NEWS

__________________________
*B2T News
Ane is away in Italy this month (lucky girl), so I, Corey Ann, am taking over the newsletter for the time being. Please welcome our newest staff members! Jen, Benji, Jeremy, and Matt. You will be seeing them more and more in future issues. With the new blood, things are beginning to happen, including a help section for webmasters, as well as a more in depth Film Info section. We've added two new sections, Audio and Music, and two Countdowns/ups under the Websites section. Check back often, for the boat is forging ahead once again!

__________________________
*Titanic News
This month has been a busy one for the stars of Titanic. They have been in the news everywhere, from the Internet to TV!

James Cameron, Titanic director, wed Suzy Amis, Lizzie Calvert in Titanic, at the end of June. The couple has been dating since their meeting while on Titanic, even with Cameron still married to Linda Hamilton. Cameron's marriage to Hamilton ended in divorce shortly after the Oscars. This will be Cameron's fifth marriage, and Suzy's second.

More in Cameron-land, James Cameron is to direct his first TV Series this fall, entitled "Dark Angel." This series is about a post-apocolyptic Earth, where aliens are chasing down a human woman (sound familiar)?

Kate Winslet, heroine in Titanic, has recently been receiving death threats via the Internet. Kate, whom is six months along in her first pregnancy, has been told to take extra precautions while out in public. Kate, who has been stalked once before, is quite hesitant to alter her lifestyle. The messages were sent to the Kate Winslet Fan Club's messageboard, then forwarded to Kate's agent in London. The emails have been tracked down to a university in Greece, and no word as of yet if the stalker has been arrested.

Also in Kate news, Kate and her husband Jim, have revealed their newest project, Telltale Productions. This company will produce movies from Great Britain and Europe. Both Kate and Jim have talked excitedly about their new company, and the set release for the first "Telltale Production" is in late 2001.

Leonardo DiCaprio has been consistently proclaiming that he and supermodel Gisselle are "just friends." But reports have said that they have been seen "all over each other" in numerous elite clubs throughout New York City. There is also a picture of the two together on the beach, walking Gisselle's dog, in last weeks People Magazine (also includes a quote from Titanic villain Billy Zane). Leo has also agreed to "go live" over the Internet this summer while at a spa in Long Island. This is a recent "rage" with the Hollywood set. Of course, Gisselle will be accompanying Leo.

And finally, Gloria Stuart will receive a star on the Walk of Fame for all of her hard work with Hollywood. Stuart, who's latest movie was Titanic in 1997, is very happy about this honor.

MONTHLY STUFF

*Wallpaper by Jen

Based on the quote: "Close your eyes. Do you trust me?"

Why I chose this quote?
I chose this quote because the flying scene is probably my favorite scene. I saw how they accomplished the digital effects (Kate and Leo on the bow of Titanic with the sunset and view of the whole ship with the ocean) on a show on digital arts last year, so it's amazing to see how many different parts were incorporated by computer into the scene that we see in the final version. The scene is also haunting in a way, because Jack and Rose are expressing their love and trust for one another, but it is the last sunset that Titanic ever sees. The soft, echoing music adds to this whole sense as well. Finally, this scene displays the grandeur of Titanic during the day for one last time- it seems to glow in the sunset.

GRAPHIC SETS

"Chased by Lovejoy"

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

Copal: http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/sets/chase/1.html
Matthew: http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/sets/chase/2.html
Ane: http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/sets/chase/3.html
Taryn: http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/sets/chase/4.html
Corey: http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/sets/chase/5.html

*Scene Facts:

Often noted as a goof, Rose's "giving the finger" is actually current with the time period. This gesture dates back centuries, when the Romans first started using it as in insult to their enemies.

COPAL'S QUEUE

Sometime during your graphic-making you'll be adding text to an image. I've tried to do many different effects with text and they will always add finishing beauty to a well composed graphic. Before I get into just adding the text, I will always suggest that you consider the text along with your image. One of the greatest flaws I see is text over faces and key parts of pictures, especially on buttons. Since you have mastered making collages (thanks to my feathering help in the "Making graphics pop" series, right?), it'll be easy to add text.

With Photoshop 5, you need to select the type tool: http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/copal/jul00_1-tool.jpg

Click the "I" cursor that appears onto the image. A dialog box will appear and you can choose any font, size, and more:
http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/copal/jul00_2-dialog.jpg

But what are these other options? The color will be the foreground color and you can change it by double-clicking on the colored box in the dialog box. "Leading" is the amount between each line of text, quite like double-spacing a word document. "Tracking" is the amount of space between each letter on the same line. When you have an unusual space to fill with text in your collage, "Tracking" can make it seem like your text was made to fit there. Remember negative numbers can be used too, so you aren't limited to the default Tracking each font gives you. "Baseline" determines whether you want certain letters higher than others.

I always leave "Auto-Kerning" and "Anti-aliasing" checked because they both help in keeping the text clean. Kerning is Photoshop's way of keeping different sized letters equally spaced. You see, a letter like "i" is thinner than w, so "Auto-Kerning" makes sure that it doesn't look strange and flows evenly. I explained "Anti-aliasing" in a previous article, and it essentially smoothes curves.

The changes will only apply to the highlighted text. The only thing that can't be different within the same layer of text is the color. You'll have to just make two layers of text. While the dialog box is up you can move the text. (You can also move it with the "Mover" tool

Once you've finished your text and click "OK" edit the text by clicking on the "T" in the text's layer:
http://back-to-titanic.com/waves/copal/jul00_3-edit.jpg

More on text and effects will appear in the August issue. Have questions? Just write to copal@back-to-titanic.com.


NOTE: This time around I've included URLs to images to help you understand what I'm talking about. I hope it helped and I'll be using it in the future. You might wonder how I got the screenshots, and it's quite easy. Bring up the window you want to capture (even if it's not in Photoshop) and hit the "Print Screen" button. If you want to capture just the selected window, press Alt+"Print Screen".

COREY 'S INTERVIEWS

This month's interview is with Judy Prestininzi, primary extra on Titanic. Judy was in many scenes in Titanic, having some screen time with each area. Her experience is quite interesting!

Judy, who are you, and what was your part in Titanic?
I was mostly 3rd class [extra]. In the very beginning you can see my younger son and I on the forward well deck of the ship. We are right in the middle and there are only 3 of us. Then you can see me in the 3rd class dance. I am on the floor as Kate and Leo are dancing on the platform. I have on a light brown top and a dark brown skirt. I am on the deck when Kate jumps out of the lifeboat to run back to Leo. I have a brown shawl over my head. I am in the prayer group, right up front with the gray scarf. When the ship goes down and Kate comes to the surface I am directly to the left of the screen and you can hear me scream "Help us." I am the second to the last dead person that is picked up out of the water but we look like silhouettes. There are other pieces and parts of me throughout the film, but you have to know where to look. I am in James Cameron's Titanic on pg. 103, right behind Cora and 131 up front with the gray scarf. In the Illustrated Screenplay: The set of pics for pg.139 shows the group of us in the water, you see a woman reaching for a man, I am right above her.

Judy, what was your typical day like?
Long and hard. Always on set for at least 14 hours or more.

What are your thoughts on the final outcome of the movie? Did you like the movie or not?
When the film finally came out we arranged our own Extra's Premier in San Diego. We had nearly 400 that came. It was amazing. None of us knew what to expect. We loved it!

Did you contribute anything personally to the movie? Ideas or suggestions??
It all depends on how you look at it... I contributed myself and I was determined to do my best. I did a lot of helping out as much as I could. Like helping new people get to where they needed to be, following directions and doing things for the people in charge.

What have you learned from this experience?
That not everyone is cut out for this type of work. You have to be patient, listen, do what you are told, pay attention to everything going on around you. It is hard work, especially in action films.

Did you work with James Cameron directly? Was he as bad as he is said to be?
Yes, I did. He began calling my by name the second day. He applied my bloody make-up and called me his Bloody Dead Chick. Yes, he was demanding, but something you never hear is that he appreciated our hard work and told us so and thanked us too. If he got mad at you he would usually apologize. If you did good he praised you. I was fortunate enough to receive more praise, but I did get yelled at a couple of times. I never took it personal, it was all during the course of some very difficult filming.

If you could do it again, would you? Why/why not?
Absolutely, I would love to work with Cameron again! I wanted to see everything, do everything and meet everyone! Despite all the hardships, it was an awesome experience!

If you could change anything, what would you change and why?
Yes, I would change the way that they served our food and kept us separate from the crew. The food we had was horrible.

If you could be invisible and go back in time and watch a certain area of production, what would you watch?
I would love to see the scene the the water was dumped on the dome and be able to see the way the models were used up in the LA studios.

Did you meet any of the cast members?
Yes, Kate, Leo, Billy, Danny, Jason (gave him a ride to his hotel)! Gloria, Suzie Amis, Bill Paxton, all of Gaelic Storm (still see them!), Simon Crane and most all of the stunt crew, the sound crew, camera crew (i.e. Russ Carpenter), Jimmy Muro, the lighting crew, special effects, Don Lynch, Ken Marschall, Tom Nicolai, Gene Rizzardi, Rob Lugato, Jon Landau (producer), Josh McLaglen (Assis. Dir.), Sebastian Silva (Assis. Dir.), Bo Bobak (Assis. Dir.), Trish O'Neil, Ed Marsh (author of Cameron's Titanic and behind the scenes doc filming) & last but not least Jim Schmidt, Cameron's personal bodyguard and the man you see combing the other guy for lice!

That is all for this month's issue of Making Waves! See you next month!