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^AO<M in the . spotlight Bebitrff theScenes How they make him fly A few months after Stephen Cannell, creator and executive producer of ABC-TVs "The Greatest American Hero," asked the burning question, "Can you make the guy fly?," actor William Katt, who plays reluctant hero Ralph, spent five working days dangling in the air while a space-age camera twisted around him. To achieve the illusion of flying, Cannell turned to Magicam, a special visual effects house in Hollywood that welcomed the chance to extend the state of the art Aerodynamically, our hero Ralph is a failure. In his first at tempt to fly, he careens down a cluttered alley, barely skimming over the rooftops and scraping around a brick wall before he finally crashes into a building. Hodding Carter "Inside Story" examines how the press handles news "Inside Story" is a weekly television news magazine about the news business, which airs over PBS The show features Hodding Carter, former Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, as its anchorman and chief correspondent.* The series, which was created for public television by Ned Schnurman, executive' producer, utMzes film, tape and commentary tQ illustrate and examine how the press--including television and radio news, newspapers and news magazines--handle developments in the news. The programs'concentrate on how well the news consumer is served by the press coverage. "Inside Story" includes specific examples of what the program's editors consider to be good or bad press- performance,, feedback from those who themselves are criticized on the series, commentary by Mr. Carter on first Amendment issues, privacy, and other issues of concern to both the press and the public. In addition to examining coverage of national and international stories, the series regularly provides insights and corrifmfentary on local coverage around the country, concentrating on print and broadcast news away from the New York- Washington axis. "This project is consistent with everything I have worked for in my professional and public life," Mr. Carter said. "We are not out to 'get' the press but to examine its performance with care. The press is an institution virtual­ ly all Americans depend on and it should be a subject for public scrutiny, as other institutions are." Also included among the program's weekly features are brief segments on the foibles of the news business by the comedy team of Bob and Ray (Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding). According to Mr. Schnurman, "Bob and Ray Idol help to keep things in perspective for us. Most of what goes on in the news is a very serious matter, but any business which takes itself too seriously is bound to lose some of that perspective." I " M " c h c c k t u r f w w u f e w T I M C Ik r.OMPlMO'. SIMVK.IS IN' The first step in filming this sequence was to film the background plates. In thus cape, a camera crew went To Pasadena to film a trash-filled alley. A com puterized camera zoomed out and panned up the alley as if to follow Ralph in the first moments of his flight The camera moves were recorded into a computer terminal to be duplicated later in the studio. The other harrowing parts of Ralph's first flight were filmed using an exact miniature replica of the alley. Under controlled conditions, matching the daylight in the Pasadena alley, the camera crew A spent two days flying a special through the m,nia,ure a"ey t0 assimilate Ralph's flight from various points of view. The final Mming step took ( place on Stage 29 at Para- ^ ^„ 1 mount where a blue screen completely filled the stage The computerized camera, ukf-ui using same movements filmed in the real alley in Pasadena, followed William Katt, dressed in his red flying suit, as he took his three steps and with the aid of a pulley system leaped into the air. The first sequence was complete. The perspective of the camera movements in the studio matched the camera movements in the original background plate perfectly. The completed plates of the alley background and Katt against the blue screen were then wed in a process called elec tronic composite printing. To complete this task, Magicam used a custom process projector to record the two pieces of film on a high-resolution video tape. This high quality composite image was then transferred back to film. The completed flying se quences were now ready to be integrated into the master print for final editing for the two-hour premiere of "The Greatest American Hero." When it appeared on television, Ralph's first flight down thr alley lasted >5 seconds TV COMPMM MimCIt MC