Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2018 December 8

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December 8

New Stan Lee cameos

As everybody knows, superhero films usually featured a cameo of Stan Lee at one point, where he shows up for some minor role for a couple of seconds. Initially, it took place in the films of the characters he created, but eventually it was done in any other superhero film, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Deadpool and Venom.

But now he's dead. There are some cameos filmed in advance for a couple of extra films, but that will be it. But then I thought: Rogue One featured brief cameos of Moff Tarkin and Leia Organa, despite of the first actor being dead and the second very aged at that point. So I wondered, is it possible to use a similar trick to create new Stan Lee "cameos"? (I'm not asking if Marvel will do that, or even if they should, just if it's technically possible?) Cambalachero (talk) 03:18, 8 December 2018 (UTC)

Well, yes, obviously. The technology was not built around Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher's unique facial characteristics. In fact, it's extremely likely that Lee's likeness has specifically been digitally captured from life to help aid in inserting him into the movies (he was reportedly steamed that he wasn't "on set" at Deadpool's strip club scene), which would make things easier. Matt Deres (talk) 04:04, 8 December 2018 (UTC)

By the way, filmmakers were creating new scenes using dead actors well before Rogue One (2016). In Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), the villain was played by Lord Laurence Olivier, who died in 1989. Curiously, Wikipedia's article on Olivier does not mention this. --76.69.46.228 (talk) 05:38, 10 December 2018 (UTC)

Laurence Olivier on stage and screen does, that seems adequate. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 05:48, 10 December 2018 (UTC)

Nitpick: Lord Oliver (as a life baron in his own right), not Lord Laurence (son of a marquess, duke or prince). —Tamfang (talk) 20:59, 16 December 2018 (UTC)

Or "Olivier". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:37, 16 December 2018 (UTC)

Incase there's a reader who's unaware, WP of course has an article on Stan Lee cameos. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:01, 8 December 2018 (UTC)

2 technical questions

1st, regarding 'Twitter': is there an efficient way to get to a 'tweet' in someone's account, from a given date, without the tiring & laborous scrolling down, to more that a year ago ? Moreover, I've found the 'tweet' in search, using google, but, unfortunately, the message was partial (ending with ...) without the regular option to extend it - why is it so ?

2nd, regarding converting VHS cassettes to computer files: what equipment & technology are recommended today in converting VHS to manageable files on the computer ? Any references / articles with respect to this issue are welcome.

Thanks, בנצי (talk) 17:03, 8 December 2018 (UTC)

Twitter's advanced search has a date range function https:// twitter.com/search-advanced (added space to URL due to blacklist). You can use 'from these accounts' to limit to someone's tweets. And once you've searched, you can still select latest to ensure you see all Tweets. Besides going the directly via URL, after searching on the desktop if you click on show under search filters to the left, there should be a link to the advanced search. Nil Einne (talk) 20:02, 8 December 2018 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply, but both options aren't clear. Especially, where, exactly, is "advanced search" ? I also asked before about extending a 'tweet' that appears partial. בנצי (talk) 20:23, 8 December 2018 (UTC)

Huh? Nil Einne just gave you the exact link for Twitter advanced search (you need to paste it into the browser URL window, remove the space and hit return). I don't know what you mean about a tweet appearing partial, maybe it is something to do with the way Google displays search results but if you find the tweet using Twitter advanced search it should display in full. --Viennese Waltz 08:33, 10 December 2018 (UTC)

Yes I can make it a link because of the URL black list so you will need to copy and paste it and remove the space. The alternative is to find it yourself. As I said, if you do an ordinary search for something/anything on the desktop site, there should be a 'search filters' on the left. If you click on 'show' there should be a link to 'advanced search'. If you still can't work it out, it may be better. As a third option, simply searching 'twitter advanced search' on Google or Bing will also unsurprisingly find a link probably as the first result. I'd note that for me, it's also the top result on Bing for 'twitter search by date'. On Google it's the second result (ignoring the context stuff at the top), the first result is a help page for advanced search. This page [1] which also has a link to advanced search. If you still can't figure out how to do it, maybe someone else will offer more help but it might also be better if you look somewhere else for help since this isn't the kind of place where we normally provide screenshots etc. Nil Einne (talk) 12:31, 10 December 2018 (UTC)

As for the other question, the simple answer is I have no idea. If you want to get more help, you will need to provide an example. Have you considered that there is no 'extended' tweet? Remember that Twitter used to be only 140 characters. It only expanded to 280 about a year ago and for some things that still isn't that many characters. Plenty of people even Donald Trump need to use more than one Tweet to say something in some cases. Precisely how they do so varies but some of them simply add dots to the end again famously including Donald Trump [2]. If their 2nd component is a reply to the previous Tweet it should show up as a reply to their first Tweet, but not everyone does that and also that's a reply and not an extension. In other words, there's no way to extend something which can't be extended. Nil Einne (talk) 12:31, 10 December 2018 (UTC)

With regard to your second question, you'll need a VHS player (obviously) and a capture device for a PC. Mine cost less than £20 on Amazon. There are several different makes and I assume they all use the same hardware and software. Mine splits programs into blocks of 55 minutes or so. You will need a program to join these together; I use FormatFactory. You will also need some DVD Authoring software; I use DVDStyler. A video editing program like Avidemux is useful too. Make sure you have the appropriate licences before copying VHS tapes. --TrogWoolley (talk) 18:18, 9 December 2018 (UTC)

Thanks, indeed. I'm trying to find out as much about what you've specified mostly regarding software. Can you elaborate more considering 'capture device' ? I suppose 'Mine' is a possibilty, and can be learned about either here or thru Dr. Google. Cheers, בנצי (talk) 22:15, 9 December 2018 (UTC)

Something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/External-USB-Video-Capture-Card/dp/B008F0SARC/ref=sr_1_3/258-0341911-5838542 --TrogWoolley (talk) 14:38, 10 December 2018 (UTC)

Christmas Song Chords

I was wondering if it was possible to get full chords for the following Christmas tunes?

• O Come All Ye Faithfull (G Major)
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (D Minor)
• Hark The Herald Angels Sing (F Major)
• Away In A Manger (NOT THE AMERICAN VERSION!) (F Major)
• White Christmas (A Major)
• Sleigh Ride (B Flat Major)
• The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) (C Sharp Major)
• O Come O Come Emmanuel (E Minor)

Just to clarify, when I say full chords, I mean FULL chords. I have tried to look for chords myself, but what I found was woefully inadequate. All I could find were shitty guitar tabs, which oversimplied the songs to the point of barely being recognisable and also were in entirely in the wrong key. I have written the correct keys next to the song titles.

Now, I am an amateur pianist and organ enthusiast, so I would appreciate chords that were written for the piano. I would prefer the chords that were written by the original composers.

I would also like to see full orchestral scores for these tunes, as these songs are often played by orchestras and brass bands all over the world.

Would you happen to know where I can get this info?

Thank you, Pablothepenguin (talk) 22:46, 8 December 2018 (UTC).

Why hasn’t anyone replied here yet? Pablothepenguin (talk) 19:28, 10 December 2018 (UTC)

Because no one has found an answer for you yet. --Jayron32 04:54, 11 December 2018 (UTC)

You might ask the user Jack of Oz, who's pretty knowledgeable about music stuff. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 07:32, 11 December 2018 (UTC)

I'm not too sure what you're asking for but a simple web search turned up www.christmassheetmusic.com which might give you something. For instance I found arrangements of O Come All Ye Faithful in every key going. Or maybe even www.8notes.com might help. --TammyMoet (talk) 12:04, 11 December 2018 (UTC) You could also investigate www.virtualsheetmusic.com though I didn't find it particularly easy to search, despite appearances. --TammyMoet (talk) 12:12, 11 December 2018 (UTC)

You request chords in the "correct keys", but there is no such thing. Many songs (especially Christmas Carols) may have been written long ago in one key but printed in hymnals in various keys at different times and arranged by others who may have changed the keys and even the underlying chords themselves for many different reasons. For example, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel was originally a plainchant antiphon with no particular chords to accompany it.--Thomprod (talk) 15:24, 11 December 2018 (UTC)

Good point, but what about the more secular songs I’ve listed, such as Sleigh Ride, The Christmas Song, and White Christmas? I’m sure full orchestral scores must be available for them. Where would I find such things? Also, where would I find arrangements for church organ for the listed Christmas carols? Pablothepenguin (talk) 01:20, 12 December 2018 (UTC)

Um, web search? E.g. searching "o come all ye faithful church organ arrangement" finds several immediately. 173.228.123.166 (talk) 01:38, 13 December 2018 (UTC)

Catchphrase question

What's the origin of the jocular catchphrase "We [verb phrase] so you don't have to"? --Lazar Taxon (talk) 22:49, 8 December 2018 (UTC)

I don't know the answer to that, but I wonder if it's related to "You Press the Button, We Do the Rest"? It's the same kind of theme and a broadly similar construction. Matt Deres (talk) 18:37, 10 December 2018 (UTC)

This discussion from 2005 seems to think it was Scrubbing Bubbles; their trademarked tagline is "We do the work, so you don't have to."--William Thweatt ^TalkContribs 20:30, 11 December 2018 (UTC)

A more comprehensive discussion was cited here:

Discussed here [3].

- 92.19.169.210 12:39, 10 December 2018