Finding good people is an incredible task. You have to be part producer and you have to know the job at hand. In other words, who knows the job, who thinks they know the job, and who can do the job. I've met professionals that couldn't do the job unless they had XYZ equipment. Is that really being able to do the job? I generally do either sound or work the camera (or do grip work). I'm good doing any of them, really, though I prefer something that lets me be mobile - working a boom pole is not so mobile with all the equipment you have on you (headphones and cables at the least and often some kind of sound recording device - a Zoom H4 in the case of my most recent project) and doing grip work is often completely thankless (who remembers the grip who saved the day? Nobody, that's who) and the camera is a touchy, unforgiving mistress of pain. I'm complaining, but I'm also just being melodramatic. I guess I didn't get enough drama in high school.
I look for dedication to the art. You know, the person that can do anything with any equipment and manage to squeeze the absolute most out of every possible square inch of the thing (whatever it might be). Figure out the specific limitations of the equipment for your circumstances and figure out how to tweak it.
Then I like the people who are always ready at the drop of a hat to do anything for me at any time. They aren't always great at what they do, but they make up for it with constant repetition - that ability to do it over and over until they get it right and smile and remain enthusiastic. It's not perfect, but they do learn and by the end of the production, they are fast and efficient. I like people who learn fast. It warms my heart.
The Camera: I like a camera person who sets up the camera with minimal direction from the director, asks a few key questions and says, "ready!" This, of course, depends on a director with enough sack to rely on his/her people versus the director who has to micromanage every tiny little detail of the production (move the camera an inch - there, it's perfect - c'mon, I'm certain that inch had NOTHING to do with the quality, it's just your need to micromanage). You have to have confidence in your people or why else are you there? It's not the director's show, it's a team effort and you need to never forget that. The director will still take all the credit for everything so they needn't worry about their team if they trust them.
The Sound Guy: Sound is usually a pretty basic setup: get your equipment ready, stand around and wait for everyone else to get their shit together, heft up the boom and hope it's a quick shot not some 12 minute monologue where you'll have to heft the damn boom-pole around for 50 positions while trying to keep it just outside the camera's view and keep the mic pointed at the actor's noise hole. Your arms get tired, your legs start to shake and you hear the magic words: "CUT!" Followed by, "boom in the shot..." Depression sets in and you wonder if you should just polish off your resume again and try for something other than boom-pole operator. Is that mixing position still open?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Eat Before You Go
When I'm on set, I will often let every other aspect of my life dwindle to a minimum. Financially, I'm a wreck right now: I haven't made any real money in weeks. The last time I was on set (last night) I had forgotten to eat. Whoops. Dunno what happened, but I forgot to eat. So we meet at 3:30 to start shooting one scene for Limbo.
First off, Melissa is great - the director. She has a great vision and is an amazing writer. I think she's floundering a bit here in sunny Tucson rather than spending her time with the "big boys" marketing scripts and sipping cocktails with the big players in Hollywoodland. Then again, she's here and she likes it here so, cool, lets make some great stuff right here in Tucson. I feel a little like I'm riding on someone else's coattails, but she likes my work and asks me back again and again.
I have my own personal feelings on how I think things should be shot: I don't like handheld, Melissa does (the makeshift stabilizer is a strange compromise); I despise wide angle shots (put the camera as far away from the action and zoom in so everything doesn't look all bulbous and distorted) - Melissa uses lots of close-up, handheld, wide angle shots. Then she goes and uses a jib to shoot and I love it: the camera is far away and zoomed in and I think it looks great. My point is that there are times when I'm chomping at the bit for a different camera angle and when I'm not the director, it can get a little frustrating. Especially when I'm hungry.
I usually do sound. I'm good at it, I have a really good ear and such, but NOBODY respects the sound guy. Actors treat you like a leper, cameramen dismiss you (what? sound guy? fah! he will follow my lead...), directors know they need you, but everyone is soooo concerned with the visual, they completely ignore the audio and set up these scenes that make it completely impossible to get good sound with a boom mic and pole (yeah, this is indie film). Who do they blame when they can't hear something? The sound guy. In fact, despite having perfect audio for several weeks of shooting, I only hear about the quality of my work as "boom in the shot..." Yeah, boy am I jazzed. Grips have more respect than this. Seriously.
And then I was really hungry. Some people just fall asleep when they're hungry. Not me. I get into a tare and take everyone with me. I am not a pleasant hungry person. I get tired and weak and I clench my jaw which gives me a headache. I drink water to offset the hunger and alleviate the oncoming migraine, but I really just need food. Sometimes we are pretty remote. Sometimes, despite all the nastiness described, I just plain FORGET to eat. If I can't have a cigarette, it's pushing up to a potentially lethal scenario.
Now, I feel disrespected (okay, I know I'm not, but I FEEL that way), ravenous, nicotine deficient, and I'm starting to have issues with the director's choice of shots. I'm good friends with Melissa: we worked for a very long time on Crewing Up at Access Tucson, but that doesn't change the fact that the last 4 takes were exactly the same as the first one and minor details like hair are not so important (to me) and we're shooting it wide angle...AGAIN! I am filled with adolescent rage and I may kill one of the actors if they can't keep their FUCKING LINES STRAIGHT...AAAAAUUUGGGH!
Melissa looks at me and I can see her eyes do a mental triple-take. She stops everything and smacks me for not eating. I think she said something like, "what they hell is wrong with you?" I'm immediately calm...well, calmer. I apologize for not eating, but not for the delicious, evil thoughts running around my mind. I'm normally so calm.
Until next time, bring a snack with you - like a granola bar, candy bar, bag o' sugar, soda, sandwich, whatever. Food is a great equalizer: we need it or we die. Melissa is the only one I know who can drop like 30 pounds during a production because she forgets to eat entirely and must weigh in at like 70 pounds at production's end. I have a Klaxon alarm system in my stomach that won't let me ignore it unless I'm heavily caffeinated which is not a good place for me to be. There is usually some kind of food on set, but not always or always what you want to eat. So bring something small that doesn't need refrigeration. The life you save could be the director's.
First off, Melissa is great - the director. She has a great vision and is an amazing writer. I think she's floundering a bit here in sunny Tucson rather than spending her time with the "big boys" marketing scripts and sipping cocktails with the big players in Hollywoodland. Then again, she's here and she likes it here so, cool, lets make some great stuff right here in Tucson. I feel a little like I'm riding on someone else's coattails, but she likes my work and asks me back again and again.
I have my own personal feelings on how I think things should be shot: I don't like handheld, Melissa does (the makeshift stabilizer is a strange compromise); I despise wide angle shots (put the camera as far away from the action and zoom in so everything doesn't look all bulbous and distorted) - Melissa uses lots of close-up, handheld, wide angle shots. Then she goes and uses a jib to shoot and I love it: the camera is far away and zoomed in and I think it looks great. My point is that there are times when I'm chomping at the bit for a different camera angle and when I'm not the director, it can get a little frustrating. Especially when I'm hungry.
I usually do sound. I'm good at it, I have a really good ear and such, but NOBODY respects the sound guy. Actors treat you like a leper, cameramen dismiss you (what? sound guy? fah! he will follow my lead...), directors know they need you, but everyone is soooo concerned with the visual, they completely ignore the audio and set up these scenes that make it completely impossible to get good sound with a boom mic and pole (yeah, this is indie film). Who do they blame when they can't hear something? The sound guy. In fact, despite having perfect audio for several weeks of shooting, I only hear about the quality of my work as "boom in the shot..." Yeah, boy am I jazzed. Grips have more respect than this. Seriously.
And then I was really hungry. Some people just fall asleep when they're hungry. Not me. I get into a tare and take everyone with me. I am not a pleasant hungry person. I get tired and weak and I clench my jaw which gives me a headache. I drink water to offset the hunger and alleviate the oncoming migraine, but I really just need food. Sometimes we are pretty remote. Sometimes, despite all the nastiness described, I just plain FORGET to eat. If I can't have a cigarette, it's pushing up to a potentially lethal scenario.
Now, I feel disrespected (okay, I know I'm not, but I FEEL that way), ravenous, nicotine deficient, and I'm starting to have issues with the director's choice of shots. I'm good friends with Melissa: we worked for a very long time on Crewing Up at Access Tucson, but that doesn't change the fact that the last 4 takes were exactly the same as the first one and minor details like hair are not so important (to me) and we're shooting it wide angle...AGAIN! I am filled with adolescent rage and I may kill one of the actors if they can't keep their FUCKING LINES STRAIGHT...AAAAAUUUGGGH!
Melissa looks at me and I can see her eyes do a mental triple-take. She stops everything and smacks me for not eating. I think she said something like, "what they hell is wrong with you?" I'm immediately calm...well, calmer. I apologize for not eating, but not for the delicious, evil thoughts running around my mind. I'm normally so calm.
Until next time, bring a snack with you - like a granola bar, candy bar, bag o' sugar, soda, sandwich, whatever. Food is a great equalizer: we need it or we die. Melissa is the only one I know who can drop like 30 pounds during a production because she forgets to eat entirely and must weigh in at like 70 pounds at production's end. I have a Klaxon alarm system in my stomach that won't let me ignore it unless I'm heavily caffeinated which is not a good place for me to be. There is usually some kind of food on set, but not always or always what you want to eat. So bring something small that doesn't need refrigeration. The life you save could be the director's.
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