Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!apple!well!cliff
From: cliff@well.sf.ca.us (Clifford Stoll)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: A Super(cilious)Nova
Summary: Cliff Stoll describes making the Nova program
Message-ID: <21168@well.sf.ca.us>
Date: 14 Oct 90 07:44:31 GMT
Lines: 52

Making the Nova program ... 

 
The first that I heard of Nova was May, 1989.  The director,
Robin Bates, asked if I might be interested in working with him
on making a Nova program.  I discouraged him:  I was busy in
astronomy and was also finishing writing a book.  
 
He again contacted me in September 1989 ... I agreed to work
with him.  There were several other productions being made
around that time including Connie Chung/CBS and Yorkshire Television from
Britain.  
 
Nova's intent was not to discuss the ethics of computing.
Rather, the show was "a documentary based on a story by Cliff Stoll".  
It was not a docudrama version of my book, The Cuckoo's Egg.  
It was written by Robin Bates and although I had some opportunity
to review/revise the script, the final show was the responsibility
of WGBH TV.

I volunteered to play myself in the show, as did everyone else,
with the exception of the 4 cia spooks (they were played by some
football coaches).  It was filmed on location - at my old office
in Berkeley, at my house in Oakland, and in Hannover, Germany.
A few hours after I testified in Hess's espionage trial, they filmed
the Hannover scenes.  This was Jan - Feb, 1990.

I ad-libbed my parts.  Typically, the script would say one thing, 
but it didn't feel natural, was factually wrong, or made a stupid point.
So I'd invent as I went along, without prompts.
Sometimes, this led to tension with the director:  typically, he
wanted me to stay in one place and not move around so much.  
("Sit still!  Don't move your hands!  Don't twist your head!")
Other times, he wanted unimportant things (like the shower scene
or the cia spook scene) which, to me, conveyed little information.

The entire production was shot on  16mm film,
which meant that for most scenes, we did exactly one take.
With video work, you can do 5 or 10 retakes of each scene.  
Film's more expensive:  I didn't have that liberty.  

The part I'm most sensitive about is the last scene in the film.
They took me to the forest where hacker Hagbard was found dead.
I was moved by the solemnity of this place and event.  The director
suggested that I be more lighthearted, but I couldn't.  

On the whole, it was fun.  All the same, being momentarily famous
is much less enjoyable than you might imagine.  Indeed, if I had it
to do over again, I'd certainly do things very differently.
 
From Berkeley, my cheers & greetings to all! 
Cliff Stoll     cliff@cfa.harvard.edu