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Post by marklemon on Mar 21, 2008 20:10:11 GMT -5
Hey guys, Wanted to update you all on a project that some may have seen me participating in in San Antonio a few weeks ago (when I was being interviewed by the History Channel.) The History Channel is working on a show tentatively called: Making History: The Alamo. During the High Holy Days recently the film crew was in SA, and someone (I suspect Bill Chemerka!) told them about my book, and model in 1/48 scale, which formed the basis for many of the images in the book. So, they collared me for a few hours and shot some video atop the Emily Morgan, and the Gibbs Building. (I also think that they interviewed Bill Chemerka at Dripping Springs, b ut he'll have to fill you in on that, as I did not make the trip) But the interesting thing, for me, is that they are coming to my home in Georgia next week, in order to scan the model for the purpose of "painting" in real reenactors on my model, specifically at the southwest corner, as well as the north wall. The producer told me that they were going to try to film the taking of the north wall, using reenactors, all superimposed on the model! How this will look is anyone's guess, but it will be interesting to see how they do this. I'll keep you posted on the progress. The show is supposed to air in the fall. Mark
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Post by Allen Wiener on Mar 21, 2008 22:56:42 GMT -5
That's great news, Mark. Sounds like it could be a very interesting production. Let's hope that things like this can give the San Antonio officials a graphic idea of what's missing on Alamo Plaza right now and how much could be done to bring history alive there. I know how hard you worked on that model, but it's paying off big dividends in many ways now.
Thanks for posting the news.
AW
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Post by elcolorado on Mar 22, 2008 9:14:41 GMT -5
Sounds exciting, Mark. I think we all would like to see live actors superimposed on your model. It would truly bring it to life. More so then toy soldiers. The bad news may be that your wife will have to wait a bit longer before she can get her car into the garage. You might want to consider adding another room onto house. Glenn
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Post by TRK on Mar 22, 2008 9:28:13 GMT -5
Interesting! For their purposes, will they be taking stills, or moving shots?
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Post by bobdurham on Mar 22, 2008 18:06:08 GMT -5
I'm going to have a hard time waiting for this! Let us know how the filming goes -- it will be interesting to know how they do this.
It would be fascinating to see how the Alamo would look with all the men in position. I saw a painting of the Alamo compound, years ago, that had all of the men (except Bowie) accounted for -- I think there were 181 men in all -- pictured manning the walls. It was a nice concept but the painting didn't seem to be in scale; the men seemed to be too big and to take up too much room on the wall. The wall looked positively crowded, which I'm pretty sure was not really the case.
The painting by Gary Zaboly of the assault on the Alamo, that they used to sell at the Alamo giftshop, shows a lot of people but, since it shows the assault and is a night-time painting, its hard to get an idea of what the Alamo would have looked like if all the men were at their stations before the assault. The overhead shot of the assault from the 2004 Alamo movie reminds me a lot of Gary Zaboly's painting; I wonder if that was the idea.
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Post by Rich Curilla on Mar 23, 2008 19:57:09 GMT -5
The overhead shot of the assault from the 2004 Alamo movie reminds me a lot of Gary Zaboly's painting; I wonder if that was the idea. You bet! The wonderfully drawn storyboards for the battle sequence had Gary Zaboly's battle painting pasted in to illustrate that one scene with a notation beneath it saying, "Angle T.B.A." Production Designer Michael Corenblith fell in love with Gary's work in Blood of Noble Men when he paged through my copy at Alamo Village during his scout for Ron Howard in October, 2001. One favorite drawing was the one of the soldados putting the red flag atop San Fernando with the Alamo in the background. He took one look and said, "Ah! I want to do that scene." Another specific one was the parley on the Potrero St. bridge. From my e-mail correspondence with Gary at the time, he was very pleased and gratified, and, I think, proud of his contributions to the final film. While I'm sure the Mouse House didn't care whether this attention to historical detail took place, I know Michael, Ron Howard and finally John Lee Hancock did.
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Post by billchemerka on Mar 31, 2008 20:20:35 GMT -5
Hey guys, Wanted to update you all on a project that some may have seen me participating in in San Antonio a few weeks ago (when I was being interviewed by the History Channel.) The History Channel is working on a show tentatively called: Making History: The Alamo. During the High Holy Days recently the film crew was in SA, and someone (I suspect Bill Chemerka!) told them about my book, and model in 1/48 scale, which formed the basis for many of the images in the book. Mark Indeed. I am the culprit. More details about the show to follow next week.
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Post by billchemerka on Apr 7, 2008 15:34:58 GMT -5
Having just returned home---and needing sleep (a 6:35 a.m. flight out of Austin this morning), I will provide some info tomorrow on The History Channel program that utilized The Alamo set at Dripping Springs this past weekend. The set has deteriorated noticeably since I visited the set a month ago, particularly the wooden gun ramps and platforms.
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Post by tmdreb on Apr 7, 2008 20:09:05 GMT -5
I'm shocked it's still there after what it looked like when I and the rest of the Mexican Army occupied it three years ago.
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Post by billchemerka on Apr 8, 2008 9:04:39 GMT -5
The Dripping Springs set is in poor condition. Injury releases must be signed by all who enter the grounds. This was done when I was there in early March as well. The gun ramps and platforms are the most deteriorated. All of them. In fact, there are holes in each of the weakened sections. Areas along the top of the North Wall are open due to collapsed sections (which are easily viewed from the production company's hidden passageway below). One of the church's columns is about to fall since it is about half off its base. Interior rooms (especially those which had flooring) are in bad shape as well. The exterior walls of the Long Barrack are primarily rotting plywood; the "stone" like surfaces of the two-story structure have long since washed away. Like wise, parts of the exterior walls of the West Wall and North Wall have fallen off. It would not surprise me if this production was the last commercial venture filmed at the 2004 film's set.
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Post by billchemerka on Apr 9, 2008 9:55:20 GMT -5
A careful look at the photo that I took will reveal aluminum framing for the large green screen that was utilized during filming. The Green Screen process allowed The History Channel production team to film multiple angles of our small company of soldados (and individual + paired combat-choreographed shots). As a result of post-production techniques, the small company of soldados will increase in size. And the background will change, too.
[Thanks to Jim Boylston for posting this photo. More to come.]
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Post by billchemerka on Apr 9, 2008 10:16:11 GMT -5
The North Wall, like the other parts of the set, displayed deterioration since my early March visit during initial filming. Small sections of the North Wall plaster/mortar facade chipped away during our filming; it was in that poor of a condition. Green screen sections were added to several of the sections to provide exterior esthetic continuity. The top area (gun platform) facdes had fallen off/worn off prior to March. The gun platform/walkway areas atop the North Wall were particularly unsafe. Holes as wide as five feet provided views of the 2004 production's team's hidden passageway and interior work rooms. As such, a green screen platform was constructed at ground level against a vertical green screen to provide a location for the fight for the SW corner by Morales' men. Note the split horizontal log in the 9th section of wall (from the NW corner). The ends of the log sections were bolted to the vertical pieces. Prior to filming in that area I lifted one piece over the other in order to temporarily "secure" them together. You can also see the horizontally-fixed pyro bucket openings in sections #5, #9, & #11 (from the NW corner).
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Post by Rich Curilla on Apr 9, 2008 11:43:38 GMT -5
Thanks for the update, Bill. Very painful update.
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Post by billchemerka on Apr 9, 2008 12:03:30 GMT -5
The Alamo Church at the Dripping Springs set continues to suffer from the elements, though this view doesn't suggest the seriousness of the situation. The left-hand column is now partially situated off its base, and the interior gun ramp is a hazardous walkway. Scores of birds' nests have filled portions of the Church's interior which provide an afternnon sense of beauty as they dart around the structure.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Apr 9, 2008 14:01:29 GMT -5
So, Bill -- are you saying this set is strictly for the birds now? (Couldn't resist). Well, all in all, it's pretty clear that this thing was not intended to be a permanent structure in the way the Bracketville set was. It will be interesting to see how History Channel manipulates the footage to recreate the battle. I had understood that they also were somehow incorporating Mark's model and some views they took from the Emily Morgan or Crockett last month.
Any idea when this thing is supposed to air?
AW
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