Barnabas.......a close talker

[murph]

I have noticed in the last couple weeks episodes that Barnabas is literally in the face of Rachel and Judith while he's talking to them.  Not every time but I have noticed that he is right there, much closer than most people are comfortable with.  I realize he has a thing for Rachel but there is no implication that they have become lovers and Judith is his "cousin" so I'm not implying it's sexual in nature.  Has anyone else noticed it?  From the time I was a kid Barnabas has always been my favorite character and I've never noticed this before so it makes me wonder if he does this throughout the run of the show. I hope he used a breath freshener before these scenes.  

It reminds me of the "Seinfeld" episode where Elaine dates a "close talker".  

[kuanyin]

No, I hadn't noticed. But, where an actor stands is designated by the production people, not the actor. Whether they did it intentionally for a mood or not, is anybody's guess at this point.

I don't remember that Seinfeld, but leave it to them to memorialize such a trivial, yet valid point!

[CandleLighter]

Yes  I noticed it the other day when he was talking to Judith... seemed strange to me too.

[murph]

I agree with you Kuanyin, I don't think Jonathan Frid had anything to do with how close his character stood to KLS and Joan Bennett.  I still wonder why they had him stand so-oo close to them in this time period because he has worked with these actresses many times before and I hadn't noticed it until now.  

No big mystery I'm sure I was just sharing some observations with the forum.  

Murph

[Cassandra]

I've noticed this too Murph.

 And not only with Judith & Rachel, but Quentin as well!!  ;-)

[Gothick]

At a certain point, the directors became very fond of those profile-to-profile two-shots in DS.  It's not just Barnabas; I've noticed it with Magda and other characters as well.  They are often very effective.  Presuambly the actors had to stand so close to one another in part for technical reasons, but it also amped the energy phenomenally of a given scene.

Don't fret too much, we did have good breath mints back in the Sixties!

Gothick

[LoveAtFirstBITE]

I have noticed in the last couple weeks episodes that Barnabas is literally in the face of Rachel and Judith while he's talking to them.  Not every time but I have noticed that he is right there, much closer than most people are comfortable with.

Sounds good to me.

How can anyone be too close to Barnabas' face?  

[Connie]

At a certain point, the directors became very fond of those profile-to-profile two-shots in DS.

Well, now there was an idea behind this.
You see, someone came up with the bright idea that if they could get Barnabas CLOSE enough to the other player, he would be able to see the reflection of the teleprompter in their eyes.

[Gothick]

Oh, Connie, you ARE a wicked lass.

And of course I love every second of your wickedness!

Are we going to see one of your delicious storyboards on this topic???

Steve

[Connie]

Are we going to see one of your delicious storyboards on this topic??

Well, ya never know....ya never know...

[doombuggy69]

In my opinion the worst director in the history of DS was  Henry Kaplan. Kaplan  likes to do those close talking shots, and you will see that a lot in his episodes which tend to be overly dramatic.  Another directing trick favored by Kaplan, ((which  he starts later on in 1969, after Robert Costello leaves as producer)) is a very tight close up when someone's talking.  The close up is so tight that it cuts off the persons mouth as they talk.  He was constantly zooming in on people eyes as they talked, and I  found this practice to be very sloppy and annoying.  In fact, the entire production of the series was never the same when Robert Costello left as producer in the spring of 69.  

[Julia99]

Ohhh. . where to start?  Yes I've noticed Barnabas's close-talker stance. . . I thought it odd with the character Julia. . but often their conspiring I guess. . . but i did think it odd that these two "non-lovers" always stood so close to one another.

Second, I sincerely disagree that Henry Kaplan was the worst director. (This is only MY opinion i know but i point out--) I thought he tried to make the actors seem less stagey. . i.e. walking around furniture as you truly would, not like you do on stage, moving the camera for more realistic shots. . i.e. if someone falls to the ground, the camera focuses on them there .. rather than when someone puts them on a couch and often he seemed to get more genuine emotion out of the actors than say Lela Swift who kept saying "more more" which led to more and more histrionics.

[doombuggy69]

Henry Kaplan was probably the most feared director on DS. I am sure you have heard many horror stories from the actors at the Fests pertaining to Mr. K.  He would walk into their dressing room at the end and grade their performance with an A or an F. I have not really noticed the fact that his episodes are less stagey.  There are many instances where his episodes seemed rushed and less relaxed as Lela Swift's.  In comparing Swift's direction to Kaplan's, I might point out many instances where the show would retape the last few minutes of an episode.

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Check the end of episode 1149 where Randell destroys  Roxanne by making her see the sunlight.  Kaplan's camera angles were completely off target for that last scene. In the next episode 1150, Swift is directing and sets the camera angle up just right so you see Roxanne with the cross behind her.  Kaplan had his moments, but they were few and far between IMHO.

[Julia99]

Well I have heard that he graded their performances but when i've heard the stories --they are told with a lot of humor as in pointing out his eccentricities .. . no one seemed to indicate that they were "afraid" of him. . .??  :-/  And they retaped as many of Lela's ending eps as any one elses from what i've observed but then i've just made cursory observations. . not detailed notes or a thesis on the subject.  

But now onto more important matters. . how will we survive the dearth of DS over the next few months? ?!?

[Cassandra Blair]

But now onto more important matters. . how will we survive the dearth of DS over the next few months? ?!?

I know that this time around I've been making tapes of my favorite episodes from the beginning of the series.  I'll be watching them while the show is on it's Sci-Fi imposed "hiatus."

May also try my hand at fan fic.