|
SERIOUS HISTORY
Most people are familiar with Serious Grip's role in saving the planet from extinction, and their heroic role in saving the free world from enslavement by Neanderthals, but there is much more to their incredible story. Founded in 1983 by a consortium of the world's greatest minds, Serious Grip & Electric has thrilled millions with sensitive and bold improvements in the motion picture arts and sciences. Though many have tried to lure Serious into changing its focus to medicine, DNA research, or creation of a unified theory of physics, the company remains committed to excellence in the practice of motion picture lighting and rigging, especially as it relates to the commercial television advertisement.
Recent trends in ecology and energy independence have prompted the Serious team to seek out sustainable and more Earth-friendly methods of quartz-halogen lamp production. Our initial tests have been fruitful, and the first of our new organic 10K tungsten bulbs should be available for rental sometime around her first birthday.
Stewart Stack was born around 1573-76. His birthplace and early circumstances have been speculated on by academics for decades. Contrary to the groundswell of popular opinion scholars insist he is almost certainly not the author of the plays of William Shakespeare. He first appears in recorded history as an assistant to Carvaggio, where he lit the setup for many of his best works, including The Calling of St. Matthew. It was through his association with the great masters of art, and his admiration of the way light played off the emerging form of the young Lucrecia Borgia that cemented Stewart's resolve to become a world-class gaffer. Stewart's talents were not fully realized in the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries. During this time he worked at odd jobs and admired women who were able to keep their teeth. It was only through the clever administration of his pension funds from the assistants guild that he was able to amass his prodigious fortune which he on the 19th Century turned over to a non profit foundation to encourage the work of his many friends: Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Carl Zeiss and others. These associations, as well as earlier relationships with people such Louis Fresnel and Thomas Young laid the groundwork to create the Motion Picture Industry that we know today.
Anne Brant Stack started life as a perfectly respectable young woman. She played the clarinet, attended her neighborhood church, and twirled flaming batons for sporting events. Her hellish spiral began innocently enough with a little sketching and drawing. Examination of some of her early textbooks by social historians has revealed doodling in the margins, which may have led to more serious use of drawing pads and sketchbooks. Despite her frequent use of sketchbooks, Anne was still a productive member of society. Life might have turned out differently if she had not turned to painting and sculpture. Inevitably, she ended up on a film set doing props and set dressing. Anne is now participating in a court ordered seven-step rehab program for recovering crew types, which allows her to continue her work with Serious as long as she sticks to handling the money.
Dan Stack was born Milton Shaw, Jr. in August of 1982, but showed an early affinity for cars and burger joints and moved over to the Stack family because he feared exercise and tofu poisoning. Dan was taken in by the red meat eating Stack clan & raised in the best tradition of working class values, but was sorrowfully disappointed when he realized that being the boss's son didn't mean squat to grips. He would apparently need to work for a living. He tried to improve himself by attending an institution of higher learning, but he had a grip belt before he was 12, so he never had a chance.
Someone has to know where all the stingers, spare bulbs, and skeletons are kept. Behind Ryan Gallo's affable exterior is a steely hard manager who rules the shop at Serious with an iron fist. We love him, though, for his velvet glove. Ryan has a troubled past as a Washington insider, but we at Serious have formed a support group to help him come to terms with his past sins. We welcome him to his new career outside the beltway, and would never get anything done without him.
Most folks working on the crew side of the motion picture industry are, of course, familiar with the Vaeth-Levin series on diet and exercise for the modern grip or electric. We are proud to partner with Ben in his research into biorhythms on set. Ben has finally been able to regulate his heart and respiratory systems to well within a quarter of a cycle of 60 Hz. With a day's notice, he can switch to 50 Hz for PAL production. By achieving the proper biorhythm for the shoot, Ben is able to foster a stress free working environment for people working both above and below the line, resulting in lower budgets, better products and longer more enjoyable lunches. We are looking forward to a long, enjoyable and profitable association with this exceptional talent.
Private Matthew Spencer was a Union casualty of Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863. He took a lead ball at the Angle, after dispatching five Confederate infantrymen. As he held a bead on a sixth, he became a victim of friendly fire as a rifleman to his eight o'clock lost control of his weapon owing to factors including sudden impalement on a dull-but-insistent Confederate bayonet. Some of Spencer's immediate comrades, whose apparitions appear infrequently in the break room after midnight and before dawn, claim that it was Spencer's fifth confederate kill at the Angle that turned the tide of the battle. When images of Pvt. Spencer started to appear in photographs taken around the shop, we initially thought we must have gotten some of Matthew Brady's secret Civil War era experimental 5247 film mistaken for recanned raw stock, but the apparition persisted into the digital age, so the Serious Board of Directors concluded that there was a phantom in our midst. The Board made contact through its long association with the dead Elvis, and Pvt. Spencer has of late taken on a fully quickened form, enabling him to handle equipment, collect payroll and benefits, and hold a Union card.
Zach “Deep Dish” Frederick comes to Serious from the distinguished international π institute. The Serious Human Resource Department was perplexed. Having heard the folks from π are squares, there was some concern about the suitability of the applicant. Zach has won us over with his skateboard stylings and incredible culinary skills. His ability to whip up a tasty π in the shop from the standard grip truck load list has fascinated us almost as much as his ability to light his creation and move the camera around it so skillfully as to make the viewer salivate and furiously crave one of his delicious deep dish πs. Welcome and bon appitite.
Using dual control tracks, a subsonic infrared backbeat, and an ultraviolet ultrasonic cymbal ride, Jena exercises astonishing command and control of the visual spectrum, while her relentless right foot HMI kick keeps the shop pumping along at a vigorous pace. We are proud to have her with the band.
It's not easy growing up Tungsten. Sired by a 12k Maxi Brute and a 4K Supersoft, Mark Burchick grew up alongside siblings Junior, Senior, Inkie, Mickey and "Deuce." Throughout Mark's youth, the Burchicks were mired in a bitter feud with a family of HMI pars. Their community was nearly torn apart by top and bottom meat-axe cuts and prejudices. All along, Mark secretly yearned to be HMI, fantasizing about playing outside in daylight, but he eventually came to appreciate the warmth of his own family. We at Serious are proud of Mark for maintaining a strained-yet-cordial relationship with our HMI and LED fixtures with dignity and grace.
Matt Came Back. Upon opening the shop one recent morning, we were very pleased to find that Matt had dropped back in on us. We aren't sure where he had been, and he's been no help at all sorting it out, but he has been welcomed back into the fold with open arms. Since his mysterious return, Matt has revolutionized the organization of expendibles, restructured and revamped our fabrication facilities, and breathed new life into lunchtime philosophical discussions on the nature of gripdom. Welcome back, Matt. Keep on turning.
Heeding the siren-call of his shadowy and mysterious masters, Rew Laing burst forth into the shop from a summoning circle track, bringing with him a deep interest in the Occult and Darkest Arts. We’ve since smudged the track in question, so renters can remain confident that their dolly setups will not intersect with the plains of unreality and conjur the spirits of long dead gaffers, thus screwing up the company payroll.
Drawn to plumb the depths of the history of the motion picture arts and sciences, Ivan Figgs came to Serious intent on performing an archaeological survey of Ryan’s desk. Among the many precious and curious items Ivan uncovered were the original set of keys to the 3-ton, (2) RTS 1200 fresnel headers, 4 still-sealed cans of lunch salmon, and the Chalice of the Immortal Citroni. We welcome Ivan and his many treasures, and look forward to his paradigm shifting future discoveries.
|
|
Home - To the top |
