Summer 2000 - The Association of Motion Picture Sound

THE PINEWOOD STORY
The Autltorised History of The World's Most
Famous Film Studicr
by Gareth Owen with Brian
Burford; published Reynolds &
Hearn
This is the authorised
history of Pinewood, based
on the archive material held
by its owners, and the
memories of the legendary
stars and technicians whose
work has contributed to the
studio's global reputation. Author Gareth Owen
takes the reader inside Pinewood with over 200
stunning illustrations that show the growth of the
studio. The Pinewood Story offers an intriguing
behind-the-scenes glimpse of some of the best
known films and television programmes ever
Tade. The story is brought fully up-to-date with a
;oncluding chapter by Michael Grade.which
looks at Pinewood's exciting future under its new
owners.This book is the culmination of over three
years research, which has included unprecedented
access to the archives at Pinewood and numerous
interviews with many of the studios's luminaries.
AMPS members can obtain copies forf 19.OO
post free direct from Gareth Owen, Pinewood
Studios, Iver Heath, Bucks SLO ONH
THtr NATIONAL SOUND
ARCHIVE.
Based in the new British Library building at St
Pancras, The National Sound Archive (NSA) is
one of the largest in the world.
Plavbark, their newsletter-brochure, is in a
-folde-d,{5format
which opens out into a well-
,llustrated A4format. It is published three times a
year, with information on the NSA's current and
future activities; also included are short articles of
interest about the collections housed at St
Pancras.
The NSA also organises lecture programmes
and, from time to time, exhibitions of artifacts
from the collections which cover all types of
music, the spoken word, oral history interviews
and industrial and wild-life sounds.
Pla,back is published free of charge, so if you
are interested give them your postal details and
they will send it to you. For further information
contact:
The British Library National Sound Archive
96 Euston Road, London NWI 2DB.
Telephone: 020 7412 7440' Fax: 020 7412 7441,
E-mail: nsa@bl.uk
Why not take a look at their web-site:
www.bl. uk/coll ecti ons/sound-archi ve.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2
Having to be in London during the week of 26 July, I
took advantage of taking in the AMPS film show at
Pinewood's Theatre 7. Mission Impossible 2 is not
exactly my type of movie; those such asEmmn,
Elizubeth and Sense And Sensibitity are more to my
taste.
The ridiculous car chase near the start of the story
almost had me walking out, however I stuck it out and
was glad of it when the story reached Sydney,
Australia. Good use was made of the city and its
environs, this kept me sitting in my seat wondering
which location I would recognise next; what a welcome
change from New York and Los Angeles.
I'm not sure whether I kept up with the plot. Car
stunts, motorbike duels and other special-effects
sequences went on too long, so that when the story
resumed after each such episode I had to work out all
over again who was who and what they hoped to
achieve. The cliff-hanglng sequences (superb scenery)
and the ridiculous gun battle in the chemical factory
were beyond belief, but then it's only a movie.
There were several pleasant changes from the usual
present-day American movies: the lack of foul language
and profanities (though the female lead threw in a few
'bloodies' at the beginning, presumably to please
Australian audiences) - no nudity, and sexual
intercourse hinted at but not shown - and the dialogue
was mostly understandable.
I was worried about the damage done to, and the
writing-off of, prestigious executive cars. I hope that
when complete digitisation comes I'll be able to see an
end title telling me 'No motor vehicles were actually
damaged in this production.'
A11 in all,I'd rather see a British 'Bond' movie.
13
BOtsALLEN
FOR SALE
Flightcased fudb Ibdrynurc T/ficro' mfurer,6 into
2 with mono mix down. Limiter and parametric EQ
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whistle and generator noise - f,15OO.OO; Flight-cased
fudb Derdrynu* ?ho' mfurcr. 8 into 2,P&G faders
complete with high capacity battery and charger -
f650.00; Traklier rcauft @', modified to take 2
booms complete with large onboard accessories
box, radio mic aerial mast and canvas radio mic
pack on rear. Ideal for commercials or the smaller
drama - d425.OO;3sdin Fanamfu bosn (5ft to 13ft)
- f,125.0O; 3din nanamb mini boom pole (2ft to
6f0 - f 100.00.
Call Malcolm Davies - Tel: 01457 876163
STOP PRESS
Further sad news -
KEN CAMERON OBE, Hon AMPS, died
peacefully in his sleep on August 18th. A tribute
will be published in the Autumn Newsletter.