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October 18, 2007
All quiet on the Burnaby front
It’s very quiet in here these days. Some might say... too quiet. Yes, it’s that time of year, when the production season is over, and we haven’t found out if the show is going to be picked up for another season yet. The result: empty halls. As soon as we know we’re going forward with season 5, the writers get on their planes, trains, automobiles, motorcycles, skidoos, skateboards, segways, or what have you, and get their butts back in the writers’ room and start breaking season 5. So keep your fingers crossed, so they can get back to work.
Luckily, Rob Cooper was in the office today, so I ambushed him and made him talk to me not only about Doppelganger, tomorrow night’s Stargate Atlantis episode that he wrote and directed, but also The Ark of Truth, the SG-1 DVD feature he also wrote and directed.
Doppelganger was actually the first episode shot this year, even though it’ll be the fourth episode aired. That posed some interesting problems, according to Rob. For example, Carter is settled and in charge of Atlantis now, but Rob and the actors had to sort of guess at how the relationships between her and the other team members would have evolved by this point in time. I think they had some scripts to read, but not all. And even so, things can change from the page to the screen. They also had to think of practical concerns. For example, what’s her office look like now? That sort of thing. So that was a challenge.
As for the story idea – it’s horror based. Here’s a window into Rob Cooper. When he was a little boy (maybe too little?), his Dad took him to see JAWS, and it had a big effect on him. He was lying there in bed that night, probably scared out of his wits, and thought to himself that some day he wanted to control the power that gripped him the way JAWS did. So that’s why he decided to become a filmmaker. And now he’s turned that power on you people in Doppelganger, a story about nightmares and people’s fear of dreams.
Rob also told me he found some conflicts between his two roles as writer and director. For example, as a director, he was excited because he thought he would have many opportunities to use interesting camera techniques in the dream sequences. But then he discovered that, in order to maintain the story, he has to keep the audience guessing as to what is a dream and what isn’t. Apparently the technical term for that is a “goof”. So he wasn’t able to go crazy, using wide lenses and making it look very surreal, or else that would tip the goof too soon and the audience wouldn’t be fooled. But here’s a little hint. When Sheppard, who is the common thread in all the dream sequences, breaks the fourth wall and looks directly at the camera, i.e., at the dreamer, you know you’re in a dream. But you would have guessed that anyway, I bet. At least now you’ll be able to talk about it with your film teacher.
Also, there are some cool stunts in this one. In fact, this was the first episode that we used a 3D flying rig for stunts. And the stunt in which Sheppard is kicked off the balcony – well that’s really Sheppard. Joe Flanigan did his own stunt there.
Rob also told me that The Ark of Truth is winding up post-production. Apparently there are 240 VFX shots (240!) that will be finals in the next week or so. And the Final Mix is Friday. So get ready.
ATL
Posted by Alex Levine at October 18, 2007 11:49 PM
