Being thrifty? Being cheap? Nope. Being loyal. And wise. Most artists use the tools that they know, trust and love. I think it's great that he writes in longhand and then types it all out on his little metal friend. Woody comes across as considerably more organic than the host of modern writers. A true auteur.
A Man of such creative force, still at the peak of his fictional and cinematic genius. Hardly an individual ever appreciates the mechanics of typewriter in this rapidly paced 21st century. Woody Allen's scripts, stories, comic pieces and sketches have formed by the strength of his fingers and the sharpness of his creative imagination.
i love the sound i used to jave an africa parrot so i try to smoke brak well hes dead but wheb i moved ill be 89 years okd and never get rid of that cage im just gjad i didnt do the rebounder no replac
I have an Olympia too, got for like 5 dollars 10 years ago (probably, I don’t really remember), I mostly use it to type my handwritten notes or write letters to my friends and penpals. The best typewriter I’ve ever used.
At first I thought if he simply got a basic word processor he would be more efficient but then I realized how much more efficient he probably is without access to the internet or any distractions while working. Like right now I'm supposed to be working but here I am on RU-vid...
I have a whole bunch of mechanical typewriters and a couple of electric ones that I just recently got into. I fell in love with using the typewriter as a creative tool just about three years ago. And now I have a little collection. I just got one of these that Woody has, for pretty cheap (cost me about $50). It needed some repairs, which cost me another $75. But I was willing because it’s the same model, an Olympia SM-3, but a rare italics typeface model. I like it for letters and poems. It’s not my favorite typewriter (so far, that’s my Hermes 2000) for touch or for big output (either the Smith Corona Electra 120, an electric manual hybrid, that still has the carriage return lever, and still uses standard ribbon for ink, and has a very fast touch, with no pressure needed, or a full-size standard desktop manual machine. My Underwood TouchMaster 5 was awesome, but it doesn’t work so well, and the typewriter repair guy who sold it to me for $50, doesn’t think he can fix it anymore. He’s willing to buy it back, because I have some older Underwood standards, which I might be able to clean and repair, and good full-size Remington arriving today) , but I still love it for its good German build, and for the italic font/typeface. I could flip it for somewhere from about $150 - $300 on Mercala, FB Marketplace or eBay. But I won’t. It’s too sweet for the specific uses I wanted it for.
I like this. A piece of art, makes mind peaceful in modern age of 2019, where no place of satisfaction. I request all also myself to change in human mode from auto mode, as purpose of life is happiness and peace, the only key.
You’ll see he moves the ink ribbon before typing. Without the metal cover, the exposed length dries up and won’t type, so he needs to reveal still inked parts that were just rolled up.
Yeah I dont think it dries out. The typewriter is already open to air, just the bigger opening does not have a significant more drying effect, I think. I think he was deslacking it? Or im not sure why. Which should not be unecessary, in fact. the typewriter moves the ribbon tight automatically, if functionign correctly. It would perhaps only be dry if it werent used for like many years perhaps? Which is not the case for a used often machine. Might just be a meaningless habit. But typewriters move and tighten the ribbon automatically. It begs the question to me though: One for mr. Spock: Why does not, if typewriter ink is not air fast drying, smudge like crazy when on the paper, because it doesn't really need significant drying time to not smudge, usually.
The brilliant John le Carre, same devotion to what is now considered old fashioned writing, longhand and tons of cut and staple editing. Now who really believes that AI will replace these brilliant minds and deeply spiritual (go ahead, trash it) and human intellectual refinements to produce the timeless works of these men Obviously there are more examples including women (before anyone jumps on my comment to trash it.)
I wonder if he has his last draft re-typed to perfection by a professional typist? Since he directs his own work it may not be necessary unless numbered scenes are needed for production break-downs, etc. Published screenplay books are usually transcriptions of the released version of the film.
You have two options for digitizing typed documents: First, utilize OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to scan the document and convert it into editable text. Alternatively, employ an application that captures an image of the page and transforms it into digital text. This text can then be saved as a basic text file or a Word document. This method is efficient and practical, eliminating the need for manual retyping of typewritten pages. OCR is a reliable solution for such tasks. Best part is you get to keep a hard copy of your original work. ;)
@tinwoods Do you know what else is important? Reading comprehension and context clues. The person that can figure out a simple typo as opposed to the person being an obnoxious prick about a comment that is four years old is much more intelligent. Fuck off.
I know this is seven years too late but if you're still having trouble with a loud typewriter, try using backing sheets or a rubber mat. Or you can spend a hundred dollars and have a professional rework the roller with new rubber. One reason your typewriter is so loud is because the old rubber that covers your roller has aged and has hardened. Most typists today use some backing material behind their pages like rubber sheets, plastic, construction paper, or just doubling up on pages to help stifle the loud clacking sounds and it also improves the quality of the typeface. And also yeah, use a typewriter mat :P
It's an Olympia SM3. Woody said it himself, the machine has never needed any maintainance in his 50 years of ownership. All you have to do is change the ink ribbon.
Believe it or not there are still businesses that specialize in typewriter repair. Albeit they are very rare and you'd most likely have to ship your unit off to the business with a fat stack of franklins for the parts and labor but such a thing does exist. Like @DriveupLife22 said usually all you mostly need to do is replace the ribbon which is really simple and you can do at home. But some people pay to get the rollers reworked with new rubber (the old rubber on these typewriter rollers have aged and have hardened, making the clackity-clack all the more loud and the type-face slightly faint) A rule of thumb for these old machines... if you take good care of your equipment, then said equipment can last you a lifetime! Something that cant be said about our technology today unfortunately since everything is made with cheaper stuff. :P
+Andy May The clasp that holds the paper in position on the roller has a ruler on it. A characters name is indented to left: 2.0". So all he has to do is move the carriage along until it is set to 2.0". If you look at the black cylinders on the ruler, it looks as if he has them setup for the spacing of dialogue.
Yea but one will probably be less efficient on a laptop due to distractions being so accessible. Also the time you spend just to keep it working would be difficult for someone not born in the technology generations. You have to think, he probably gets more done at his desk with nothing but the typewriter, zero distractions so only focused work.
He was born in 1935. It’s a case of not being able to teach an old dog new tricks. He’ll be stubborn and impatient during the process of learning how to use it. He probably thinks “Why go through that headache? What I’ve always done has served me well; don’t fix it if it ain’t broken.”
Great video with lots of great details, except his parents paid for the typewriter. $40 in 1952 is almost $450 today. It's doubtful that 16-year-old Woody had that kind of money laying around back then.
