A short 35mm movie-theatre drunk driving theatrical spot (PSA). Filmed in Sept of 1984 by Filmmaker Tom Lenard. Tom went on to develop six theatrical shorts over the next eight-ten years...
LASER EFFECT NOTE: Tom Lenard had only enough in the budget to be able to rent the 35mm cameras and Titan Camera Crane for one day. He got the idea for the laser effect by driving past a restaurant in Opelika, Alabama one night and noticed that the red neon lights outlining the roof of the restaurant appeared as lasers against the night sky. He then created a test using a beam splitter at a 45 degree angle in front of a camera lens reflecting a 6' red neon rod position in front of a black background. The result superimposed the laser upon the particular image that the lens was looking at. Thus, the way to create a laser strike in-camera was to allign such a reflection, and then, have it pointed directed at a certain area where he would have an explosive expert mount an explosive charge. Then when the camera rolled, Tom would have someone hold a black card in front of the beam splitter to block the reflected red neon...the explosive guy would be watching a monitor as Tom would call for "Action" the fella holding the black card would remove it quickly to create the illusion of a laser strike and at the same instant, the explosive expert would hit his charge and while the explosive effect was occuring, Lenard would have another production assistant turn off the power to the red laser while the explosive effect was fading. A complete laser hit captured with an in-camera effect was therefore created and filmed instantly!!!
TRIVIA: Tom Lenard decided to call Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment Office at Universal Studios to be sure it was ok for him to "parody" a scene from CE3K..Talked to a lady named Kathleen. Tom believes she must have been "the" Kathleen Kennedy who has worked hand-in-hand with Spielberg over his body of work. She mentioned to Tom she would run it by Steven and get back with him. A couple of weeks or so later, she did call and said that he thought it was a great idea and for Tom Lenard to feel free to carry-on with the creative effort, and to send them a 35mm print once finished. She then said to make it Beta copy instead because it would be easier for them to screen it that way. Tom remembers the Beta copy was just not as good as the 35mm print..yet, that's what he sent. He jokingly has said over the years that clearly, his phone must have experienced problems for the new couple of years because, he never heard back from either Kathleen or Steven once they received the print. It's a true story at any rate.
Filmed in Auburn and Opelika, Alabama in September of 1984.
PRODUCTION CREW:
Tom C. Lenard, Producer, Director/DP
Bob Cooley, First AD
Tom Causland, 2nd AD, EFX Props & Key Grip
Music sound efx bed: Michael Davis
Voice Over Narrator: John Suhr
Walter Long & Philip Gowan, Production Assistants
Cedron Wynn, generator
David Carmallith, Titan Crane operator
EARLY "ENCOUNTER" Storyboard:
http://www.auburn.edu/~lenartc/storyboard2.jpgCopyright, 1984
Filmmaker,Tom Lenard (Producer, Director/DP, Editor)
All Rights Reserved
(less info)
~lAUra
peaceouTy!
TAMMpON