Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog

May 20, 2010: Another SGU-Related Guest Blogger Announcement! Atlantis weaponry!

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I got the call from Kerry just before lunch: “How’d you like to come by at two thirty for a spotting session.”  Spotting session?  My first thought was that fellow Exec. Producer Carl Binder needed someone to watch over him while he put his new exercise trampoline through its paces.  Then, it dawned on me.  Oooooh.  A Visual Effects spotting!

How many visual effects can you spot in an episode?  Can you spot them all? Sounds like fun, right?  Well, turns out a VFX spotting session is less a game of Where’s Waldo than an often laborious process involving the producer, editor, and various visual effects personnel squeezed into a tiny editing suite, gathered around an even tinier monitor, timing and discussing each and every visual effects sequence in an episode.  Should the shot be longer?   What direction is the ship headed?  What kind of a camera move do we want to see?  Does the VFX shot match with the preceding shot?  Does it match with the ensuing shot?  Was the shot budgeted?  By the time we finished, it was 90 minutes later!  I might have to set aside the entire day for Resurgence!

Before heading out, I made a point of doing two very important things.   First, I snapped a pic of the creepy-looking game sitting on the top shelf of editor Mike Bananas’ shelf –

WTF?

Second, I got editor Mike Banas to commit to a fan Q&A –

Editor Mike Banas committing.

Have questions for Mike?  Then fire away!  Come on.  He can take it.

Of course this begs the question: If I was spotting visual effects, who was spotting Carl on his trampoline?

Some weaponry from the Atlantis archives –

Stargate: Atlantis, Broken Ties. Tyre’s sword and scabbard.  Jason Momoa loved this sword so much that we let him incorporate it into Ronon’s arsenal.

Stargate: Atlantis, The Daedalus Variations. Alien thermal grenade.

Stargate: Atlantis, Tracker. Kiryk’s shortsword.

Stargate: Atlantis, The Queen. Todd’s hidden knife.

Stargate: Atlantis, The Queen. Wraith Commander’s sword.  I love swords in space.

Stargate: Atlantis, First Contact. Wraith stun rods.

Stargate: Atlantis, First Contact. Lost Tribe plasma pistol.

More internet issues.  It may be time to change my internet provider.

Again.

Today’s entry is dedicated to belated birthday individual Elminster!

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57 responses

  1. Bryan M. White Avatar
    Bryan M. White

    Hello Joe.

    Thanks for the pictures from the Atlantis Art Dept. I know that internet service has been a recurring issue. I am curious: do you use wireless, DSL, or cable?

    By the way, I don’t think you ever told is things worked out with your car a few months back. I hope things worked out alright, and repairs were not too costly.

    Best Wishes,

    Bryan

    Reply
  2. sylvia Avatar
    sylvia

    Cool, thanks for sharing the Atlantis sword collection!
    Snakes…euuwww. But, Mike looks quite cool!

    Reply
  3. Lou Zucaro Avatar
    Lou Zucaro

    Joe, we expect to see a pic of you and two other people playing Snifty Snakes. You get the choose the two, but at least one of them has to be an SGU cast member.

    Questions For Mike:

    How long have you been editing and have you worked in both traditional (analog) and digital and if so, is there anything you miss about working in analog?

    Have you ever made an edit you really regret making? If so, what was it?

    Have you ever edited an easter egg into something you’ve worked on without telling the rest of the production team beforehand?

    Reply
  4. annie from Fremantle Avatar
    annie from Fremantle

    Hope you find another ISP.. I’m with iinet here in Australia and they’re fantastic.

    Snifty?? I second your wtf…

    What do you think of Michael Crichton’s books? I’m (trying) to read ‘Prey’ about nano technology on the rampage but it’s actually a bit of a yawn… I want something that has me page turning with huuuuuuuuge anticipation.. something I can’t put down! This was far from it. Luckily I bought it in an op shop for only $2..

    Reply
  5. Elminster Avatar
    Elminster

    Thank you, Joe. I’ll try to remember next year that subtle doesn’t cut it.

    Question for Mike
    On the topic of Easter Eggs, are there any in Stargate that you’ve never told anyone about?

    Elminster

    Reply
  6. Kelsey Avatar
    Kelsey

    Hi Joe, I’v bin following your blog for a little bit now and this is my first time commenting. So after seeing “Lost” and a close up the Kino Remote, has any consideration bin put in to making a Kino Remote iphone app?

    Reply
  7. Shadow Step Avatar
    Shadow Step

    “How many visual effects can you spot in an episode?”

    Ah visual effects. Try telling people even shows like Monk or Greys Anatomy are full of computer effects and they’d disbelieve it *g*

    As for Snifty snakes, I wonder if you are allowed to blow your nose during a game.

    Reply
  8. Joseph Avatar
    Joseph

    Question for Mike: What program is used to edit SGU?

    Reply
  9. Logan Avatar
    Logan

    Hi Mike,

    I see that you were the editor on two of my favorite episodes, “Time” and “Divided”. There were several scenes in both episodes that made me really appreciate the subtleties and challenges inherent in your craft.

    In “Time” for example, I really liked the scene where the main characters are gathered around the monitor viewing the time-shifted off-world kino footage and Eli says, “What the …!”, which sends the episode to commercial break. That to me was both a brilliant piece of script and editing. Can you take us through the process for how that scene was edited? How much creativity are you allowed vs. what’s in the script? How much collaboration is there with the writers and directors at the point where you have the material? Are the fx effects added before or after you edit the episode? Were there alternate choices that were devised for ending that scene?

    Thanks.

    Reply
  10. Jeremy Avatar
    Jeremy

    Question: Has the idea been discussed of keeping a copy of any long cuts of the show which the director is happy with before it has to be cut down to fit the allotted running time and the DVD being those long versions and not the broadcast ones? Or what are your thoughts about that if it hasn’t?

    Question: What are your thoughts about the lengths of current movies or Tarantino’s in particular?

    Reply
  11. Thornyrose Avatar
    Thornyrose

    wtf? May 20 blog post? What happened to May 19? Oh. dear. I reaally reeeeally need to slow down a bit. I;ll head back and read it later, once I get over some of my sleep deprivation. Atlantis pics are appreciated. Meantime duty calls…

    Reply
  12. Tim Lade Avatar
    Tim Lade

    Joe dude I don’t know why you are rocking out to Telus for any length of time. They are atrocious. As a fellow Canadian I must warn you from falling into the trip of their cute commericals. They may be cute but underneath the swimming duck or smiling monkey of love is sadness, heartbreak, and quite a bit of downtime.

    I cannot believe I am going to utter these words…but go with Bell…

    Any word on the re-cap music friend? 😉

    Reply
  13. JulieAloha Avatar
    JulieAloha

    Hi Joe,

    Carl on a trampoline: Carl “Bounder” – giggle

    Hey, how are the puppies? We haven’t heard about any recent escapades. Nor have we heard any repercussions from the saga of Joe vs Ashleigh since Cookie-Gate. C’mon, give!

    Smiles, Julie

    Q’s for Mike:

    1. I know almost nothing about the editing process; in what shape do you get the show? Whole scenes? Clips? A director’s cut? W or w/o sound, vfx, etc?

    2. Is there a general time limit to each act/previously on?

    3. What’s the most time you’ve had to cut to bring the show down to 44 min?

    4. What is your fav episode you’ve done for any of the SG shows?

    Thanks, Mike!

    Reply
  14. Gilder Avatar
    Gilder

    Local news just ran a story on secret menus at chain restaurants…

    http://www.woai.com/content/news/newslinks/story/Ordering-off-the-secret-menu-at-San-Antonio/wzWn8DGY4kejDEoFnaO1pA.cspx

    I already suspected as much, since I often ask for alterations to avoid digestive trouble.

    Only 90 mins. for VFX spotting? That doesn’t seem unreasonable to me…considering my complete lack of experience.

    Still hoping you will ask Goldsmith what percussion instrument(s) were used in the last ep. Would like to know whether I was right.

    Reply
  15. Major D. Davis Avatar
    Major D. Davis

    Sweet!!!!! Q&a Time baby!!

    Questions for mike!

    1. How long does it take you to edit a rough cut of an SGU episode

    2. Do you mess around with the sound at all when editing or is that purely the sound guys job?

    3. What has been the hardest episode to edit and?

    4. What scene from SGU has been the hardest to edit?

    5. Do you ever face indecision when editing when you have 2 or more perfect takes but you don’t know which one to choose or how to intertwine them?

    Thanks Mike for doing this Q&A!

    Thanks so much,
    Major D. Davis

    Reply
  16. dasNdanger Avatar
    dasNdanger

    Duuuude. Wraith stun sticks??? Come on! We’re not that stoooopit! Anyone can tell that’s just two doctored-up mini maglites!

    (Oh, and BTW, Joey dear…All Todd has to do to stun everyone in the room is just to walk in. 😉 )

    Thanks for the pics, dahling. Have a good night!

    das

    Reply
  17. cat4444 Avatar
    cat4444

    Q for Mike: Have you ever had to convince a director that the cut he wants would be better if done a different way?

    Reply
  18. PoorOldEdgarDerby Avatar
    PoorOldEdgarDerby

    Questions for Mike Banas:

    1. Where did you go to school and what did you study?

    2. How much of a change has it been moving from Atlantis to Universe considering the marked difference in show tone and appearance?

    3. I see from your IMDb page you worked on “Young People F#@king.” Seeing as how a lot of your work has been in TV, how was working on a movie different?

    4. So, Snifty Snakes: What’s up with that?

    Reply
  19. Shadow Step Avatar
    Shadow Step

    @dasNdanger

    Not drinking mint juleps before bedtime are you? 😉

    Reply
  20. lexxye Avatar
    lexxye

    Sounds like a perfectly reasonable game. Lets play.

    Reply
  21. Sheryl Avatar
    Sheryl

    Thanks for the shout out, I feel special!! Sheryl.

    Reply
  22. otros ojos Avatar
    otros ojos

    Comment for Mike Banas:

    Logan asked the same questions about specific episodes that I would ask for all the episodes. I know very little about editing for TV or film, however. It’s clear that some eps are written and directed in a way that requires meticulous work from the editor, and it just kind of blows me away when I’ve watched some very intricate scenes play out without a hitch — from what little I know, that demonstrates excellence in editing. I’ve seen some high-budget shows on major networks that don’t do nearly as well in this area, so would just like to express appreciation for your talent and application of experience, and to say thanks for your very well-done work.

    Reply
  23. aaroNiGHTS Avatar
    aaroNiGHTS

    What T-shirt size are you? Please!

    Reply
  24. longstoryshort Avatar
    longstoryshort

    Hey Joe,

    Our local paper has been collecting the strangest toppings for crumpets. Made me think of you!

    http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/column-8/column-8-20100520-vpwn.html

    Reply
  25. Arctic Goddess Avatar
    Arctic Goddess

    Hi Joe:

    Sorry that your internet provider has let you down. I have a suggestion for you. Why not become an internet provider yourself? You can find out how here: http://www.ehow.com/how_5003932_become-isp-provider.html. Then if your internet falls apart, you can yell at yourself.

    Speaking of self help, I understand that residents of Vancouver can now keep their own chickens in their back yards. You can keep up to four chickens. Apparently, they are no more trouble then looking after a dog, or two, or four. So, Joe, chickens as more fodder for your witty blog posts?

    Please, Joe, photos of bouncing Carl? Can he do air somersaults yet?

    Question for Mike Banas:
    – How did you get into visual effects as a career?
    – What courses did you take to learn your trade?
    – What is the most interesting part of your job?

    Patricia

    Reply
  26. Sean D. Avatar
    Sean D.

    @ JulieAloha: “- evidently not didja see the irony in your question and the post immediately following yours?”

    I didn’t see it. Actually I never (or, I should say, I rarely) read the actual comments in this particular blog. I am interested in reading Joe’s actual blog entries and I pretty much leave it at that. However, I obviously saw your comment 😉 in reply to my comment so here’s my response…

    I agree with you that the subject of “haters” or any “us vs them” would perhaps best be handled if some suitable conflict-resolution was set into place. Perhaps.

    However, with the exception to the few who offer sensible expressions of their opposing opinions on matters… the others in the crowd – aka haters – simply are not worth the time. It’s a small group too. A very loud and very obnoxious small group.

    I enjoy watching Stargate (the 1994 original motion picture), Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe. I own every single Stargate production ever released on DVD. I even watch them repeatedly. So, naturally, there isn’t going to be a lot of fuss coming from me about the productions.

    However, I have had some of my own personal differences with some aspects of each of the productions but never strong enough that I felt they warranted raising some nonsensical rants over.

    Many of the haters take things out of proportion and attempt to make their nigh-psychotic tirades sound like some so-called logical or sensible debates. It is just a waste of time.

    The most important thing to me, personally, about any Stargate show or movie is that the production stays true to the essence of what has made Stargate such an historical and legendary branch of science fiction tv shows and movies. And, in my personal opinion, what is true to the essence of Stargate is what is present in either Stargate (1994) or Stargate SG-1. And, yeah, there are some significant cross-over plot points in Stargate Atlantis that are relevant to the entire Stargate “universe”, however, bulk of that essence is in the original movie and in Stargate SG-1. I am very glad to see that Stargate Universe has been true to that “essence” of Stargate (in my opinion, of course) as was revealed to us in Stargate (1994) and Stargate SG-1. There are some obvious major differences when comparing SGU to it’s predecessors but what I mean by essence is that the spirit is still there. Changing the tone, style, giving it a paradigm shift, and such… that doesn’t lose the spirit of Stargate… it gives it a fresh take. A much needed one.

    Of course, I won’t have any objections to SGU bringing back some of that classic Stargate SG-1 style. If they form a main SG team (and perhaps even some additional SG teams) and send those 4-person teams off-world (erm, off-ship) through Destiny’s stargate to give us episodes that occur on alien planets, then I’ll be in Stargate heaven. 😉

    Though, I’m still enjoying the way SGU is going so far. I understand season 2 will spend more time exploring and discovering parts of Destiny. That sounds exciting… I just hope they give us more screen-time with 4-person teams on alien planets.

    An excellent 4-person team could be Scott, Greer, Eli, and Chloe.

    Another excellent 4-person team could be Rush, Young, T.J., and Wray.

    Anyway, I digress… while others (aka haters) might choose to rant, I’m one that chooses to rave. I enjoy all-things-Stargate and while I might have the occasional “differences” (things I wish they’d do different), I won’t waste my time or anyone else’s time by turning those differences into some crazy jabs and stabs against the writers, producers, cast, crew, family, etc.

    Anyway, you won’t find me pulling a chair up to a table or crossing my fingers with any wait-and-see attitude. Haters are haters. It’s in their DNA. They will always be around lurking and trolling in some infected corner of the world. As long as they don’t come knocking on my door, they can say whatever the hell they want. I don’t waste my time with them. 😉 I just ignore them. And in most cases, even if they do come knocking on my door, I still ignore them anyway.

    The point of my original comment the other day was that I’m hoping any discussions (or even Q&A Mailbags) in Joe’s blog can just get over the nonsense hater-related subjects and get back to “the good stuff”… as in what Joe normally posts in his blog (pretty much everything *except* for discussion over the haters and their nonsense).

    Have a nice day. 😀

    Sean D.

    Reply
  27. imadaman Avatar
    imadaman

    ‘soup Mike!
    1. What’s your favourite scene you’ve edited?
    2. What’s your favourite episode you’ve edited?
    3. What’s your favourite episode from a) SG1 b) ATL c) SGU?

    :3

    Reply
  28. aaroNiGHTS Avatar
    aaroNiGHTS

    Hey Joe, I have been following your blog for a very long time now. A number of things have been really bugging me about Stargate Universe, so I have taken the time to jot them down. I hope you enjoy the read!

    Is the Science and Technology presented in Stargate Universe Apocryphal to the established Lore?

    How was a standard Stargate located at Icarus Base able to locate and dial Destiny? (UNI:’Air, Part1’) The Milky Way Stargate network requires each Stargate to periodically dial each other to make changes to the dialing mechanism to compensate for stellar drift (SG-1’Avenger 2.0’). How was it possible for a standard Stargate to make these calculations in order to connect to the Stargate aboard Destiny? How could the standard Stargate used possibly begin to know where Destiny could be?

    It has always been stated that the addresses in the Stargate system in the Milky Way were make by charting constellations in the Earth’s night sky. Based on the look of the glyphs, the Stargates in the Pegasus Galaxy look to be constellations too, possibly mapped out in the Lantian night sky. Where do the strange looking glyphs for the ‘prototype’ Stargates come from? Are they a purely abstract symbol? Do these Stargates communicate with each other over subspace to give their position out before dialing? In one of the most recent episodes (UNI:‘Lost’) a dialing remote were shown to know all of the valid Stargates in range – including Destiny. Why do these prototype Stargates have the ability to determine what addresses are viable before dialing? It seems unfeasible that these prototype Stargates would have such advanced features yet subsequent Stargate networks constructed several million years later do not.

    Why do these prototype Stargates use relatively small handheld touch screen dialing devices, yet the far more modern Stargates in the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxies require far larger ‘Dial Home Devices’?

    Why were Destiny and the seeder ships launched with prototype Stargates? Why would such a great and long mission be placing possibly millions of Stargates that are an inferior, prototype model? Besides, wouldn’t the Ancients establish a Stargate network in the local Galaxy first before building a network to the far reaches of the universe?

    It is clear that the Ancients existed for many, many millions of years (‘Stargate: The Ark of Truth’). Atlantis left Earth and the Milky Way for Pegasus ‘Several Million’ years ago (ATL:’Rising’), and stayed there for a very long time: up until 10,000 years ago (ATL: ’Before I Sleep’). It is a fact, then, that the majority of Destiny’s lifetime has existed before the Ancients ascended to a higher plane of existence. So much so that much less than 1% of Destiny’s life has been without the Ancients. If this is the case, then why is Destiny so far out and incapable of dialing home? Has that last 1% of its journey put it past the threshold of a viable solar powered Gate trip home? More over, if Destiny is such an important ship in the Ancients plans, why is it still running outdated technology? Atlantis had been around for Millions of years, but no Ancient ever thought of upgrading the technology aboard Destiny? Did they just abandon it?

    The so called Seeder ships must be incredibly advanced. If Destiny has been going around Galaxies for so long, having a stock pile of Stargates to place on worlds is unfeasible. Do these seeder ships fly into Stars and almost magically construct Stargates out of solar power?

    Why didn’t we know more about Destiny and what it did? The database aboard Atlantis is massive (ATL:’The Siege Part 1’). While the database has been shown to have stuff hidden, such as the Replicator experiment that went wrong, (ATL:’ Progeny’) why would there not be more information on Destiny? It seems like the only information provided was the address to dial. Why didn’t the database have any information at all on what Destiny is? Did the Ancients in all their intelligence and glory just not bother to write anything down about it?

    Why would a race of people so heavily devoted to Science and “The systematic understanding of the physical world through observation and experimentation…[and] most of all, freedom of will” (‘Stargate: The Ark of Truth’) name something ‘Destiny’?

    Even with the often farfetched nature of Science fiction shows, these questions seem to be unanswerable without violating the established rules of the Stargate lore. The only conclusion I can come to is that these things were simply overlooked or ignored by the creative staff behind the show.

    Reply
  29. Kevin Avatar
    Kevin

    Hi Joe,

    I just realized that “Subversion” is airing on SyFy tonight but isn’t running on Space in Canada..we have to wait another week to see it when all along we’ve been watching it at the same time 🙁

    Not sure what is up with that. I know network airings are beyond your control but do the networks not realize that doing stuff like this ultimately damages ratings?

    It is bad enough that the final three episodes have aired already on a different continent, which were then put online and summaries posted elsewhere. I’d still watch the show anyway…but if its showing on SyFy before Space…in english..there are going to be alot of people who just aren’t going to wait another week when unfortunately they can get it online somewhere.

    I like the show…but boneheaded network decisions to air episodes before they are supposed to…or air episodes in different weeks in very similar markets is gonna do alot of damage I would think 🙁

    Reply
  30. Anais33 Avatar
    Anais33

    Hello =) ça va bien? Moi oui!! Désolé de ne pas être passé hier mais j’avais pas mal de travail.

    Lol la photo, mais c’est quoi le but de ce jeux? hum très étrange XD.

    Je ne sais pas chez vous mais ici l’été est déjà au rendez vous !! je sens que je vais bientôt retourner à la plage!!!!!

    Passez une excellent journée!
    Gros bisou ♥

    Reply
  31. amac251 Avatar
    amac251

    You know how the fans are always being critical of every little thing in an episode…well, hire a fan to sit in the spotting session and do it for you. I will be generous enough to offer my services for free!

    🙂

    Reply
  32. Lou Zucaro Avatar
    Lou Zucaro

    Re: Arctic Goddess‘s suggestion of becoming your own ISP, I’m assuming she was kidding, but uhhhh….no. You don’t want to do that.

    It requires lots of time, expense and Advil (or your anti-headache susbstance of choice) and there will still be somebody between you and the rest of the Net anyway, unless you plan to lay your own fiber network.

    Joe, I haven’t read your whole history of internet shenanigans, but have you tried Novus and / or Lightspeed? I remember reading that somebody who had trouble with Shaw and Telus in Vancouver had better luck with one of them.

    Reply
  33. Joan001 Avatar
    Joan001

    Sean D. – I agree with your thoughts totally…. on the Stargate shows as well as the rest.

    The negative website(s) are a hobby for people who just want to see if they can accomplish what they say they want. It has nothing to do with any show. It smacks of schoolyard politics when kids decide to get together to see if they can drive a victim down…. it has nothing to do with the victim or the show and I hope TPTB realize the mission of that website… I wouldn’t waste my time acknowledging them any more than this, nor, should anyone else. I have no time for such things or that part of human nature and that’s all I have to say about that.

    Reply
  34. Mackenzie's Momma Avatar
    Mackenzie’s Momma

    Hey again Joe…so uhm….I was thinking about the comment I left you the other day. I was wondering if it was okay if I post it (I’ve been pondering and I’d really like to get my thoughts out there since IMHO I was not rude or jerkish about them) but I wanted to run it by you first.

    So may I?

    Reply
  35. Joan001 Avatar
    Joan001

    Here’s a burning issue that I don’t remember being discussed…

    If the Destiny is a seeder ship, then presumably it reaches planets that don’t have stargates.

    1. Where are the stargates that it is seeding?
    2. When the Destiny stops at a planet for supplies, do the crew go through a stargate that has been just put there by Destiny, or have these stargates already been seeded.
    3. When are we going to see the Destiny at work making and distributing the stargates?

    Reply
  36. Joan001 Avatar
    Joan001

    Here’s another burning question…

    I notice emoticons and web links in some posts. How does one do this when posting?

    Reply
  37. Ludo Avatar
    Ludo

    PS: (sorry for my english !)

    Reply
  38. ancarofl Avatar
    ancarofl

    Hello Mr. Malozzi, long time lurker first-time poster here, thank you for being as kind as to give us information about SGU, and previously SGA, but I was wondering: where do they get all the stuff that couldn’t have been on board of Destiny? Like leather couches, trainers, make-up, baby clothes?

    Thank you.

    Reply
  39. JulieAloha Avatar
    JulieAloha

    Hi Joe,

    Kevin, above, made a very good point – because the rest of the season has already aired on other networks and in other countries, doesn’t that affect the ratings here (US/Canada)? If people have already watched the last eps they might choose not to watch the regularly scheduled airings; do the networks take that into consideration or are the numbers so small it doesn’t matter? There has been so much posted and discussed about ratings lately and how they affect the networks’ decisions – makes me a little paranoid about losing my SG altogether – I think I’m developing a nervous tic in response!

    Smiles, Julie

    @ Sean D: Bravo! I love the attitude and intend to emmulate it – thank you!

    @ Das: Wraith lusting again? (hands Das a handkerchief to wipe the drool off her chin) I have to admit, Todd is the most charismatic of all the wraith we’ve met, but I love all the characters Chris H has played – he is an artist!

    Reply
  40. sven Avatar
    sven

    @ aaroNiGHTS

    did you ever watch SGU or the other Shows to 100 %, did you see the whole details? The Answers of most of your questions are in these 3 shows, a few things are logical thinking

    Reply
  41. Gilder Avatar
    Gilder

    Just read a local review; sounds like a possible chocolate-party candidate.

    http://choicolate.com/

    Reply
  42. Randomness Avatar
    Randomness

    Joan, Destiny isn’t a seeder ship.

    >1. Where are the stargates that it is seeding?

    Destiny doesn’t seed planets with Stargates. But as you can see the Gates are on the worlds its visited.

    >2. When the Destiny stops at a planet for supplies, do the crew go through a stargate that has been just put there by Destiny, or have these stargates already been seeded.

    I would imagine the gates being there for a while, they are after all seeded long before Destiny arrives.

    >3. When are we going to see the Destiny at work making and distributing the stargates?

    You won’t

    Anyway Joan, I suggest watching more of the series, all this is explained in the current episodes.

    Reply
  43. Gilder Avatar
    Gilder

    Here’s the review:

    http://www.sacurrent.com/dining/review.asp?rid=14412

    I’m no conessuier…connes…expert, but say the word and I’ll make the short drive…!

    Reply
  44. dasndanger Avatar
    dasndanger

    @ JulieAloha – Todd is certainly the most charismatic of all Wraith – Chris Heyerdahl just has that certain je ne sais quoi that infuses ‘sexy’ into the characters he portrays, and Todd is no exception! Another thing that I like about Todd and the way Chris has portrayed him is that he’s actually the most animalistic and violently aggressive Wraith we’ve seen, outside of the UberWraith in Sateda. I love the contrast – one minute exchanging jokes with Sheppard, the next he’s in the middle of a feeding frenzy, or killing off queens. He does have a taste for life force AND blood, that one. 🙂

    However, I also love what James Lafazanos did with his many Wraith characters, somehow managing to give each a unique personality: Steve was poised and self-absorbed and simply the most beautiful out of the bunch; The foodie Wraith in Condemned had refined elegance, with a side of drool; the Wraith in The Defiant One was crass and cocky, the scientist in Allies was aloof and reserved and so full of arrogance; and Edward Sleazyhands (from The Hive) leered and lusted and was…well… he was what I image to be a very, VERY dirty boy. In fact, he’s the only Wraith I can imagine even thinking of meddling with his human herd, ifyouknowwhatImean. 😉

    Each was unique when James was given something more to do than just snarl and growl, and even then he added as much personality as he could with what little he was given to work with. I haven’t been disappointed with a Wraith actor yet…each and every one has somehow managed to make ‘creepy’ extremely sexy! And each brought something to their role that added to the characters, without changing the essence of the Wraith. Tyler McClendon, who played Kenny (and the Wraith in Broken Ties), is another favorite of mine. He just made Kenny soooo…I can’t think of the word. Agitated, perturbed…something like that. Just the way he’d look at the humans, as if he couldn’t believe he was taking orders from them. It was great! One can only imagine the looks he gave Todd behind his back!

    Gaaah! I really need to stop talking about these guys. Just makes me want to see more of them, more aspects of them…and knowing that there is practically no chance of that (since I have no hope left for the movie), it just makes me depressed. I really miss my minty-green fellers with the extra nostrils and sharp, pointy teeth, more than you know.

    das

    Reply
  45. Dodoalda Avatar
    Dodoalda

    Ok, I’ll try it again…
    Is Joel Goldsmith still working on SGU soundtrack? I’ve read on Gateworld that he is, but that was last October. And I haven’t read anything about that since that time. So I just wonder it’s being worked on (…or not). If you don’t know, could you please ask him? SGU’s score is beautiful and it would be a pity if he didn’t release it. Hopefully he’s gonna release it soon and hopefully you will do the mailbag tomorrow 🙂 . Thank you very much.

    Reply
  46. Gilder Avatar
    Gilder

    @Joan001

    I use tried-and-true methods. Links: copy and paste. Emoticons: keyboard symbols like semicolon, hyphen, right parentheses, which WordPress apparently converts to the graphic 😉

    Reply
  47. Tanie Avatar
    Tanie

    Ooooohhhhhh, a Q&A… woohoo!!

    1. Did you have to apply for this particular job or do you work through an ‘agent’ for want of a better word?

    2. How long have you been doing this for and what training did you have to undergo?

    3. What’s your favourite ice-cream flavour?

    4. Is Joe good to work with or is he a pain in the gluteus maximus? (kidding Joe!)

    5. Do you have any pets, and if so, are you able to take them to work with you?

    6. How long are your working hours – we hear that the actors and production crew can work up to 14hr days. Are yours shorter or about the same?

    Thanx very much Mike and have a good one! 😀

    Reply
  48. Zoomeister Avatar
    Zoomeister

    Hey, Mike.

    I just want to say I’m enjoying your SGU work so far. I have a couple of questions:

    1.) You won a Leo Award for Best Editing (congrats BTW) for your work on the SGA episode ‘Vegas.’ What do you think you did differently compared to your other SGA and SGU eps that made you recognized for that specific episode and how do you feel your methods used for Vegas compare and contrast with recent Emmy winners for Best Editing, such as the pilot episodes Dexter and Breaking Bad and the ‘ABQ’ episode of Breaking Bad?

    2.) How could you use the full methods/techniques and editing concepts used for Vegas in each episode of SGU that you do? How do you envision them being implemented in each episode?

    Thanks for answering my questions and I hope to see you win more Leos in the future and maybe even an Emmy here or there.

    Reply
  49. Jumble Avatar
    Jumble

    Hey Joe. Message for you:

    Dear Joe,

    You really need to post some new pics of yourself. We’re running out of material for our artwork.

    Love and Hugs,
    LJ

    Reply
  50. BoltBait Avatar
    BoltBait

    When Eli and Chloe are looking at the wrecked ships computer and she points to the symbol that leads to the map, Eli asks her why she chose that symbol and she basically says, “I don’t know.”

    Why?

    Why couldn’t she say something like, “That looks almost like the ancient symbol for ‘map’.” Had she done that, I would have believed that she really had been studying Daniel Jackson’s work and may be useful in the future.

    As it is now, she just got lucky… and she’s pretty much useless.

    Now a question (or seven) for Mike:

    1. How close to air date do you typically finish your work on an episode?

    2. How do you deliver your finished product?

    3. Are you the one who sends the final product to the network?

    4. After seeing your work on TV, have you ever wished you could go back and do it over again and fix something?

    5. How much time are you usually given to do your work?

    6. Do you typically work alone, or with lots of input?

    7. If you get lots of input… from who?

    Reply
  51. Craig Avatar
    Craig

    Assuming he survives the trampoline without a spotter, I suggest you charge money to folks wanting to watch Carl on the trampoline. And do tricks. In mid-ar. Think of the money you could make!

    Of course, we’d need to have an ambulance standing by just in case…

    Reply
  52. Ponytail Avatar
    Ponytail

    A question for Mike Banas: Joe wrote, “First, I snapped a pic of the creepy-looking game sitting on the top shelf of editor Mike Bananas’ shelf -“. “Bananas’ ”? Come on! Surely that is not how you make your name possessive is it? Wouldn’t that be Banas’ or Banas’es or Banas’s? And what was that creepy-looking game anyway?

    Reply
  53. maggiemayday Avatar
    maggiemayday

    Sweet swords! My heart goes pitty-pat!

    Reply
  54. dasNdanger Avatar
    dasNdanger

    @ Ponytail – HA! I read that and didn’t even catch Joe’s ‘Bananas’. I think I was too dumbfounded by the Snifty Snakes. 😕

    @ Joe – Since the Wraith don’t dismember their victims or anything (that we know of), why does the Commander’s sword have a serrated edge??

    das

    Reply
  55. Arctic Goddess Avatar
    Arctic Goddess

    @ Lou Zucaro: Yes, I was joking. I’m sure that Joe is much too busy as a writer and producer to start his own internet service company. And, I’m also sure that if he did ever decide to do so, he would be much better at it than most of the current companies out there.

    Happy Victoria day Weekend.

    Reply
  56. lkk222 Avatar
    lkk222

    on the topic of effects:

    Love: i love the grandeur of the production, it’s really cool that SGU does everything BIG (but not too big as to lack authenticity). imo Destiny flying into the sun is probably one of the most awe inspiring moments in sci-fi. It really establishes the sheer awesomeness of Destiny’s capabilities. and the Ancient’s status as the most technologically advanced race ever.

    that scene definitely established Destiny as an icon similar in stature to Terminator, or Arucard from the anime Hellsing. There is something really cool about nearly indestructible machines (or machine like entities) with a singular mission that it will carry out at all costs. (my fav terminator quotes: It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, seems to describe Destiny in many ways, Destiny has went through who knows how many thousands of battles, and it just kept on going despite being all but crippled)

    vitriol bitching/rant/certified hate speech: i hate SG weapons effects of all types. please no more slow burning red fireball explosions 🙁 they look fake and somewhat outdated. I think we’ve all grown out of that thanks in part to all the IED footage from Iraq and Af/Pak. imho Hurt Locker/Band of Brothers/Black Hawk Down style explosion looks far more realistic and modern: lots of dust, large chunks of debris flying in all directions instead of just up, powerful, fast burning military grade explosives blow things up with shock waves, only crappy, time square bomber “i-failed-terrorism 101” style explosions generate big, red, slow burning fireballs with no dust or debris

    oh and can we get Destiny some weapons upgrade? like these real life weapons

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0onqypLy10
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0z42JjBT3Q

    Reply
  57. Andy Brindley Avatar
    Andy Brindley

    Loving SGU and don’t want it to end yet!!

    I wanted to ask mike a really interesting question, but they all seem t have been asked, so am afraid that this is a bit of a boring one…
    I’m a film and tv production student at university studying towards a bachelors degree. I’m particularly keen on being an editor, as well as writer, anyway, what system do you have a choice on what editing system you use to edit sgu?? I personally prefer avid but I’m working on getting to know final cut pro, which system is used on sgu if you don’t have the choice??

    Sorry this is a long one

    Reply

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