ESL之餐饮娱乐 08 A Movie Collection

08 A Movie Collection

GLOSSARY 1

buff – a big fan; a person who likes something very much and knows a lot aboutit* Lynette is a music buff who owns thousands of CDs.

collection – a group of similar objects that are kept together, usually becausethey are interesting, beautiful, or valuable* My grandfather had a large stamp collection, with stamps from almost every country in the world.

DVD – digital video disk – a flat disk (circular object) similar to a CD, made ofmetal and plastic that is used to store digital information or video* In the early 1990s, people were using video cassettes 2, but today DVDs aremuch more popular for movies.

on the big screen – in a movie theater, not on a TV at home* The Lord 3 of the Rings is a movie with a lot of action, so it’s better to see it onthe big screen than on TV.

high definition 4 – high resolution; high video quality; clear and easy to see on aTV or computer screen* You can see a lot of more detail on a high definition TV than on a regular TV.

widescreen edition – a version 5 of a movie or show where the picture is muchwider than it is tall, so that a black bar shows at the top and bottom of the TVscreen, but all the images can be seen* If you don’t watch the widescreen edition, sometimes you can’t see all of thethings happening in a movie, because images get cut off on the sides of thescreen.

bonus feature – an extra thing that is related 6 to a movie and included on a DVD,but not part of the original movie, such as comments from the director orinformation about how the movie was made* This DVD has a bonus feature where the director speaks throughout the movie,talking about why he filmed it the way he did.

to pride (oneself) on (something) – to be proud of something that one does; tobe very pleased that one does something* Drake prides himself on being the fastest runner on his high school track team.

Easter egg – an unusual message, image, or sound that is hidden in a movie,book, painting, computer program, or video game as a joke, so that peoplesearch for it* If you search long enough, you may find the Easter egg on this DVD with thevery funny video of star of the movie.

special edition – a version of something that is available for only a short periodof time and has extra features that aren’t included in the regular version* The special edition DVD of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty has better sound andcolor than the original movie did, and it has information about how the film was made.

box set – a box with special packaging that has all the DVDs in a series* We bought Carolyn the box set of Friends for her birthday because it’s herfavorite TV show.

blooper – a funny mistake that was made while filming a movie or TV show,usually when an actor laughs, forgets what to say, or falls down* Sometimes the bloopers on a comedy DVD are funnier than the movie itself!

deleted 7 scene – acting 8 that was originally supposed to be in the movie, but was taken out before the movie was finished, often to make it shorter* Deleted scenes are interesting to watch because they can help you understandhow the director decides what is and isn’t important in a movie.

region 9 code 10 – one of nine electronic codes 11 hidden in a DVD that allows the DVDto be seen only in some parts of the world* If you buy a DVD in Malaysia and take it to the United States, you won’t be ableto watch it because it will have the wrong region code.

bootleg – pirated; an illegal copy of something that was made without giving any money to the people who made the original* Bootleg CDs are cheaper than CDs that you buy in a store, but the singers andbands don’t get any money for their work.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1.  Which of these is an example of a DVD bonus feature?

a)  A commercialb)  A special edition.

c)  A deleted scene.

2.  What lesson did he learn on his trip?

a)  That other countries sell DVDs that are better than the U.S.

b)  That bootleg CDs should be bought in stores, not on the street.

c)  That you can’t see a DVD if it has the wrong region code.

______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

buffThe word “buff,” in this podcast, means a big fan, or a person who likes something very much and knows a lot about it: “Antonio is a sports buff whoknows which national teams have won every baseball game since 1900.”  Theword “buff” can also be used to describe a person who is very strong andmuscular because he or she exercises a lot: “Kensuke is really buff because hespends at least one hour at the gym every day.”  As a verb, “to buff” means tomake something shiny by rubbing 12 it with a cloth: “You should get your shoes buffed before your interview.”  Or, “The floors used to look very old, but we buffedthem and now they look like new again.”

Easter eggIn this podcast, an “Easter egg” is an unusual message, image, or sound that is hidden in a movie, book, painting, computer program, or video game as a joke,so that people search for it: “People say that one of the Star Wars movies has anEaster egg, because when the director threw his shoe across the room they filmed it and used the image as one of the stars seen though the spaceship’s window.”  Normally 13 an “Easter egg” is made by boiling an egg until it is hard andthen coloring it on the outside.  The colored eggs are hidden outdoors andchildren have to find them as part of the celebration of Easter, the day whenChristians celebrate Jesus Christ 14 having returned from the dead.  Just likechildren hunt for Easter eggs hidden outdoors, movie watchers hunt for Eastereggs hidden in movies.

CULTURE NOTESince 1929, the Academy 15 of Motion 16 Picture Arts and Sciences has been giving“awards” (honors 17) to the best “motion pictures” (movies) that are made every year.  The award ceremony, called “The Academy Awards,” is attended by hundreds of popular actors and directors, and is watched on TV by millions ofpeople.  The Academy Awards are also called “The Oscars,” because the awards are gold “Oscar statuettes” (small statues) in the form of a person.

The awards are given in many “categories” (types).  The most important awards are probably “Best Picture,” which goes to the best overall 18 movie, “Best Director,”

“Best Actor,” and “Best Actress.”  There are also awards for the “Best SupportingActor” and “Best Supporting Actress,” which are for the actors who don’t play themain character, but act very well.

The awards for “Best Original Screenplay” and “Best Adapted Screenplay” are forthe best written “screenplay” (the written text that the movie is made from).  An“original screenplay” is written specifically 19 to make a movie.  An “adaptedscreenplay” is written to make a movie from a book or story that was already written. The award for “Best Documentary 20 Feature” honors “documentaries,” or films thatgive people information about things in real life.  The award for “Best AnimatedFeature” honors an “animated film” that is made from drawings, rather than withreal actors. There are also awards for music, “costumes” (the clothing that the actors wear),“makeup” (the colors put on their faces), and “visual effects” (the use ofcomputers to make the images better, often for explosions). ______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers:  1 – c; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 285: A MovieCollection.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 22 285.  I'm your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our episode is called “A Movie Collection.”  Movies are, of course, a very important part of Los Angeles culture.  Today we’re going to talk about someonewho collects movies, and all the different vocabulary related to that.  Let’s getstarted.

[start of story]

Some people collect stamps.  Other people collect CDs.  I collect movies. I’m a film buff and I have a collection of my favorite movies of all time.  I usually buy a movie when it comes out on DVD, even if I’ve seen it already on the bigscreen.  I have a high definition TV and I like watching movies in the comfort ofmy own home.  I prefer the widescreen editions and the DVDs with a lot of bonus features.  Ipride myself on finding 23 every Easter egg on every DVD I own.  My friends think I’m crazy.  Even if I already own a movie, I’ll buy it again if there’s a specialedition or box set with extra bloopers or deleted scenes. Even when I’m on vacation, I look for DVDs.  Last year, I was traveling abroadand I bought some DVDs.  When I got home, though, I found out that I couldn’tplay them in my DVD player because they had a different region code than theone we use in the U.S.  I also bought a bootleg DVD on the street and the quality was terrible.  I really learned 24 my lesson on that trip!

[end of story]

This episode is about someone who collects movies.  “To collect” means to getmany of that particular thing because you like to have many things.  For example,people collect stamps; they try to get different stamps from different countries and put them all in a book.  Other people like to collect CDs, different types ofmusic.  

This is a story about someone who likes to collect movies.  He says that he’s afilm buff and has a collection of his favorite movies of all time.  A “buff” (buff) is abig fan, someone who likes something very much and knows a lot about it.  Youcould, for example, be a “history buff”; you like to study history and you read lotsof books about history.  I’m an ancient history buff; I like to read lots of the oldGreek and Roman books and texts.  A “collection” is a group of similar objects that you usually keep in one place.  We usually use this term when we are talkingabout something that is very interesting or “valuable,” worth a lot of money.

This person usually buys a movie when it comes out on DVD.  “DVD” is like aCD, but you can watch a movie from it.  It has digital information, sometimes called the “digital video disc 25.”  He says that he gets the DVD, even if he has already seen the movie on the big screen.  The expression “on the big screen”

means in a movie theater – not at home on your television, but in a big theater.

This person has a high definition TV, and likes to watch his movies at home,also.  A “high definition,” sometimes called an “HD,” or “high def,” is a very highvideo quality TV.  It’s fairly new; in the last couple of years, you can buy thesebetter looking, in terms of the picture, high definition televisions.  I don’t haveone; I have an old, black and white TV – no color!

The person in our story says that he prefers the widescreen editions of themovies.  When something is in “widescreen” (widescreen – one word), we meanthat it is a “version,” or copy, of the movie where the picture is much wider than itis tall.  So, there’s usually a black box – a black line on the top and on the bottomof your TV screen.  That would be the “widescreen edition,” or version.

Many DVDs come with bonus features.  A “bonus” (bonus) is something extra. So, a “bonus feature” is something that is in addition to the movie.  Often, theseare comments from the person who directed the movie or other information abouthow the movie was made.

The person in the story says, “I pride myself on finding every Easter egg on everyDVD I own.”  The expression “to pride yourself on something” means to be proudof something, proud of something that you can do.  For example: “Jim prides himself on being the fastest runner on his high school track team.”  I pride myselfon being able to eat three hot dogs in ten minutes.  That’s why I need to losesome weight, too many hot dogs!

An “Easter egg” is usually something that is an unusual message, or image, orsound that is hidden in the movie.  It’s something that you have to find; it isn’teasy sometimes.  These are extra things that are added by the people who make the DVD.  An “Easter egg” also has some other definitions 26; take a look at ourLearning Guide for that.  Some people also use the term “Easter egg” foranything that is hidden inside, for example, a book, or a painting, or a computerprogram.  Usually, these things as are hidden as a joke; they are something thatis funny.

In the story, this person says that “Even if I already own a movie, I’ll buy it againif there’s a special edition or box set with extra bloopers or deleted scenes.” Couple of terms there to go over:

A “special edition” is a version of something that is usually available only for ashort amount of time, and includes things that are not in the regular version.  So,there could be a special edition of the DVD Sleeping Beauty – the Walt Disney movie – that has, maybe, better sound or better color than the original movie. That would be a “special edition.”

A “box set” (box set – two words) is when you have several DVDs that come inone “package,” in one little box.  For example, if you like the American TV series Friends, you could buy a box set with all of the episodes 27 of that TV series.  That’s a “box set.”

“Bloopers” (bloopers) are funny mistakes that the actors make when they aremaking the movie or the TV show.  Usually, these are things when the actorlaughs because they forget what they are supposed to say, or they may falldown.  You normally don’t see these things in the movie or TV show, but someDVDs will show you these mistakes that were made when they were making themovie.  These are usually funny, so a “blooper” is a funny mistake from a TVshow or a movie.

“Deleted scenes” are parts of the movie that the director or editor decided 28 not toput into the movie.  Maybe they weren’t as good, or the movie needed to beshortened – it was too long, so they had to “delete,” or cut out certain parts, or“scenes.”  That would be a “deleted scene.”

At the end of the story, we hear about the problems that this person had whenthey bought a DVD “abroad,” meaning in another country.  The problem was thatthe DVD had a different region code.  A “region” (region) is a certain area.  A“region code” is the way that the DVD is made.  There are some codes that canonly be seen in some parts of the world, so if you buy a DVD in Europe and youbring it to the United States to watch it, sometimes the DVD player won’t play theDVD because it’s from a different area – a different region – and has a differentregion code.

Finally, the story ends by the person saying that he bought a bootleg DVD on thestreet and the quality was terrible.  A “bootleg (bootleg – one word) copy” is anillegal copy of something.  You can have a bootleg DVD, a bootleg CD; anytimethat you have something that is illegally copied – it doesn’t come from thecompany that sells the movie, but someone else copied it and is selling it – thatwould be a “bootleg copy” of something.  Hopefully, you do not listen to any bootleg copies of ESL Podcast, but only the original!

Now let’s listen to the story, this time at a normal speed.

[start of story]

Some people collect stamps.  Other people collect CDs.  I collect movies. I’m a film buff and I have a collection of my favorite movies of all time.  I usually buy a movie when it comes out on DVD, even if I’ve seen it already on the bigscreen.  I have a high definition TV and I like watching movies in the comfort ofmy own home.  I prefer the widescreen editions and the DVDs with a lot of bonus features.  Ipride myself on finding every Easter egg on every DVD I own.  My friends think I’m crazy.  Even if I already own a movie, I’ll buy it again if there’s a specialedition or box set with extra bloopers or deleted scenes. Even when I’m on vacation, I look for DVDs.  Last year, I was traveling abroadand I bought some DVDs.  When I got home, though, I found out that I couldn’tplay them in my DVD player because they had a different region code than theone we use in the U.S.  I also bought a bootleg DVD on the street and the quality was terrible.  I really learned my lesson on that trip!

[end of story]

The script 21 for this podcast was written by a film buff, Dr. Lucy Tse. From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.  Thanks for listening.  Comeback and listen to us next time here on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan.  This podcast is copyright 29 2007.