all of you fellow bloggers know here and love her, It’s the ever lovely Desertdea’s Birthday!!! I’ve known Deanne since high school and we saw the not so classic movie “Scavenger Hunt” together with our Church group and have been great friends ever since!!! Happy B-day my special buddy!!! hope you have an awesome day!
Archive for June, 2010
29
Jun
10
Happy Birthday Deanne
29
Jun
10
the round days
Back in the early days of new shuttle designs for JJ.s Star Trek the shuttles for the new Enterprise went through a round phase in between the variety of flat and faceted designs. Here is a rare view of a mornings sketches that were hurriedly drawn and then shelved just as fast. 
Hi all and happy last weekend of JUNE!!!. Thanks for all the fun comments from “Jaws week” That was a fun post and loved all the stories everyone shared!!!! Today is another fun post and it features pictures of my friend Andrea, she is new to the pin up updates here and even more exciting info about her is this is only her second photoshoot. From the pictures you can see she is a pro and has such confidence and an incredible gift for, and passion for pin up & vintage photography!!! It was a great shoot and we were lucky to be able to spend a few hours at the Traveltown in Burbank!!! It took a lot of conversations to get permission to shoot there and understandably so because that privilege could easily be abused. Since these were for fun and personal use they let us in and it was an incredible place to take pictures!!! The bright contrast of Andrea to the dark and black backgrounds made for some beautiful images!!! Andrea is so much fun to shoot with and quite fearless at climbing all over the train cars to get in the best positions!!!! She is a tall one and with her heels on she towered at about 6 feet tall!!! That awesome pink hair had a natural glow to it and cast a glow around a lot of the pics!!! No Photoshop need here!!! HAAA! After the shoot we took a quick backlot tour of Universal and Andrea knows her old movies like there is no tomorrow!!! At the Psycho house, there is now an actor who plays Norman Bates for the tour. As we got closer to the motel he hopped up and was incredible at capturing the essence of young Mr. Bates!! He never broke character as we talked and got a few phone pictures with him!!! Haaa! It was one cool afternoon, Thanks Andrea!!!!! and I think she would be a great candidate for a classic Trek Shoot???? Here are some of the pics from the shoot!!! Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Andrea 1
andrea 2
Andrea 3, we added smoke n lights to the train in the background!!!
Andrea 4
andrea 5
my personal favorite!
andrea 7
andrea 8, my other fav!!!
andrea 9
20
Jun
10
Jaws, the 35th anniversary
June 20th 1975 Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” opened in theaters, and a fear of going to the beach swept the nation. I was thirteen years old and lived on the outskirts of Phoenix Arizona, far from the surf and sun that made the coastal states a paradise from May to September. The Summer of 75 proved different for a shadow loomed across the beaches scaring people away by the thousands and into their local theaters instead. Jaws open to mass popularity and for many years was the worlds top grossing movie of all time. The ways of Arizona back in the day were all about what was going on locally for the most part, but a cinematic phenomena so big made it to the evening news. My dad and I were watching the late night news before the Friday night movie was about to begin and the news anchor started a story about how the beaches were empty and business’s were hurting and it was all due to a new motion picture about a Great White Shark that terrorizes a small New England community. footage of empty beaches filled the tiny screen and the story ended with a clip from the film. It was the scene where a shark hunter named Quint drags his fingernails across a chalkboard and offers his services to catch the great shark before the town and all it’s livelihood go into the drink. My dad and I looked at each other and said, Hey that looks like a movie we need to go and see! so the the next day we got my dad’s brothers and my cousin Tom together and headed off to the Mann’s Christown theater and little did I know that that one movie would change me forever. It was my first PG film so going from Bambi to a man eating shark was quite a jump., HAAA! In those days I wasn’t big on names but I remembered my favorite TV movie from a few years earlier was a show called “Duel” by a director named Steven Spielberg, HMMMM his name was on the poster for “Jaws” as well, I thought to myself; It’s gonna be really great then if he made this one too. So around 7:00 the movie started and within the first 10 minutes I saw more forbidden and scary things than I had ever imagined!!! I saw my dad looking over my way thinking what have I brought my son too, so I tried really hard to act like I wasn’t scared so he would think he needed to take me home early. the movie played on and I remember the incredible music followed by horrific and beautiful imagery on the screen… A particular moment was when a little boy on a raft gets the sharks attention and the build up and camera work was incredible, Spielberg had such a gift very early on at building tension with merely camera placement and subtle dolly moves, Knowing now what I didn’t know then was that a great deal of the early scenes in the film were shark-less because the shark didn’t work!!! Being creative with what he did have, Spielberg cleverly composed the scenes so as to let your imagination fill in the gaps and in this case proved to be far more scary than some of the scenes where the shark is on film.. The Kintner boy on the raft segment ends in a terrifying manner with almost no shots of the shark but man did it leave and impression of an incredible danger that was just below the surface. The film travels forward as the Sheriff seams to be the only man in town concerned for the public and battles the politicians and business owners who feel summer $$$ are more important than lives. Sounds the kinda the same today, HAAAA! Anyways it’s not even an hour into the film and the tension was so high I almost couldn’t handle it! usually following a big attack scene Spielberg would write in a subtle bit of humor to ease everyone down a bit. As far as the audience was concerned the next event was going to be big and we were all deafly silent in our seats. The City of Amity’s 4rth of July extravaganza filled the screen with boat loads, and traffic jams of people coming to have fun at the beach was next. All these scenes of happy UNKNOWING people flooding into town accompanied with a very peppy John Williams piece did nothing for us out in the darkened theater because we all knew what was out there under the water. My dad leaned over to me and asked how I was doing and if I wanted to go,,, NO, NO Dad this is fine, I’m not scared at all, I saw him laugh to himself and sit back into his chair. On screen there was no one is in the water so the Mayor talks one of his council members to go into the water and reluctantly he and his family venture out into the surf. Thats all it took to get everyone on shore out into the water. I was terrified but I thought I’m safe until the music starts, funny thing though the tension was beginning and a lot of deep underwater shots started to fill the screen, and the uneasiness of the moment was getting stronger but there was no theme to bring the shark into the picture,,, More scared than I had been before a fin appears and the crowds flee the surf and my hands were gripping the armrests so tightly I was going numb. What !!! who got eaten??? did I miss something??? suddenly the fin enters the frame again and tips over to reveal it’s fake and a couple of kids in snorkel gear pop up surrounded by boatloads of men with guns pointing at them,,,, He made me do it, HE MADE ME DO IT, screams one of the two kids as the crowd breaks out in mad laughter. Our guards aren’t down for even a minute when another call about a shark is heard and that it’s heading into the pond where the Sheriffs kids are playing. We all still think things are OK and it must be another joke until we see the massive dorsal and tail fin drop below the surface. I felt dizzy and the next scenes were forever scared into my memory for in the next attack we see the shark and IT”S HUGE. (Teddy Grossman) was the stunt man in this scene and is in a lot of Spielberg’s films following Jaws, but his death is one that cannot be described in any other words but horrifying!!! As if it wasn’t enough to see him get pulled off his boat and drug under the water, we see his bitten off leg drift to the bottom of the sea with his sneaker still on his foot!!!!I was truly weak, and it took a while for me to catch my breath. That scene even got to my Dad because I could fell him lighten up a lot after it was over. The movie moves on and justice is severed and the Sheriff is allowed to hire Quint to go out and catch the shark. Fantastic cinematography, and incredible performances follow as The towns only rational men (Quint, Hooper, and Brody) embark on a two day hunt to catch the Great White shark. the movie ends on a high note and my dad says; I bet you don’t ever want to see that one again haaa haa. I looked at him and said; I want to see it again, can we please stay!!! NOOOOO son we can’t do that, maybe some other time!! So home we went and I did not sleep at all!!! I lived in the desert but I swore that Shark was going to get me if I went to sleep. exhausted the next day I begged my dad to take me again,, he finally did, MANY times as a matter of fact and we even saw it at the drive in a couple of times!!! This was way back before video so my friend Brian Siken and I went to the drive in so we could record the whole movies audio with our cassette recorders!!!, HAAA what fun that was! Very fond memories of those days and I remember that after seeing Jaws something inside my tiny brain was forming a big idea, and that was that I wanted to some day work in the movies with Mr Spielberg. A couple of books came out about the making of the film, (The Jaws Log), and (the making of Jaws). they were both little soft back books full of cool pictures and drawings and Holy Cow I couldn’t believe the shark was fake!! He was a robotic creation and there were all these images showing the crew setting him up for his cameos. I wanted even more to work in the movies when I saw all of this.. I had no idea that 10 years later that childhood dream would become a big reality. Woah lots of great memories surround those 10 years but for now back to Jaws. There are few that haven’t seen this masterpiece or haven’t in some way been influenced by it. Director Bryan Singer for example named his production company “Bad Hat Harry” which is a throw away line from the film. Art Director Andrew Boughton, as well as a great deal of the art department for “Pirates of the Caribbean 4” rank it as not only a favorite film but as a major influence. 35 years later the film retains it’s status as a classic and one of Steven Spielberg’s finest films. During my early teen years My parents bought me my first record player and my first Movie soundtrack “Jaws” I watch this one at least once a year and it gets better with each viewing. The cast is incredible and the performances by Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, and Roy Scheider are flawless. They didn’t simply act for this one they were the characters we saw on the screen. The secondary cast, the editing, Cinematography and the fabulous mechanical Shark (named Bruce by the production team) are all masterfully realized on the screen. John Williams score, as with most of his compositions is legendary and Iconic as the underlying voice and soul of the film. Truly a work of art on all levels!!!! Thanks to my Dad for taking me to see Jaws so many times and to Mr Spielberg and all that created this incredible movie and to all of you Happy 35th Anniversary to your epic, JAWS”
Below are some highlights from the film courtesy of Universal Pictures, be sure to check out the following link as well to an incredible behind the scenes documentary called “The Shark is still working” at, http://www.sharkisstillworking.com/
the 1970's Universal logo
the deadly first 10 mins of the movie
this sums it all up!
the politics of whats right and wrong verses what makes more money
that's one bad hat Harry
one terrifying POV
what horrific imagery playful fun in the foreground and gruesome carnage in the background
Quint has something to say!
Robert Shaw as Quint, the shark hunter
Richard Dreyfuss as Matt Hooper, things aren't measuring up!
the confrontation of a grieving mother who has lost her son!
a light hearted moment between father and son
WOW what a terrifying moment at the bottom of Ben Gardner's boat
this scene was so needed to break the high tension!
an uninvited guest attends the 4th of July gala festival
no fireworks, just teeth!!!
Hopper, Brody, and Quint set sail to hunt down the killer shark
hooks and line
he's a smart big fish!
the whole theater lost it here
the audiences first big views of just how big the shark is
the first barrel
hide n seek and night begins to fall
a night time visit from Mr. 25 footer
even in the hight of the tension Spielberg's magic is always on the screen as a falling star rips across the sky
the next day is filled with more shark encounters
who's hunting who
another barrel
what a shot
the chase
barrel #2
brody takes a turn
barrel #3
tug of war
3 barrels
poor little boat
mass
the boats on fire what else could go wrong???
sinking!!!!
sending Hooper down in the cage
look out behind you
the cage was no match
frenzy on the ORCA
OMG!!!!
I was screaming out load when this happened!
one more chance for Brody
the humanity!!!!
smile
last chance
the sea turns red
the survivors, Hooper and Brody
the end
Here are some concepts from JJ’s Star Trek that came out a whole year ago last month, HOLY COW!!!!
Howdy all that time frame is unbelievable, man already a year old,,, Anyways, here are some fun ideas for Kirks escape pod from Star Trek. This one changed a lot in the script so new versions would apply them selves to the new dialog. Scott Chambliss would have me do a series of roughs as the story would indicate and then the architecture would also be in a state of flux as the films look was getting a grasp on how everything was going to look for the final film. the initial sketches where basically wedges that as time went on turned into an actual shuttle looking vessel and at one point they were similar in design to the ST(motion Picture) inspection pods designed by our good friend Andy Probert. from there we had a pause in sketches till the more final description came to be so on that mark came the cylindrical idea which had a variation of seat configurations and weather or not it was pilot-able or just automated. the cylinder was the final design and as the show went on the scale changed drastically due to budget. Fun process to see how this ship came to be and I really enjoyed collaborating with Scott on this design process.
OK enjoy and have a good one.
j
pod versions
the wedge look begins
here are some fun wedge designs with a detail taken right off our submarine fleet and thats the inset round detail that on a sub is a bouy that is launched if a sub goes down and sends out an SOS of the vessels location on the sea floor.
shuttle style versions
clynderized #!
and the final
the original
Trying my new photoshop program today and here are the results. Lots of fun and thanks Jen for all the awesome pictures to work with.
Just Jen in the light
It’s Lola!!!! Here are some way over due pictures of the Lovely Lola De Lish from our photo shoot at Tucson’s Pima Air Museum. It was a spectacular day in every way! The sky was full of clouds, The museum looked awesome and all the work that the staff and crew had done with restoring and setting up the aircraft was incredible . And the best part was working with Just Jen and Lola De Lish. Lola came to shoot around noon and we took several hundred pictures and did two wardrobe changes. If ever there was a pin up pro it’s Lola, she captures the very essence of vintage pin up and adds her own spice and style to every shot! It was an awesome pleasure to work with Miss de Lish and all the great folks out at Pima. enjoy the pics and stay tuned for more Trek posts coming tomorrow!
lola 1
lola 2
lola 3
lola4
lola5
Way back almost 10 years ago a new show called “Enterprise” was in the works and the creative team from DS9 headed by Trek Legends (Production Designer) Herman Zimmerman and (Graphics Designer)Mike Okuda were getting the group together to flesh out Paramount’s new venture into Star Trek and TV. The majority of the DS9 crew came back with some new additions, Louise Dorton from “Voyager” came on as art Director, Anna Packard from “ST the experience” joined on as set designer, and she was very expectant with her first baby making the distance between her tummy and the drawing table quite a reach. all together the art department was this. in graphics and playback there was Mike and Denise Okuda, Anthony Fredrickson, The world famous Jim Van Over, and the iconic Doug Drexler. in the art department there was illustrator extraordinaire, Jim Martin, myself, Fritz Zimmerman, Anthony (Tony) Bro, Anna Packard, and Berndt Heidelman, with Herman and Louise as the designers. Craig Binkly joined us as well as the prop designer. we all started the show running and the first thing to hit the desk was the new Enterprise which proved to be a hellish project that went solely to Doug Drexler about a month and a half into the project. Herman pulled me away from the E to start on ship interiors and mainly the new race of bad guys the “Sulibon” they were to be a gumby-ish, stretch Armstrong, rubbery typed aliens with cup cake sprinkle patterned skin. Anyways this group had a bizarre mathematical style to their existence and architecture so we tried to immolate that in there ship designs. the script read that there main ship was a massive helix with all their little Cell ships making up a good portion of the ships exterior. so with that came this first massive drawing, that when seen by the producers came back with a note stating; When we say Helix we don’t mean Helix!!! this started a very long drawing process of creating a helix that wasn’t a helix but actually was kind of a helix yet had to be a helix but not exactly a helix but sorta like a helix without being an exact helix that in the end was a great big HELIX!, HAAAA! this brought back a wash of sad and silly memories, HAAA! The drawing itself was a big 24X36 marker, ink, and massive cut n paste, in the old traditional style and is still in pretty good shape today!
the helix
cu 1
cu2
cu3
Hi to all that are married to your computers and know the deep dark secrets of your systems and like to tell! I am running on the new Imac (Snow Leopard 10.6.3) and need to do DVD capture, not a rip or burn but individual screen grabs for work, DVD capture, grab, and screenshot + don’t work. any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Penny von Pan Am
Heuy-WOOOOO-WEEEEEEE!!!!!
Howdy all, Had a massive computer blow out & had to get a new one!!! So far the transition is dragging and a lot of programs are giving me issues, once all is routine and I learn everything about my new MAC the posts will be coming more regular. One fun event that took place last weekend was that Penny Von Luck and I got to do another pin up shoot and the pics are for a top secret movie project!!! With that said here are some declassified images from the shoot and thought you all would love to see some of the results. Penny is blonde again and we have seen her here as a blonde, a red head, a brunette and with hair of black. She is dazzling in every hair color but blonde is my fav especially with how the sun casts it’s magical glow into her lovely pics. Thanks also goes to the awesome Mark Thompson for letting us shoot at his aviation dismantling yard,,, check out his new page at
http://www.thomsonsaviationmanuals.com
OK enjoy and catch up with more later.
Eavesdropping with Johnny 
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