caffienekitty | SPN ...meta? And poll, sort of: Spotlights.

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SPN ...meta? And poll, sort of: Spotlights.

The Case of the Missing Spotlights
All screencaps from Supernatural.tv

While I was in the midst of crazy-work hell, it was pointed out to me that the reason Sam doesn't use the Impala spotlights in 'Ghostfacers' to spotlight the ~~losers~~ lurkers in the shrubbery and has to use a weeny little flashlight, like so:

not the nice bright powerful spotlights like they used waaaay back in Hookman:

You know, the spotlights that have always been on the car, waiting patiently for their time to *koff* shine? Yeah those spotlights. The ones Sam isn't using. The reason he's not using them is that the Impala no longer has spotlights.

I repeat. The Impala's spotlights have been removed. They're gone, vanished, no longer connected, excised from the Impala completely. See?

No spotlights! How the hell did I miss this? Nevermind, I know. It's got four letters, starts with w and rhymes with 'jerk'. :-P

Apparently there is a set report out there somewhere that mentions a fan talking to the Impala-wranglers, who said that one of the directors ordered them removed, but the crew wouldn't say which director for fear of... reprisals....

So let's figure it out. After all, we need to know who to ~~lynch blame~~ thank for ~~defacing~~ altering the Impala. *koff* *hides rope*

So, going back to Bedtime Stories:

Still there.

Fresh Blood?

Yep. Still there too.

A Very Supernatural Christmas?

Absolutely.

Malleus Maleficarum?

Yep.

Dream a Little Dream?

A-HA! There are no spotlights in Dream a Little Dream! See?

And that is the 'actual' Impala, not the 'dream' Impala, or I'm sure there'd be a fine pile of meta about Dean's subconscious Impala lacking lights to find his way demonstrating how lost he really feels about all the deal stuff, but no. That's the "Driving up into the random clearing before naptime" Impala. No spotlights. Therefore it's a reasonable assumption that the director of this episode had them removed, yes?

Which makes the director responsible for removing the Impala's spotlights (according to IMDB) *drumroll*

Steve Boyum.

Mr. Boyum? You have defaced the Impala and this cannot be allowed to pass unremarked (Although probably other people have remarked on it I've just missed it because I was ~~in hell~~ at work). HOWEVER!!! You also directed a damn fine episode (actually two because Crossroad Blues was pretty awesome too). So in lieu of a lynching, have some retcon in the form of a poll:

[Poll #1183896]
(I believe

kentawolf may have dibs on the Mothman one.)

Come on! Bring your explanations! Heck, fic them! The truth must be known!

ETA: SEE this thread in the comments for a first-hand account from

blacklid!

ETA Again: And you also may want to watch this space... (Brought to you by the awesome

noirbabalon)

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

What spotlights? Oh...those. I never noticed them before. I think Sam removed them cuz they were annoying. No seriously...I never noticed they had spotlights before so I never noticed they took them off so i do not have a theory on this

I'm probably too detail-oriented for my own good on some of this stuff. I noticed them right from the pilot, so I'm totally shocked I missed their absence until Ghostfacers. They were like a kind of outward sign of the car's inner abnormality.

*has spent the last 10 minutes looking at screen caps* Huh. I think I just thought those were mirrors or something.....weird. Where did they go?! AH *tries to come up with a feasible theory*

It's totally for camouflage. Of course they removed them to make it less likely that the police might tag them. *blinks* Whatdaya mean hand-waving plot holes away? This is a perfectly legitimate explanation! ;-P

Words cannot express my anger! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF REASON COULD YOU HAVE FOR REMOVING THE SPOTLIGHTS!?

Honestly, Kripke or Kim Manners are the only people who have the right to ask that they be removed. Mostly because if they would have ordered it, there'd be a damn good reason!

Yeah, it'll blend right in with all the other mint condition black '67 Impalas out on the road now. ;-)

Totally! I mean they even had Dean put them back on when he rebuilt the Impala, why the heck take them off now? And for a guest director?

They got popped by cops/game wardens for spotlighting deer and had to take the spotlights off.

(This may or may not have happened to someone I know...)

OH MY GOD!!!11!!1!!!

I am thoroughly disgusted and appalled that the spotlights were removed from our baby and am actually really kinda pissed that someone can just walk in and do that without even asking our permission first!!!

I am also repulsed by the fact that I DIDN'T NOTICE. Shame the fuck on me.

I heard one person ask why the hell Sam didn't use the spotlight when they finally had a good reason too and I just blew it off for some reason but no one besides you went through this much investigation as far as I know and I'm glad you did! How do we fix this?!?!

I voted transformer by the way. :)

Hm... Between roadside diners they decided to hunt up some venison steak for variety?

I know! Dude! It's heinous! If it was Kripke or Kim Manners, it'd be more palatable, but it was a guy who only directed two (admittedly kickass) episodes! What the hell?!

I didn't notice at first either and I think it might be (besides Mystery Spot and Jus-in-Bello being incredibly distracting episodes(although I remember a brief 'hey where's the spotlight?) before being distracted by the psycho-Sammy in the Mystery Spot Wednesday montage) that they didn't have any decent, clear, indisputable shots of the front end of the Impala in those episodes. Not that I could find anyways. Call me paranoid, but it's like they were hiding that they'd been taken off.

Fixing or explaining in fic is one thing, on the show? I have no idea. Letter-writing? Add it to the "Bring back KAZ 2Y5" lobbying which is probably going on? Spread the word?

What annoys me about it on a real-world level is that prior to them being removed, show could easily save a bit of budget money by re-using Impala driving shots from prior seasons. Now if they do, the spotlights will be on the drive-by shot, and not on the car in the episode, and look like sloppy editing work. :-P

I know they've already re-used Impala shots and you're totally right. It will seem kind of dumb to have them there one second and not the next.

Dean: "Sam, I can't see out of that corner of the windshiled, take off that spotlight over there while I'm driving 85mph down this stretch..."
Sam: "Uhhhhh....."
Dean: "Just shut up and do it!"

And then a few weeks later when Sam is bitching that a flashlight just won't cut it, Dean has him put the spotlights back on while he's driving 90mph down some stretch, and it's raining to boot. HAHA

PS I hope you don't mind but I linked to this in the Metallicar thread at TWoP. I can edit my post if you want. Sorry I didn't ask first!

I don't mind at all. I was looking for the Metallicar thread last night and couldn't find it.

I've got an image now of Sam with his head hanging out the window like a dog, only with a massive bitchface, messing with the spotlights and grumbling.

My theory is that Dean was forced to offer up the spotlights to a bunch of aluxob as an offering so that they would release Sammy. (They had tied him to a tree, you see and weren't letting him down unless they got something a bit better than peanut m&ms.)

:: runs off to write fic ::

Ok. Is it just me or do the spotlights in Fresh Blood not match the ones in the other screen caps? They look cone shaped and the other ones look not... and... are they attached in a different spot?

....

I'm going to be watching reruns all day because of this, aren't I?

Hee! I like that image! Poor Sam.

I believe it's always in the boys will be boys area since she is a main charcter in her own right. :)

Hi THERE.

My internet wifey,

blacklid, you know, the one who bought John Winchester's TRUCK? I sent her this link so she can come respond promptly to the question.

She noticed when she visited and has the answer "from the horse's" - or rather the head of the transpo team's - mouth.

I'll let her tell you. A POSTCARD CAMPAIGN TO GET THEM BACK WOULD BE GREAT.

Sophie

I can't believe I missed your post...so much more direct and of the concern and evidence. Directed over here by salinasvalley when I posted the same question to Supernatural_tv (a day late, a dollar short and no bloody clue! to quote a friend) So there I was and I'm thinking in Ghostfacers why aren't they using the Impala's spotters?

gigglingkat suggested a postcard campaign and I am lining up behind her and the idea. Have the perfect pic to send (screen cap here http://repro-network.net/super/eps204.html ) Can we use one of these if we credit?

How to co-ordinate?

Bring back the Spotters! :-) (I'm not on crack. I'm not. just living in denial)

OMG, I can't wait to read her comment. I would LOVE to know what exactly happened. Cause this is ridiculous! Bring spots back! Bring sposts back! *chants*

Heheh, cool.

Nope, they're the same lights. When not in use they are flipped down so the back of the light is forward, and it's kind of streamlined so that it doesn't drag excessively when they're driving. From some angles they look pointy, from others they don't. They do shift position from time to time, because they are movable and stuff. There's a handle on the inside of the car for flipping them up and aiming them at things. You can see it in the background of a few Impala interior shots, it looks a bit like a microphone or something, but that's the very low tech spotlight control.

I'm going to be watching reruns all day because of this, aren't I?

Um... You're welcome? ;-D

Oh hell yeah! \o/

I mean there's a hiatus coming up, and what else are hiatus's for but postcard campaigns? :-D

A postcard campaign would be awesome. As far as credit and use of the caps goes, you would need to ask the site itself.

Co-ordinating? Maybe an LJ-comm? I don't know much about such things.

Hey all. I've got to get back to work so I'm gonna copy and paste what I wrote up at the SPN TV LJ. The story of how the heck I know this is here: http://blacklid.livejournal.com/77660.html

Cheers!

prettyfreckles called to tell me that people were up in arms about this. I found out in March, but it's cool to see that everybody is noticing now and wants them back as much as I do! :)

So, to the discussion:

They generally use three Impalas on a regular basis depending on the scene. One for stunts, one for green screen, and one for standing or short driving scenes. They have eight in total, some used only for parts.

All the picture Impalas had a set of spotlights, so that wasn't an issue. When you see a difference in trim in the close-ups, it's normally the 'green-screen' car. That one is missing things, like the rearview mirror, because it's basically a frame on dollys with minimal appliances so they can maximize the range of shots. But even that one had spots.

The spots come from the Impala's cousin, the Biscayne model, which were used as police and city vehicles in the seventies.

They were removed in 3.10 for the rack focus shots that go up the sides of the car in Sam's dream sequence in the woods. Yes, it was at the director's request. The transpo team (well, Impala John, basically) had to remove them from every car and fill the holes and repaint. Quite a process.

The last scene the spotlights are on the car is in 3.09 when Dean, Sam and Ruby are talking in the street. The only time the spots were actually used was in 1.07 Hookman, but the "face" that it gave the car in wide shots has been employed numerous times. This is the first and only time the lights have been removed, so researching for other disappearances is unnecessary.

The guys still have the spotlights - in the warehouse with the cars - and I think they are secretly hoping that they will be told to put them back on. They were suggesting a write-in to the scripts to invent a reason for Dean to remove them as an explanation to the fans, but they're not going to do that, either.

I would be glad to participate in a letter campaign, since I know the two guys we visited with would appreciate an effort by fandom to have them returned to the car. :)

Very good to know! And thanks for giving the inside info! I kind of figured it was coz the director figured they were in the way of a shot. Sigh. I think a postcard or letter campaign over the hiatus would be a great idea! I haven't got the slightest clue how to organize one, though!

(Incidentally, how's the truck doing? ;-D)

I really haven't ever organized anything like that either and I was trying to think of who we could write to specifically. Maybe Kim would be our best bet.

noirbabalon was having this same convo over on supernaturalTV earlier today and she started a comm: http://community.livejournal.com/spn_spotlights/

The Old Man is doing okay. I keep waiting for our Guvment Ecomomic Incentive check to get here so I can start making a few repairs. Not made of money around here, but I am married to a mechanic so even if he doesn't have time to help, he teaches me stuff and understands where the money and time is going! LOL

Oh good -- I know what I knew to answer your question from this thread.

I was going to suggest waiting until the finale airs to really kick it off. Because it apparently amused Kripke that after Season 1 people were like - OMG YOU TOTALLED THE CAR BRING IT BACK! More than they were about the Winchesters.

If you put it up around the finale, people will be in an OMG I WANT TO WRITE THEM mode anyway.

I'm glad you knew too! :-)

I think the sooner we start the better...not to be a nuisance or anything :-) come over to http://community.livejournal.com/spn_spotlights/ and join what i hope will be polite flood.

Blacklid had the good idea of sending them to Kim Manners and Bobby Singer as well...

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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