*B2T News
Yes, this issue is quite late! We do apologize for the delay. Ane has gone and disappeared on us again, so this is Corey Ann, stepping in again and trying to get the newsletter out! =)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! August marks the 1 year anniversary of Making Waves. Thank you to all of our readers for sticking by us, and reading the newsletter. Hopefully this is the first of many to come!

In other news for the site, look for more and more biographies to be popping up in the Film Info section. Also make sure to stop by our Links section and add your site to our link database.

Coming soon is our Webmaster section, being run by Jen, AKA SWStar. This section is sure to be a hit. It will be of tips and secrets to make your website a success.

*Titanic News
In August's issue of Premiere Magazine, Bill Mechanic talks about Titanic, among his many other films, as he steps down as the CEO of FOX.

Kate Winslet is down to her final weeks of her pregnancy. In the past month Kate and hubby Jim have bought two homes to ensure the safety and privacy of their newborn-to-be.

Leo and supermodel Gisselle have seemed to have parted ways. Neither party seem to have taken the breakup hard.

*Wallpaper by Matt

Based on the quote: "When the ship docks, I'm getting off with you."

Why Matt chose this quote:
I think the quote and scene 'When the ship docks, I'm getting off with you' is one of Rose's happiest moments while on board the Titanic. She had planned her life with Jack and just wanted to get away from Cal and her family. But it all tragically ends when the ship hits the iceberg.

URL of this month's wallpaper:
http://back-to-titanic.com/dl/wall/waves/aug00_ship-docks.jpg

*Rare Picture
http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/pic-month/aug00_photo-sketch.jpg

*Titanic In August's History
Sadly, there are no major Titanic events in August.

"The Heart of the Ocean"

Each month we have been making graphic sets surrounding a particular scene or theme from Titanic. This month's theme is the Heart of the Ocean. Enjoy the graphics, but remember that you must give credit to B2T when using these on your websites.

Mark: http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/sets/hoto/1.html
Jen: http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/sets/hoto/2.html
Corey: http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/sets/hoto/3.html

*Scene Facts:
The Heart of the Ocean's story is actually loosely based on the story of the Hope Diamond.

In the scene when Old Rose tosses the Heart into the ocean, this is actually filmed in the ocean, not in a tank as many believe.

When Old Rose remarks, "it was a dreadful heavy thing, I only wore it this once." Cameron contridicted himself, for Rose wore the heart the night she received it.

No jewels of this value were lost when Titanic sank. There are rumours however that there was a box full of diamonds on board, but these were never recorded in the cargo manifest.

Numerous hearts were created for the movie, most were created with cheap metal and glass.

Transparent GIFs

How do you get a graphic to be anything but a square? What if you wanted an oval where you could still see the background around it? This is done by making transparent GIFs, which are not difficult with Photoshop 5, but it's a somewhat hidden feature.

The JPG format doesn't support transparencies, so you will have to use GIF, which will limit your selection of colors. Don't worry, though, it won't be drastic.

1. Open an image. "File | New" with any dimensions, for this one I'm using this one: http://back-to-titanic.com/img/heart_cal-enter-2.jpg

2. Select the oval selection tool by holding down the mouse and move over to the dotted oval symbol:
http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/copal/aug00_1-tool.jpg

3. Make a selection by holding down the mouse button on the image and drag it:
http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/copal/aug00_2-select.jpg

4. "Edit | Copy" then "File | New" Make the background Transparent, instead of White or Background Color. The dimensions will be those of the oval you just copied. "Edit | Paste" into the new image.

5. "File | Export | GIF89a Export" A dialog box will appear: http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/copal/aug00_3-dialog.jpg

6. Double-click on the grey box and choose a color that is close to most of the colors in your background. Choose off-white for mostly white backgrounds, and dark grey for mostly black backgrounds. Experiment with different colors and see which makes the edge seem the least jagged.

7. Click "OK". You might experiment with the "Preview" and different amounts of color. Decreasing the colors will make the graphic load faster, but sometimes it might make them look work. Previewing it will help so you don't have to keep going through the steps.

8. Another dialog box will appear, so just go through the folders and save it just like any other file.

Notice that I didn't use feathering on the oval selection. Using feathering with transparent GIFs can make the edge around your image look strange. There is no partial transparency. It's either transparent or it's solid. So if you have an image with a lot of feathering it will just make the partial pixels solid. Sometimes it can still be hidden, and Photoshop 5.5 deals with this slightly better, but this is the limit of transparent GIFs.

Next time, at long last, I'll be teaching you the magical shortcuts in making seamless frames.

This is the second half of my interview with Judy P., a primary extra from Titanic. I had the pleasure of meeting her last month, along with Don Lynch. The next issues will be dedicated to the trip, and my adventures.

Judy, did you take any momentos? Or did you receive any?
I have many items from the set, but almost everything I salvaged from where they dumped the set after production finished. I have a Carpathia blanket, a crew sweater, those were given to me. I have purchased items and traded things.

Judy, how did you get the job?
I went to a casting call in downtown San Diego, stood in line, filled out a 1 page application, took a picture and waited for almost 3 months for a call.

Judy, were you interested in Titanic prior to the job?
Yes, I developed an interest in Titanic when I was about 7 yrs. old, when I first saw the Barbara Stanwyk version.

Judy, have you been in any other movies?
No, but I was a guest on the set of Renegade a couple of times.

Judy, if you could meet anyone that was on the actual ship, who would that be?
I have met Mellvina Dean, she is great! I would have really liked to have met Molly Brown. I have been told by many, including her Great Granddaughter Muffet Brown, that I resemble her....weird!

Judy, if you had the chance to sail on the new Titanic, would you?
Yes, I would love it. I would like to go and be a speaker for the trip.

Judy, would you go down to the wreck?
I don't think so. I know what it was like for others and I don't think I would enjoy not having a bathroom for that length of time! Things would have to progress a bit more for me to go.

Judy, if you were on the Titanic, what would you have done to save yourself?
Gotten on a life boat!

Judy, would you have left your loved one behind?
No I would not.

Favorite scene? Least favorite?
Well, that could mean two things for me. My favorite filming...there were many, like when I was in the water with Kate, the poop deck, night shooting outside and when I got to play 1st Class. My favorite to watch...Gloria Stuart's scenes.

My least favorite filming...the 3rd Class dance, that was the most uncomfortable set of all. Never got below 95 degrees. Southampton was boring sometimes. My least favorite to watch....Kate running around below deck looking for Leo and then Kate and Leo running around trying to get out.

Favorite memory from the set?
The people I was able to meet and friendships that I still have. That I got to meet Arnold S.! The daily journal that I kept (trying to get published) and all the signatures that I have. Most important...the feeling of accomplishment and being part of something like this.

Any final comments?
We have become a part of Titanic's history. Those of us that were there have a perspective of Titanic that no one else has now. I have been able to experience most of her glory, touch things that have been lost to time and feel the loss in a way that is hard to explain. I hope that the memories of those that built her, survived her and perished with her will never be forgotten.

Thank you Judy for allowing me to interview you!

Titanic: An Illustrated History
Text by: Don Lynch
Paintings (majority) by: Ken Marschall

While scanning the sale shelves I came across a Titanic section, with about 10 books all marked down to around $5 a piece from their original $30- $50 price tags. I had the extra money and decided to splurge, purchasing over $25 in Titanic books that I had not purchased before.

The best buy out of this collection was my softback copy of this book, which is undoubtedly the definitive book on Titanic. There is not one item that was amiss, nor one correction that I could throw in. Most Titanic books on the shelves have something in them that in incorrect, and I was pleasantly surprised to find none.

This book goes more in depth into the passenger's stories than any other I have read prior to this. If you are curious about what the passengers were feeling that night, I suggest you run out and purchase this book immediately. I mean NOW! =)

Don also managed to intercede the mechanical aspects of the story as well, without drawing your attention away from the emotional turmoil that the passengers were going through. This is the first historical book on Titanic where I have actually been able to clearly imagine myself upon her decks, running towards a lifeboat with the rest of the frightened passengers, but yet able to know what the crew was thinking and feeling as well. Quite an achievement!

Also in this book are numerous "inserts" which tell mini-stories of various tales surrounding the Titanic, and her sinking. These stories include the mystery third ship and the orphans of the Titanic. All of these stories have fascinating insights, some of which I had never heard before, into various arguments over aspects of the sinking and its aftermath.

Throughout this book are numerous pictures, some of which are from private collections, which help bring life to those on the Titanic, as well as to the ship itself. Many of the pictures were previously unreleased, so seeing many of these is a treat within itself. If you are a picture freak like I am, you will spend hours just pouring over the pictures.

This is all wonderfully wrapped up in the simply breathtaking paintings by Ken Marschall. Ken's genius for art is amazing. The paintings are so lifelike that some of them you could swear were pictures of the ship and the wreck, not paintings. Ballard himself says as much in the forward of this book. His pictures complete the blanks there were left in the heads of many when imagining the Titanic as she was.

This book has quickly steered itself into the number one slot of all my Titanic books, knocking the Discovery Channel's book to a distant second. To any Titanic fan whom is yet to read this book, I strongly suggest that you get this book, and prepare yourself for a trip back in time, to a world far gone, and a place unknown. When you return, you will be a complete different person, I know I was.

Making Waves will last
As long as Jack's love for Rose
Promise, never let go