Special Effects and the Death of Imagination

By Leonard Aaron CaplanIn film and video, special effects can be astounding! They can enhance reality as in a Western or war movie or help us imagine new realities as in James Cameron’s Avatar. From the early days of movies ‘til today, special video effects, along with their sound counterparts attract moviegoers and television viewers, even becoming beloved icons. Who doesn’t love and remember R2D2, the cute little robot on Star Wars, which in reality was an actor’s voice emanating from a lifeless plastic shell, animated by electronics? And who in this generation doesn’t recognize the “beam down” sound and visual effects of Star Trek both on TV and in the movies?It’s when special video and sound effects BECOME the movie or TV show that it becomes a problem. Many may and have disagreed with...

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Talent Can't Survive Alone!

By Leonard Aaron Caplan Let’s face it, it’s glamorous to be on TV, as a host, reporter, narrator, etc. You can’t blame people for wanting the notoriety, the access to “exclusive” people and places and the good living a successful talent can make. But those who aspire to such positions need to realize that the video, audio, lighting and writing of these segments don’t simply get done by themselves. Along with camera people and video editors are engineers , directors and production assistants. There are also producers who plan segments, making decisions about what a video segment or show is about, etc. These are the people whom on-air talents must depend, no matter how good they are in front of the camera. I’ve had students and even interns tell me there is no need for them to learn the...

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