Sam Carter/Amanda Tapping Discussion/Appreciation

[Uber]

regarding this picture:




isn't amanda pretty?






sally

(pic courtesy of sasusc)

What struck me as funny was how often they were blocked together like that in that scene.

How often have we heard about the importance of blocking to indicate relationships or important characters and moments? And no, I'm not implying anything shippy here per se but rather that it's natural to see those two together. That scene for me screams that someone amongst TPTB get that AT + RDA = money shot.

That's their powerhouse right there.

[Mandysg1]

/removes 10 oz. weight from posting-finger

Oh for cryin out loud. Are you one of those ninnies that requires a rationale or logic behind every post? Cripes, if I knew I was going to be held to such stringent standards I would have deposited my tuppence at a different forum where such ideals are scoffed at, discriminated against, and whitewashed over with a deliciously sour cocktail of nutso fannish idolatry. Don't happen to know of any such temples or ziggurats of worship, do you?

If you absolutely must be let in on the crooked, loopy, and wending paths my thoughts take, then be forewarned--I'm a blowhard who thinks too much, assumes more than is prudent, and ardently believes his own facts not in evidence.

Possible spoilers for everything remaining:

Spoiler:

Firstly, I assume that Quest II is the next episode. Call me crazy. It's worth noting here that "something" is supposed to befall Daniel in Quest II that will begin his oh so "controversial" arc. Likewise, I'm laying my bets on Dominion and Unending being the final two episodes. Don't hesitate to call me on that one, though.

I know that it's been reported that Family Ties partially includes some wonderful Lam/Magwitch bonding over the inherent mommy issues of their relationship. Dr. Lam is also mentioned in the spoilers for Talion, the episode where Teal'c awakes from his long hibernation, retrieves his stolen mojo, and goes on a rampage the likes of which we haven't seen in years. Yay for a Teal'c episode. Oh, and Talion is also the episode where I pray to Zeus, Thor, and Apophis that Bra'tac is spared Atropos' shears. That ***** already did a number on Frasier and Jacob. Anyway, aside from them being, I believe, episodes 16 and 17 in the production order, the fact that they're both rumored to include Lam leads me to believe that they fall close together in the airing order as well.

As far as The Shroud goes, Michael Shanks' has reportedly called it "episode 14", despite its early filming in the production order. This seems relatively certain to me, seeing as how it's also referred to as episode 14 in RDA's Starlog interview.

It's also been reported that the remaining two episodes that Michael Shanks will not be appearing in are Line In the Sand and The Road Not Taken. Here, I'm assuming that Daniel's prior issues are being used to cover Michael Shanks' absence. If that's the case, and The Shroud is indeed episode 14, then it seems likely that these two episodes are going to be episodes 12 & 13, though which one airs first is uncertain. I'm going with Line In the Sand, as it has the earlier production date. But that's only a guess.

All of that reasoning being correct, that leaves Bounty and Bad Guys. Now, Bounty is already all teed up and ready for a Grudge Match with The Ties That Bind over the mantle of Worst Stargate Episode Ever. But I digress. I've placed Bounty at episode 15 because it was filmed before the cast and crew went on summer hiatus. And since it's been reported to feature a "normal" Daniel, I'm assuming it follows his Annakin Skywalker epiphany in The Shroud. That leaves Bad Guys to fill the only remaining slot, episode 16.

I could be all wrong. I could be lying. I could be crazy. But my correctness, mendacity, or sanity isn't what's important here. What's important is that I sound like I know what I'm talking about. And that's always been good enough for me.

As Royal Bookie, I am not taking any bets on any of those options, or those one's

[Mandysg1]

What struck me as funny was how often they were blocked together like that in that scene.

How often have we heard about the importance of blocking to indicate relationships or important characters and moments? And no, I'm not implying anything shippy here per se but rather that it's natural to see those two together. That scene for me screams that someone amongst TPTB get that AT + RDA = money shot.

That's their powerhouse right there.

Forgive me oh Ooooberness, but what scene is that from

[Uber]

Forgive me oh Ooooberness, but what scene is that from

DUDE.

Episode 200!

*revokes your Stargate SG-1 Fanclub membership on the spot*

[Mandysg1]

DUDE.

Episode 200!

*revokes your Stargate SG-1 Fanclub membership on the spot*

I thought so, but... but I wasn't sure and I only saw it once

[Uber]

I thought so, but... but I wasn't sure and I only saw it once

Now, now...no whinging.

Take your punishment like a real woman, FCOL.

[Mandysg1]

Now, now...no whinging.

Take your punishment like a real woman, FCOL.

What now you're going to call scari in on this?

[majorsal]

I still think anyone of her rank, who held a leadership position, wouldn't accept Cam's offer to join his team, they would ask for their own team to lead

just think about how season 9 started...

spoilers -

Spoiler:

can you imagine an episode dealing with sg1 going their own ways? even considering it?

for season 9 to start with it already happening, and then sweeping it under the rug... the whole emphasis of the show shifted to mitchell's pov (and i'm talking about the first ep of s9).

before season 9, sg1 discussing their reasons for breaking up would have been a HUGE episode. and then them actually doing it...

season 9 really 'was' a new show, starring mitchell, vala, daniel, and daniel-vala. sam and teal'c as supporting players.

WHAT THE HE// HAPPENED?!?

of course, we know how well all of this went down... ratings went boom-boom.



sally

[Uber]

What now you're going to call scari in on this?

Only if you make me pull out the big guns. scari, strix, skydiver...

You REALLY don't want me to do that though.

[Chelle DB]

the thing is, when you're a male and stand up for yourself, you're doing the right thing. When you're fans of a male actor and stand up for him, you're a 'true fan'...yet if you're a female and stand up for yourself, you're a witch and demanda and are just being flat out unreasonable.

if you're fans of a female character and stand up for that character your opinion is dismissed and discounted and you're called names

Really?? I never saw it like that. There are a lot of people out there who are gender baised...(and boy do I know a few doozy's out there)...regardless of their gender...so I guess it rings true on both sides.
I personally don't view the opinion that if you're a female and you stand up for yourself, you are deemed a witch or demander or unreasonable...maybe a nag sometimes ...but that would also apply to males too.
And as for being a female and supporting a female character, I don't think my opinions have been dismissed based on that fact alone...and I have never met a male who has done that...yet!!
Maybe I'm living a sheltered life!!

[L.A. Doyle]

just think about how season 9 started...

spoilers -

Spoiler:

can you imagine an episode dealing with sg1 going their own ways? even considering it?

for season 9 to start with it already happening, and then sweeping it under the rug... the whole emphasis of the show shifted to mitchell's pov (and i'm talking about the first ep of s9).

before season 9, sg1 discussing their reasons for breaking up would have been a HUGE episode. and then them actually doing it...

season 9 really 'was' a new show, starring mitchell, vala, daniel, and daniel-vala. sam and teal'c as supporting players.

WHAT THE HE// HAPPENED?!?

of course, we know how well all of this went down... ratings went boom-boom.



sally

Spoiler:

You're right, Sally. And you know, I don't think SG-1 would have split up so easily. And even if they did split, they'd need a whole episode to explain why. It would be a HUGE deal. The beginning of S9 was poorly put together-they didn't really delve into what Jack was doing, why exactly Sam had left, and why people I thought were the best of friends would seemingly...forget...about each other. *sighs*

[Chelle DB]

Cam: You hid their sandwiches, didn'tcha?

Yep...like that one too!!

[ReganX]

just think about how season 9 started...

spoilers -

Spoiler:

can you imagine an episode dealing with sg1 going their own ways? even considering it?

for season 9 to start with it already happening, and then sweeping it under the rug... the whole emphasis of the show shifted to mitchell's pov (and i'm talking about the first ep of s9).

before season 9, sg1 discussing their reasons for breaking up would have been a HUGE episode. and then them actually doing it...

season 9 really 'was' a new show, starring mitchell, vala, daniel, and daniel-vala. sam and teal'c as supporting players.

WHAT THE HE// HAPPENED?!?

of course, we know how well all of this went down... ratings went boom-boom.



sally

Spoiler:

I think that Season Nine became very much Mitchell's story, to the exclusion of other characters. He wanted to join SG-1, he pestered the former members of the team to return because he wanted them to be on the team with him, he got his way... it was all about him, which left very little for the other characters or for viewers who didn't like Mitchell.

The character wasn't brought into the show, the show was mutilated to accomodate the character. Sam, like Daniel and Teal'c, wasn't so much a character in her own right as simply somebody Mitchell wanted on the team.

Season Nine could have been about Sam, Daniel and Teal'c adjusting to working with a new base commander and to having a new teammate foisted on them, learning to trust him. It could have highlighted Sam's experiences commanding an officer she doesn't already know and whose respect she has not yet earned - hero-worship is a different thing altogether - somebody who is bound to the military chain of command and may have felt out of place working with a team who had been together so long, somebody who could have learned from her as she learned from Jack.

Season Nine was an opportunity to introduce new characters in such a way as to allow the existing characters to welcome them into their world. Instead, it was about Mitchell bringing Sam, Daniel and Teal'c onto his team.

Yay! Post 4,500!

[Chelle DB]

Sam: Kiss me again and we're gonna find out if there's live ammo in this gun.

Cam: *gulp*

LOL...that's even better!!
D'oH...I wish I had the talent to come up with those lines!!

[Chelle DB]

Not that anyone would really care, but you guys want to know how this is usually done? It's kind of neat. It's a combination between splitting the screen for the moments when two or more identical characters interact with one another (which most of you already know a little about) and chromakeying, which is what the green screen shots are for. The thing is, calculating the camera position(s) and lighting levels is really tricky in this kind of thing because the camera cannot move, or else the scene is broken. Some of the newer cranes are programmable these days and can reproduce identical motion arcs, but they have to be locked in position before that happens too, and they're expensive pieces of equipment so most often the cameras are simply set up and never move. Then the light levels are kept identical (which is tough day after day of a shoot, every shadow, every level has to be identical or you get lines across the screen which shows where the cheat(s) are). Lighting levels are most often the thing we have to compensate for in the studio, because rarely do we get a perfect shoot, so we'll usually feather out the line edges, but with a scene like Amanda had, that kind of effect cheat can get very dicey - anywhere there's a feathered edge, there cannot be an actor. Or else you'd obviously see part of them fade out in a weird way. Sort of like a ghost disappearing into thin air. You can sometimes cheat this by using a cutaway shot instead of worrying about the visible scene join, but if the entire scene takes place in the same space and you've got a long shot there, it's not as simple. So what it looks like they did here, was shoot each scene with Amanda talking to (herself) by using a stand-in for an over the shoulder shot. Basically, one character (the one whose face you see) is Amanda and the "over the shoulder" character is the stand in with the appropriate clothing on. That's just for the purposes of the interaction when you cut between the characters, you don't notice it because they have identical blocking. So in a room full of "Sam Carters" for example, a lot of them are in the same space but don't actually meet or interact - that makes things easier to cheat, because you can give every character the full screen space as long as the cameras don't move and the lighting levels remain constant. You've got the room as an immobile constant in front of which you can either chromakey multiple Carters into the scene and/or film her sitting in different places at different times, film the stand-ins around her for "back and shoulder" continuity, and then cut the segments all together in post whereby (so long as nothing else changed or moved), each cut in the scene will then appear as though we're moving from one Carter to another, to another. Amanda must be in every single position of every single stand-in (identical) blocking for such a scene, but the post team makes all the joins invisible thereafter... est voila!

geeeek

Wow..thanks for the info geek...very interesting!!