Carrie Vaughn's "Real City" is the latest science fiction story on Futurismic, about a world where computer-generated film effects have replaced sets and locations and costumes. It's the story of a startup bent on reviving "location" films, as an art-house prestige medium, and the problems they face trying to get a screen heartthrob to adapt to the old ways. It's thoroughly engaging, a nice little romance story.
He filmed in the alley behind the RealCity offices, with a full crew on hand to make it seem more like a real set. Cass came along to watch, and felt a buzz in the air at the sight of the camera on the dolly, the boom mike, the cables, the lights, the chairs. For a hundred years, Hollywood had been filled with sets that looked like this, before the blue screens, then the three-dimensional blueboxes took over. It wasn't just a piece of history coming to life; it was a different medium being revived. Films done on location felt different, and she wondered if this hum of energy, the excitement that jumped from person to person with a glance or a word, was why.
(Thanks, Jeremy!)
