# Flagrant crew-visible shots in films **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 25, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flagrant-crew-visible-shots-in-films/241943 "2004-04-25T18:41:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flagrant-crew-visible-shots-in-films/241943/21 "2004-04-27T01:04:01Z")
[QUOTE=minor7flat5] I’m with you on that, **Dooku**. I spent a few years working as a projectionist, and I definitely remember how much of the frame was masked off. Still, I think I’ll side with [Cartooniverse](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=2547858&postcount=134) on this one since he’s a cameraman. Basically, his posts indicate that if it got on film, it’s an error – there are no guarantees that the theater (or DVD manufacturer) will provide the proper masking. I hope he expands on that here, because Ebert has written several different Answer Man columns that affirm that it is always the projectionist who is at fault when a boom mike is visible. (I’d certainly take his word for it tough). But anyway, back to **The Great Escape** - surely in 1963 they had no idea that whatever wasn’t in the shot would cause problems when a different widescreen ratio was used in the future to project it onto a device that didn’t exist yet. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flagrant-crew-visible-shots-in-films/241943/22 "2004-04-27T01:28:36Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > I hope he expands on that here, because Ebert has written several different Answer Man columns that affirm that it is always the projectionist who is at fault when a boom mike is visible. (I’d certainly take his word for it tough). From a projectionist’s point of view, I feel that it’s expecting an awful lot for ten thousand mopes like myself to bother doing anything with the masking. It’s far easier for the film company to avoid it from the get go. In general, the masking is set by filing a square hole in a thin brass plate, so it isn’t like there are fine adjustments going on for each film. One can fiddle with the horizontal position of that plate or the vertical frame position a bit, but no projectionist is analyzing each film for errors to conceil. The aperature plate is usually hand filed to match the screen (reducing keystoning for example), but it is a one-time deal. ---
**Author:** ![dook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@dook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dook)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flagrant-crew-visible-shots-in-films/241943/23 "2004-04-27T05:05:47Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > In Pulp Fiction, all the while that Vincent and Jules are cruising … the car is sitting on a low trailer … repeatedly. I can’t beleive I never picked up on this. In my defense, for the past 3 or 4 years I more often than not ‘listen’ to a movie while cruising the internet… ---
**Author:** ![Beauty\_Personified](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Beauty\_Personified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beauty_Personified)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flagrant-crew-visible-shots-in-films/241943/24 "2004-04-27T06:49:21Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > In Pulp Fiction, all the while that Vincent and Jules are cruising along, discussing what’s so cool about Amsterdam, you can see their car reflected in store windows passing by – the car is sitting on a low trailer, you see the trailer’s wheels below and between the car’s wheels. This is not a fleeting glimpse. The scene is several minutes long and you see the reflection repeatedly. Of course, with Quentin Tarantino, one could always say that something like that was intentional on his part. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RumMunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@RumMunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RumMunkey)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flagrant-crew-visible-shots-in-films/241943/25 "2004-04-27T12:58:34Z")
LOTR:TTT (It may have been “TFOTR” though). The secene in Rivendell where Cate Blanchett (?) is pouring the water into the basin to see the future. You can see the entire crew & equipment in the reflection of the polished silver goblet she uses. And this is as clear as day! For a movie that did so much, and took so many fine details into account right down to Gollum’s twitching eyebrows to miss this… words fail me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flagrant-crew-visible-shots-in-films/241943.md?page=1)