Finding Good People

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?