposter? The rest of The Order of the Phoenix trust Moody, and that has to be enough for Harry.
But in the book, he remembers that "Moody" was fake.
And was caught and replaced with the real Moody.
Still, it would have made much more sense if Harry said, "Professor Moody? Is that really you?" and Moody replied, "Yes, it's really me, the real Alastor Moody, not this cheap imposter."
Answer: Agree with the other answer, but would add that any evil wizard attempting to gain proximity to Harry by using Polyjuice potion would be unlikely to impersonate "Mad-Eye" Moody, as the real one would now be closely scrutinized and vetted by the Order.
But there is another issue. Harry acts as if he knew Moody very well, despite never interacting with him before.
As mentioned, Harry was present when the real Moody was rescued at the end of "Goblet of Fire." He likely had interaction with him immediately following that event and then later, even though it's not shown on screen. He also knows Moody by his colourful reputation and that Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix fully trust him.
He didn't interact with Moody in the previous movie because Moody was in a bad mental state due to being trapped for a whole year. It took Moody some time to recover from this trauma.
26th Aug 2023
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Question: Do the teachers have a way of checking that other teachers awarded or deducted points for appropriate reasons? For example, Snape called Hermione "an insufferable know-it-all" and took five points from Gryffindor. I remember him doing that in the book also.
Answer: Adding on to the response by RayWest: In the books, it's common for the teachers to deduct or award five to ten points (twenty or more if the student has done something especially good or bad). The Heads of House are probably not suspicious about most incidents of someone winning or losing these smaller amounts.
Answer: I remember that the four giant hourglasses (one for each House) that is located in the entrance hall magically added and deleted House points by using different-colored gemstones. Even though it was done automatically as soon as a teacher awarded or deducted points, they were also supposed to report it to the House heads and would give their reasons.
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Answer: They will typically have areas closed off. If it is filmed in an area with heavy pedestrian traffic, there will be notices displayed that anyone in the area could end up on camera and is giving consent to be filmed by being in the area. The film crew will have security measures in place to prevent people from disrupting the production.
Phaneron ★
Your description is accurate, though I once wandered into a scene of the TV show, "Northern Exposure," that was filming in Seattle. I didn't realise I was in the shot. The film crew didn't notice me. When the director yelled, "Action", I just walked away. I've also driven by several movies filming on the street with traffic passing through, such as "Sleepless in Seattle." I drove by Meg Ryan who was in a car. Tom Hanks was on the beach. Was commuting to work as "Fifty Shades Freed" filmed a car chase on the now-gone Alaskan Way Viaduct. Traffic was temporarily stopped during filming.
raywest ★