I know I'm taking a bit of a break, but I wanted to announce that I got my acceptance letter to Mensa yesterday. I am, of course, going to use this to be even more superior and exclusionist than ever. I am also going to ask my company for a raise using something like the following:
"As you might have heard, I recently joined American Mensa. Since this means that I am in the top 2% in terms of intelligence I submit that I should be in the top 2% in yearly income. According to a 2003 census the top 2% earners in America make over $300,000 a year. Since I am not greedy, I will accept this outdated statistic and not ask for more than the minimum. If possible, I would also like this to occur retroactively to cover the amount of time I worked last year.
I realize this will require a very large amount of money and I will be patient in waiting for it."
Think it will work?
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
Short Break
I am going to take a break from writing the blog for about 2 weeks to get some screenwriting done. It might be less, it might be more, but I'll certainly be writing in it again by April. I'll also post when the feature comes out regardless. Hopefully by the time I'm doing the blog again I'll have some tips on how to submit a screenplay to a studio.
Production Journal: The Princple of Things- Day 3
Day 3: I had Sunday off, but I was required to come back Monday for an extremely short scene. It was one of 2 graveyard scenes, so I had worked out that I would only need to be there for one shot with the director, since I didn't fancy taking another day off work for 20 minutes of shooting.
At 11 I got a call reminding me to make the call at 11:30. It was a good thing, too, because I was thinking I needed to be there at noon. So I snuck out of work entirely unstealthily at 11:25 and drove to NCSA.
I carried my costume for the day (a suit) up to the call location and met Sergey and Eric. Sergey immediately brought me to his car to put my costume in it. Before we had walked back, though, he got a call and told me that we would be doing the scene I was in second and not first. So I told him I could meet them at the graveyard when they were ready for me because I couldn't miss 3 hours of work.
So at 2 I headed to the graveyard and got very lost. When I found it, the other actors and I went to change. I was surprised my timing had been so good, but I honestly could have waited about an hour as they moved bounce cards and fixed the dolly at my office. It was a simple dolly move that they did at 48p (for those who don't do film, 48p is so they can slow it down halfway and it won't look choppy, video does this with 60p). During the course of the set up, the DP revealed that although we had worked together for 3 days, she still didn't know my name and had to call me Todd to refer to me. They did the one shot and that was it for me, I had finished my first 'acting only' project.
So with my NSCA project complete, I felt it necessary to mentally summarize where they are going wrong. It wasn't that hard, really.
Lighten up- Someone told me that this group was more laid back than most. If that is true than the uptight group mus have a boom so far up their ass that they can cover sound with their mouth.
I know that NCSA is teaching them to be professional, but jesus, have some fun.
At 11 I got a call reminding me to make the call at 11:30. It was a good thing, too, because I was thinking I needed to be there at noon. So I snuck out of work entirely unstealthily at 11:25 and drove to NCSA.
I carried my costume for the day (a suit) up to the call location and met Sergey and Eric. Sergey immediately brought me to his car to put my costume in it. Before we had walked back, though, he got a call and told me that we would be doing the scene I was in second and not first. So I told him I could meet them at the graveyard when they were ready for me because I couldn't miss 3 hours of work.
So at 2 I headed to the graveyard and got very lost. When I found it, the other actors and I went to change. I was surprised my timing had been so good, but I honestly could have waited about an hour as they moved bounce cards and fixed the dolly at my office. It was a simple dolly move that they did at 48p (for those who don't do film, 48p is so they can slow it down halfway and it won't look choppy, video does this with 60p). During the course of the set up, the DP revealed that although we had worked together for 3 days, she still didn't know my name and had to call me Todd to refer to me. They did the one shot and that was it for me, I had finished my first 'acting only' project.
So with my NSCA project complete, I felt it necessary to mentally summarize where they are going wrong. It wasn't that hard, really.
Lighten up- Someone told me that this group was more laid back than most. If that is true than the uptight group mus have a boom so far up their ass that they can cover sound with their mouth.
I know that NCSA is teaching them to be professional, but jesus, have some fun.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Production Journal: The Principle of Things- Day 2
Day 2: I awoke at 4:30 am with a bitch of a stomach ache. This caused me to be about 20 minutes late to the call, and everyone was already leaving as I got there. I rode to the only location we had that day with Sergey. The location was a bar, one that I had never been to, but a quick look inside the place had me interested.
We immediately went back to look at costumes, though I was certain I wouldn't be needing one for at least 2 or 3 hours. After suiting up, Woody, Eric and I mostly hung out at the bar, wiling away the time talking the the manager and sitting in for ourselves. For the first time, I actually saw some character being thrown in the lighting. A red gel to give a neon glow and a smoke machine that would inevitably make life hell for some editor.
We started rehearsing the scene around nine. I entered halfway through the scene, and it seemed awkward, but I wasn't getting any direction so I continued to do the same thing. We started shooting and I got a few blocking changes, but no real word on the acting. We broke so they could set up my close up and the director pulled me aside out to the outdoor bar where we had privacy.
It may have seemed like he was getting good one on one time with an actor to him, but to me it seemed like I was being scolded. He was at a loss for what to tell me, which I assumed just meant 'act better' so I started probing. It turned out that he wanted a stronger entrance. This wasn't a huge surprise, since I felt that the blocking was awkward, so I told him I hit the entrance harder and see what happened. He apparently didn't believe me, because he began to see how we could ensure this. He asked me what my acting method was, I'm not an actor so I don't claim a method as my own, but I told him Meisner, because the actors I've learned from are Meisner actors. He asked me what method that was, and I tried not to judge him while explaining it. It was difficult, because as a director you should know your acting methods cold.
We finished our little reverse-pep-talk and headed back out to do the scene. I faked it, and got a great response. I faked it a few more times, and we moved on to the next shot. I wasn't really in this one, so I didn't have to fake much more, which was good, because faking it is really tiring. The next shot finished the scene and at that point it was nearly time to break for lunch.
Eric and I wandered outside and waited for lunch to start. I was once again very hungry because I had gotten no breakfast. We ate outside and enjoyed the reprieve from the previous day's sun. With a full stomach and pleasantly warm, my two days of very little sleep started to weigh on me. We picked out costumes for the next scene as our stand ins again ....stood in. Thankfully the next scene didn't require much movement of lights or camera and we were ready to rehearse.
This was one of the opening scenes, and it was comedic. It more or less featured my character, and I had been told I could do some ad libbing. They quickly learned that they should never give me that much liberty because I tore the scene apart and put it back together using hookers and umpa loompas. After the first run, the director added the addendum that I could ad lib a little bit.
The stand ins went back in for us and we three actors went outside to rehearse. I decided not to ad lib at all, so it put a huge damper on the energy, but we eventually got it down. When we were done, they were ready for us. We shot the scene and for the first time, I received no direction. They prepared to do an establishing dolly shot and we once again let our stand ins take over. I sat down in a booth and nearly fell asleep.
After a long while (I don't know exactly how long because I probably drifted off for a few minutes) we were called to sit in our seats again. They needed about 15 rehearsals with the dolly, but eventually they shot it.
For the final shots of the day they had to light 2 more closeups of me. The first one was a medium shot of me staring at some girl's hooters, and the second was to be a closeup of my eyes (unfortunately I didn't stick around for the inevitable reverse closeup of the hooters) It wasn't very much dialogue but the position I had to hold was painful. The knocked out the first shot in 2 takes and moved on to the eye close up.
In addition to holding the awkward position for this one I was entirely surrounded by grips, 2 of which holding lights directly in my eyes. I made jokes the entire time they were setting it up, but they all totally ignored me. They fired off this final shot and Eric and I were done for the day once again.
Again, I had been keeping score. Today lit some disturbing holes in the cirriculum at NCSA but I tried not to gloat. At least not in front of anyone.
1) Filmmaking is an art, not a science- There isn't one right way to light a scene or to frame a shot. Creative choices need to be made, and that doesn't always fall to the director. Half the time, the director isn't going to know how to frame a shot as well and most of the crew. The crew is allowed and often expected to make creative decisions. This speaks to my complaint in day one about following rules and not taking chances. Don't 'get the scene lit', light the scene. Don't imitate daylight, spin an entire new direction. Don't just listen to the director, bring new ideas to him(or her).
2) Acting is a major concern of directing- THE major concern, in fact. Truth be told, the DP can probably handle directing production without the director in most cases, but no one but the director, or in rare cases an acting coach, can direct the actors. I received so vague, convoluted direction that if I gave a poor performance I honestly don't blame myself. And this isn't bitterness about singled out, it really isn't. I've been singled out as an actor before, only usually it's because I'm the clueless one, not the crew. I don't know why they aren't teaching these kids in the directing concentration at NCSA proper acting techniques and drilling each one into their craniums, but something really needs to be done about it.
We immediately went back to look at costumes, though I was certain I wouldn't be needing one for at least 2 or 3 hours. After suiting up, Woody, Eric and I mostly hung out at the bar, wiling away the time talking the the manager and sitting in for ourselves. For the first time, I actually saw some character being thrown in the lighting. A red gel to give a neon glow and a smoke machine that would inevitably make life hell for some editor.
We started rehearsing the scene around nine. I entered halfway through the scene, and it seemed awkward, but I wasn't getting any direction so I continued to do the same thing. We started shooting and I got a few blocking changes, but no real word on the acting. We broke so they could set up my close up and the director pulled me aside out to the outdoor bar where we had privacy.
It may have seemed like he was getting good one on one time with an actor to him, but to me it seemed like I was being scolded. He was at a loss for what to tell me, which I assumed just meant 'act better' so I started probing. It turned out that he wanted a stronger entrance. This wasn't a huge surprise, since I felt that the blocking was awkward, so I told him I hit the entrance harder and see what happened. He apparently didn't believe me, because he began to see how we could ensure this. He asked me what my acting method was, I'm not an actor so I don't claim a method as my own, but I told him Meisner, because the actors I've learned from are Meisner actors. He asked me what method that was, and I tried not to judge him while explaining it. It was difficult, because as a director you should know your acting methods cold.
We finished our little reverse-pep-talk and headed back out to do the scene. I faked it, and got a great response. I faked it a few more times, and we moved on to the next shot. I wasn't really in this one, so I didn't have to fake much more, which was good, because faking it is really tiring. The next shot finished the scene and at that point it was nearly time to break for lunch.
Eric and I wandered outside and waited for lunch to start. I was once again very hungry because I had gotten no breakfast. We ate outside and enjoyed the reprieve from the previous day's sun. With a full stomach and pleasantly warm, my two days of very little sleep started to weigh on me. We picked out costumes for the next scene as our stand ins again ....stood in. Thankfully the next scene didn't require much movement of lights or camera and we were ready to rehearse.
This was one of the opening scenes, and it was comedic. It more or less featured my character, and I had been told I could do some ad libbing. They quickly learned that they should never give me that much liberty because I tore the scene apart and put it back together using hookers and umpa loompas. After the first run, the director added the addendum that I could ad lib a little bit.
The stand ins went back in for us and we three actors went outside to rehearse. I decided not to ad lib at all, so it put a huge damper on the energy, but we eventually got it down. When we were done, they were ready for us. We shot the scene and for the first time, I received no direction. They prepared to do an establishing dolly shot and we once again let our stand ins take over. I sat down in a booth and nearly fell asleep.
After a long while (I don't know exactly how long because I probably drifted off for a few minutes) we were called to sit in our seats again. They needed about 15 rehearsals with the dolly, but eventually they shot it.
For the final shots of the day they had to light 2 more closeups of me. The first one was a medium shot of me staring at some girl's hooters, and the second was to be a closeup of my eyes (unfortunately I didn't stick around for the inevitable reverse closeup of the hooters) It wasn't very much dialogue but the position I had to hold was painful. The knocked out the first shot in 2 takes and moved on to the eye close up.
In addition to holding the awkward position for this one I was entirely surrounded by grips, 2 of which holding lights directly in my eyes. I made jokes the entire time they were setting it up, but they all totally ignored me. They fired off this final shot and Eric and I were done for the day once again.
Again, I had been keeping score. Today lit some disturbing holes in the cirriculum at NCSA but I tried not to gloat. At least not in front of anyone.
1) Filmmaking is an art, not a science- There isn't one right way to light a scene or to frame a shot. Creative choices need to be made, and that doesn't always fall to the director. Half the time, the director isn't going to know how to frame a shot as well and most of the crew. The crew is allowed and often expected to make creative decisions. This speaks to my complaint in day one about following rules and not taking chances. Don't 'get the scene lit', light the scene. Don't imitate daylight, spin an entire new direction. Don't just listen to the director, bring new ideas to him(or her).
2) Acting is a major concern of directing- THE major concern, in fact. Truth be told, the DP can probably handle directing production without the director in most cases, but no one but the director, or in rare cases an acting coach, can direct the actors. I received so vague, convoluted direction that if I gave a poor performance I honestly don't blame myself. And this isn't bitterness about singled out, it really isn't. I've been singled out as an actor before, only usually it's because I'm the clueless one, not the crew. I don't know why they aren't teaching these kids in the directing concentration at NCSA proper acting techniques and drilling each one into their craniums, but something really needs to be done about it.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Production Journal: The Principle of Things- Day 1 Part 2
By the time we had finished the first shot my ears were so red one might expect steam to start shooting out of them. As the crew began to set up for the second shot, Sergey pulled Woody and I aside to rehearse. It was a very short scene, but it didn't take me long to be totally underwhelmed by Woody's performance. He took a very stilted, industrial approach to the scene, so much so that I could have probably kicked him in cojones and he still would have read it the same way. This didn't surprise me nearly as much as the director stepping over Woody's stilted performance and giving me loads of direction. I've never claimed to be a fantastic actor but I held my own throughout college, even with the bullshit politics. It was honestly insulting to be given so much condescending direction when Keanu received none. I say condescending because in the course of the direction Sergey would proceed to give me the rough definition of a substitution and the basics of putting it into practice.
I took the direction good-naturedly, and tried to change accordingly. I continued to get the same direction, so I tried to strip away any subtly and just give a blunt, heavy handed performance. I stopped getting the direction eventually, so either I did what Sergey wanted, or he gave up on me.
We went ahead and shot the scene. We took about 4 takes and both Woody and I managed not to screw up, which was nice because I had been worried about wasting film (each mistake would cost roughly $30 by my estimate, though I don't know what NCSA pays for color 16mm and lab fees). We finished with the shot surprisingly quickly, considering it was the only one with dialogue.
We moved on to a few closeup action shots for which I was not needed, so I retreated to the warmth inside. As bored as I had been waiting for the shoot to start I was doubly bored then. I was the only one inside, since the entire crew was outside shooting the next shot. As I warmed up for the next twenty minutes I fought the aching boredom. Eventually I gave up and went back to the doorway to the roof to both continue to thaw and watch what was going on outside.
Soon after I started to watch, though, they needed me back outside to finish up the scene. Since they had no rig to lower themselves down the side of the building and see the edge, which we actors would have to stand uncomfortably close to, we had to create a new edge. Woody and I climbed what amounted to a second, higher roof, covering a stairwell. They were to shoot up from the first roof to our structure to give the illusion that they were shooting us standing on the edge.
At this point I was thankful that 'Leo' hadn't made it. Not only was the room on this second roof tight, the incline that we were required to climb up to get to our second mark was about 70 degrees. Seriously steep. Even as we struggled to stay standing on our first mark and the second AC came around with the light meter, I was sure that this was going to lead to someone's neck being broken. Thankfully, even though I did spot the second AC stumble dangerously, we finished the scene with everyone's neck thoroughly unbroken.
Woody and I headed downstairs and the crew started to pack up. We hopped in the car with Erin and headed to the second location. As we were driving Woody and Erin talked about Sergey's relationship with his DP, who he was apparently dating. I kept out of it, not only do I abhor gossip, this romantic chemistry on set was nothing novel to me. In fact it was very much old hat.
The second location was a house, ripe with disrepair and currently covered in black wrap. Inside, which was somehow colder than outside, was a mess even without the loads of gear. We were introduced to Eric, the actor that had missed the morning scene. I had been irritated that he got out of waking up so early, but upon meeting him, I instantly liked him. Even still, he had the same put together look that Woody had and I began to wonder if Sergey went for looks over talent rather than just not being able to know talent when he found it. This didn't bother me that much, seeing as my character 'Todd' was a very attractive playboy.
We stood around and made fun of how Woody had to a scene nearly nude later in the day while the crew neglected to set up for the next scene. It wasn't even 10 yet, but it felt like I had put in a full day's work. As we stood idly, Sergey came over and gave us our costumes. He also instructed the makeup girls to do "something" with my hair, to make it different than the last scene. The makeup girls, who I had relentlessly made fun of since meeting, reveled at this opportunity to do something horrible to me. They gave up their chance for revenge, though, and instead gave me 'the abercrombie'. What that is, I don't know, because my hair was laying down again when I next saw it.
After getting ready to go for the scene, we (the actors) spent the majority of the next 2 hours in a back room. We talked about film stuff and when we got to acting, I was once again thrown. I mentioned that memorization was easy for me, but I didn't memorize my work with the lines, I built up the work later. Both other actors looked at me blankly.
"You mean... like blocking?"
I was stunned. I assumed they just heard me wrong. "No, like your acting homework."
I got a blank look again. "You know, substitutions and images."
I got a third blank look. Finally, Eric caught on. "Oh, method stuff. Yeah I'm learning about that in my acting class now."
I was especially surprised at Eric, because we had read the scene and he was pretty good, but a 32 year old actor who was just then learning method made me think that I had only begun to touch on how bad film actors could be. I counted myself lucky that I was working with an industrial soap dispenser and an actor without much training but some raw talent.
At lunch, the crew still had not set up the next scene. The NCSA rule is that actors eat first, and I took full advantage of that. It was nice to be treated as an asset rather than being walked all over. In fact, we were even given our own 'set mother' who would let us know when we were needed and fetch us things we wanted, not that any of us felt right using this privilege.
After lunch Eric, Woody and I went back to our out-of-the-way room and hung out for another hour or so. At some point stand ins were put in to light the scene, even though all of the actors were 10 feet away and not doing anything. When someone finally got us, there was a giant lighting set up in the floor hooked up to a dimmer rig. It was going to mimic TV lights. I thought it was overkill, I would either do the TV in post or forget about it. Even though I never said anything, it turned out that my thought had merit; after 30 minutes of practice and 2 burnt gels I still thought the set up looked mediocre.
This was a pot smoking scene, and they had decided to do it in a manner similar to that 70's show. I didn't really like the style, but what bothered me the most was that it left no room for cuts. Any mistake by anyone anywhere in the scene was going to ruin the entire take. Thankfully I didn't make any mistakes, and neither did Eric (Woody just had to look stoned). But apparently the tilt release on the tripod wasn't working because things got very tense between the director and the DP. The director was reluctant to ask for more takes since the DP was taking it very personally.
After that uncomfortable event, Eric and I were done for the day. Even though I knew it was petty the whole day I had been keeping score. How did my skills match up to the students- and I wasn't doing as poorly as I might have been. They knew things cold that I had never even heard of. However there were a few areas where they were severely lacking and where I excelled.
1) The love- no one on set seemed like they wanted to be there. I have a blast everytime I'm working on a film. Sure, I wouldn't want my main responsibility to be refilling the snacks, but as a producer I've spent many hours on sets where I didn't do anything all that important. Doesn't mean I didn't love it. Your love for what you're doing is completely reflected in the other side of the lense. Also, you're going to be working 20 hour days in TV and film, if you don't like it you'd better get out.
2) The rules- While I read a great number of textbooks to prepare for making my first serious film, I never learn a set of hard and fast rules that confine me to doing over over two-shot. Yes, there are rules that I follow based on my experience, but if I think a rule needs to be broken I will break it immediately and get coverage. It's something that makes me better everytime I go out- the willingness to experiment. Reading about a rule in a textbook has no substance. Breaking the rule and getting burned shows you exactly why that rule is in place.
3) The overview- These guys are so focused on their one job that they never get see the other side of the street. With a 40 man crew, you have no idea what is going on where and in addition to being chaotic, it's a bad working environment to learn in. I've done everything, filled in for every job imaginable, and it's benefited me greatly, specifically as a director or producer. Besides, working with a 3 man crew is a reality of the business sometimes (many times) and it's good to get the feel for it.
I took the direction good-naturedly, and tried to change accordingly. I continued to get the same direction, so I tried to strip away any subtly and just give a blunt, heavy handed performance. I stopped getting the direction eventually, so either I did what Sergey wanted, or he gave up on me.
We went ahead and shot the scene. We took about 4 takes and both Woody and I managed not to screw up, which was nice because I had been worried about wasting film (each mistake would cost roughly $30 by my estimate, though I don't know what NCSA pays for color 16mm and lab fees). We finished with the shot surprisingly quickly, considering it was the only one with dialogue.
We moved on to a few closeup action shots for which I was not needed, so I retreated to the warmth inside. As bored as I had been waiting for the shoot to start I was doubly bored then. I was the only one inside, since the entire crew was outside shooting the next shot. As I warmed up for the next twenty minutes I fought the aching boredom. Eventually I gave up and went back to the doorway to the roof to both continue to thaw and watch what was going on outside.
Soon after I started to watch, though, they needed me back outside to finish up the scene. Since they had no rig to lower themselves down the side of the building and see the edge, which we actors would have to stand uncomfortably close to, we had to create a new edge. Woody and I climbed what amounted to a second, higher roof, covering a stairwell. They were to shoot up from the first roof to our structure to give the illusion that they were shooting us standing on the edge.
At this point I was thankful that 'Leo' hadn't made it. Not only was the room on this second roof tight, the incline that we were required to climb up to get to our second mark was about 70 degrees. Seriously steep. Even as we struggled to stay standing on our first mark and the second AC came around with the light meter, I was sure that this was going to lead to someone's neck being broken. Thankfully, even though I did spot the second AC stumble dangerously, we finished the scene with everyone's neck thoroughly unbroken.
Woody and I headed downstairs and the crew started to pack up. We hopped in the car with Erin and headed to the second location. As we were driving Woody and Erin talked about Sergey's relationship with his DP, who he was apparently dating. I kept out of it, not only do I abhor gossip, this romantic chemistry on set was nothing novel to me. In fact it was very much old hat.
The second location was a house, ripe with disrepair and currently covered in black wrap. Inside, which was somehow colder than outside, was a mess even without the loads of gear. We were introduced to Eric, the actor that had missed the morning scene. I had been irritated that he got out of waking up so early, but upon meeting him, I instantly liked him. Even still, he had the same put together look that Woody had and I began to wonder if Sergey went for looks over talent rather than just not being able to know talent when he found it. This didn't bother me that much, seeing as my character 'Todd' was a very attractive playboy.
We stood around and made fun of how Woody had to a scene nearly nude later in the day while the crew neglected to set up for the next scene. It wasn't even 10 yet, but it felt like I had put in a full day's work. As we stood idly, Sergey came over and gave us our costumes. He also instructed the makeup girls to do "something" with my hair, to make it different than the last scene. The makeup girls, who I had relentlessly made fun of since meeting, reveled at this opportunity to do something horrible to me. They gave up their chance for revenge, though, and instead gave me 'the abercrombie'. What that is, I don't know, because my hair was laying down again when I next saw it.
After getting ready to go for the scene, we (the actors) spent the majority of the next 2 hours in a back room. We talked about film stuff and when we got to acting, I was once again thrown. I mentioned that memorization was easy for me, but I didn't memorize my work with the lines, I built up the work later. Both other actors looked at me blankly.
"You mean... like blocking?"
I was stunned. I assumed they just heard me wrong. "No, like your acting homework."
I got a blank look again. "You know, substitutions and images."
I got a third blank look. Finally, Eric caught on. "Oh, method stuff. Yeah I'm learning about that in my acting class now."
I was especially surprised at Eric, because we had read the scene and he was pretty good, but a 32 year old actor who was just then learning method made me think that I had only begun to touch on how bad film actors could be. I counted myself lucky that I was working with an industrial soap dispenser and an actor without much training but some raw talent.
At lunch, the crew still had not set up the next scene. The NCSA rule is that actors eat first, and I took full advantage of that. It was nice to be treated as an asset rather than being walked all over. In fact, we were even given our own 'set mother' who would let us know when we were needed and fetch us things we wanted, not that any of us felt right using this privilege.
After lunch Eric, Woody and I went back to our out-of-the-way room and hung out for another hour or so. At some point stand ins were put in to light the scene, even though all of the actors were 10 feet away and not doing anything. When someone finally got us, there was a giant lighting set up in the floor hooked up to a dimmer rig. It was going to mimic TV lights. I thought it was overkill, I would either do the TV in post or forget about it. Even though I never said anything, it turned out that my thought had merit; after 30 minutes of practice and 2 burnt gels I still thought the set up looked mediocre.
This was a pot smoking scene, and they had decided to do it in a manner similar to that 70's show. I didn't really like the style, but what bothered me the most was that it left no room for cuts. Any mistake by anyone anywhere in the scene was going to ruin the entire take. Thankfully I didn't make any mistakes, and neither did Eric (Woody just had to look stoned). But apparently the tilt release on the tripod wasn't working because things got very tense between the director and the DP. The director was reluctant to ask for more takes since the DP was taking it very personally.
After that uncomfortable event, Eric and I were done for the day. Even though I knew it was petty the whole day I had been keeping score. How did my skills match up to the students- and I wasn't doing as poorly as I might have been. They knew things cold that I had never even heard of. However there were a few areas where they were severely lacking and where I excelled.
1) The love- no one on set seemed like they wanted to be there. I have a blast everytime I'm working on a film. Sure, I wouldn't want my main responsibility to be refilling the snacks, but as a producer I've spent many hours on sets where I didn't do anything all that important. Doesn't mean I didn't love it. Your love for what you're doing is completely reflected in the other side of the lense. Also, you're going to be working 20 hour days in TV and film, if you don't like it you'd better get out.
2) The rules- While I read a great number of textbooks to prepare for making my first serious film, I never learn a set of hard and fast rules that confine me to doing over over two-shot. Yes, there are rules that I follow based on my experience, but if I think a rule needs to be broken I will break it immediately and get coverage. It's something that makes me better everytime I go out- the willingness to experiment. Reading about a rule in a textbook has no substance. Breaking the rule and getting burned shows you exactly why that rule is in place.
3) The overview- These guys are so focused on their one job that they never get see the other side of the street. With a 40 man crew, you have no idea what is going on where and in addition to being chaotic, it's a bad working environment to learn in. I've done everything, filled in for every job imaginable, and it's benefited me greatly, specifically as a director or producer. Besides, working with a 3 man crew is a reality of the business sometimes (many times) and it's good to get the feel for it.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Production Journal: The Principle of Things- Day 1 Part 1
I was cast in a principle role in a North Carolina School of the Arts short. This was to be a new experience for me, as I'm rarely just an actor and I don't often get the chance to work with film. This project was being shot on 16mm. Lucky NCSA kids and their film cameras.
Day 1:
I arrived on set at 5:50 am, 5 minutes late and aching with exhaustion. It was cold, and I was told that my nice warm leather jackets wouldn't work because the color was too dark. I was wearing a windbreaker and a hoodie underneath. I was hungry, I had planned to stop for something to eat on the way, but no where was open at 5 am. I wasn't worried though, I assumed that a production that promised meals would not neglect breakfast.
I walked up the hill to the call area and was greeted by the director. The director, Sergey, was nice enough, but his cadence, volume and use of language made me wonder if he only had a very vague grasp of English or if he was very stoned. I shook off his greeting and retreated to the closest building. It was filled with about 20 people I didn't know.
I briefly looked about for the other actors, I hadn't met them yet and wanted to start bonding before we were charged with acting like lifelong friends. As it happened, though, the actors forgot to wear their name tags, or carry an entourage. As I stood awkwardly inside, I looked out at the campus. Someone had once told me that the film portion of the school was decked out for filmmaking but I had never seen the campus myself. As I stared out at the fo-theater and shops I again cursed the privilege of NCSA students with bitter envy.
After a few minutes of waiting I heard someone say behind me:
"Are you an actor? Come with me, I'll show you to the dressing room."
They weren't talking to me. They were talking to a tall, impeccably groomed actor who had just walked in. I followed the two up a staircase and into the dressing room. I introduced myself to Woody, the lead actor who I had followed into the dressing room. I was a little intimidated, Woody was a good 3 inches taller than me and looked more like a model than an actor. I was a little worried that someone like me, who was a very part time actor, would not cut it in this sort of production.
Woody and I started to talk, he was a student at Chapel Hill and he was also into production. I had been told that both of the other principle actors were coming from a few hours a way, but it didn't fail to surprise me anyway. Before either of us had said much, the two make up ladies showed up. I had expected to be made up for every scene, but apparently Woody was the only one who was to get makeup at all, for his scarring do to an earlier scene where he gets beaten up.
As we were talking Sergey appeared with the script supervisor in tow. He informed us that the 3rd principle actor was not going to make it to the first scene we were to shoot that day (which, incidentally, was the last scene in the film.) It was only a few lines, but Eric, who was the actor running late had 1 of the lines. Taking it in stride, Sergey cut the line that Eric, or 'Leo', had and gave one to Woody, explaining why Leo wasn't there. I thought it was overdoing it, giving an explanation for his absence, but I said nothing. In truth, I wasn't that huge of a fan of the script, specifically the title, but it was miles ahead of the other scripts I had read from NCSA.
Sergey then picked out wardrobe with us, which was only a jacket, and decided on the light windbreaker I had brought. He directed us both downstairs where the producer was waiting to take us to the location. We hopped in the car with the producer, Erin, and the art director, and took off for the downtown location.
The scene we were shooting took place on a rooftop. They had garnered what had to be the 3rd tallest building in winston to shoot on. We walked into the extremely nice lobby and passed about 3 residents with dogs. I immediately decided that if I could get an apartment in the building for under 2 grand a month that I was moving when my lease was up. The overly helpful security guard led us into the elevator and up to the 18th floor. We exited, only to enter another elevator that took us all the way to the roof entrance.
They put out the food and I was heartily disappointed. It was a few crafties but no meal. So as I fought my gurgle in my stomach I went to check out the space. It was freezing and windy, of course, 20 floors up. The director noted that the first shot was going to have us standing on a heating vent and looking out at the city as the sun rose. It seemed easy, no dialogue, except that we had to stay as still as possible. Since wearing the hoody under my windbreaker gave me hunchback, and standing on a tall building at 6 am in February was about as warm as the arctic circle, not shivering became an issue, as did my red, red ears. Woody had it just as bad, he was wearing what he referred to as a "Canadian tuxedo", a denim jacket over a t-shirt.
We went back inside as they continued to prep the shot, and for the first time, I truly realized just how boring it was to be an actor on a film. Previously on sets, even if I acted I always did something else as well. There was never any down time for me. I hung out and talked to Woody and the makeup girls as Woody was having his scar applied but I was painfully bored. I suddenly realized why actors never hung around after they were done for the day or helped clean up.
Thankfully, it wasn't too long before we were ready to go on the first shot. By the time the first take was over I had heard at least 4 words that I did not know. The curriculum at the school must mold these kids so they can be injected right into hollywood, because they used nicknames for everything and they had more crew at one location (a small b-unit was at the second location preparing to shoot there) than I usually had cast and crew for the entire production. For the duration of the production I was to learn exactly how that affected their methods.
Day 1:
I arrived on set at 5:50 am, 5 minutes late and aching with exhaustion. It was cold, and I was told that my nice warm leather jackets wouldn't work because the color was too dark. I was wearing a windbreaker and a hoodie underneath. I was hungry, I had planned to stop for something to eat on the way, but no where was open at 5 am. I wasn't worried though, I assumed that a production that promised meals would not neglect breakfast.
I walked up the hill to the call area and was greeted by the director. The director, Sergey, was nice enough, but his cadence, volume and use of language made me wonder if he only had a very vague grasp of English or if he was very stoned. I shook off his greeting and retreated to the closest building. It was filled with about 20 people I didn't know.
I briefly looked about for the other actors, I hadn't met them yet and wanted to start bonding before we were charged with acting like lifelong friends. As it happened, though, the actors forgot to wear their name tags, or carry an entourage. As I stood awkwardly inside, I looked out at the campus. Someone had once told me that the film portion of the school was decked out for filmmaking but I had never seen the campus myself. As I stared out at the fo-theater and shops I again cursed the privilege of NCSA students with bitter envy.
After a few minutes of waiting I heard someone say behind me:
"Are you an actor? Come with me, I'll show you to the dressing room."
They weren't talking to me. They were talking to a tall, impeccably groomed actor who had just walked in. I followed the two up a staircase and into the dressing room. I introduced myself to Woody, the lead actor who I had followed into the dressing room. I was a little intimidated, Woody was a good 3 inches taller than me and looked more like a model than an actor. I was a little worried that someone like me, who was a very part time actor, would not cut it in this sort of production.
Woody and I started to talk, he was a student at Chapel Hill and he was also into production. I had been told that both of the other principle actors were coming from a few hours a way, but it didn't fail to surprise me anyway. Before either of us had said much, the two make up ladies showed up. I had expected to be made up for every scene, but apparently Woody was the only one who was to get makeup at all, for his scarring do to an earlier scene where he gets beaten up.
As we were talking Sergey appeared with the script supervisor in tow. He informed us that the 3rd principle actor was not going to make it to the first scene we were to shoot that day (which, incidentally, was the last scene in the film.) It was only a few lines, but Eric, who was the actor running late had 1 of the lines. Taking it in stride, Sergey cut the line that Eric, or 'Leo', had and gave one to Woody, explaining why Leo wasn't there. I thought it was overdoing it, giving an explanation for his absence, but I said nothing. In truth, I wasn't that huge of a fan of the script, specifically the title, but it was miles ahead of the other scripts I had read from NCSA.
Sergey then picked out wardrobe with us, which was only a jacket, and decided on the light windbreaker I had brought. He directed us both downstairs where the producer was waiting to take us to the location. We hopped in the car with the producer, Erin, and the art director, and took off for the downtown location.
The scene we were shooting took place on a rooftop. They had garnered what had to be the 3rd tallest building in winston to shoot on. We walked into the extremely nice lobby and passed about 3 residents with dogs. I immediately decided that if I could get an apartment in the building for under 2 grand a month that I was moving when my lease was up. The overly helpful security guard led us into the elevator and up to the 18th floor. We exited, only to enter another elevator that took us all the way to the roof entrance.
They put out the food and I was heartily disappointed. It was a few crafties but no meal. So as I fought my gurgle in my stomach I went to check out the space. It was freezing and windy, of course, 20 floors up. The director noted that the first shot was going to have us standing on a heating vent and looking out at the city as the sun rose. It seemed easy, no dialogue, except that we had to stay as still as possible. Since wearing the hoody under my windbreaker gave me hunchback, and standing on a tall building at 6 am in February was about as warm as the arctic circle, not shivering became an issue, as did my red, red ears. Woody had it just as bad, he was wearing what he referred to as a "Canadian tuxedo", a denim jacket over a t-shirt.
We went back inside as they continued to prep the shot, and for the first time, I truly realized just how boring it was to be an actor on a film. Previously on sets, even if I acted I always did something else as well. There was never any down time for me. I hung out and talked to Woody and the makeup girls as Woody was having his scar applied but I was painfully bored. I suddenly realized why actors never hung around after they were done for the day or helped clean up.
Thankfully, it wasn't too long before we were ready to go on the first shot. By the time the first take was over I had heard at least 4 words that I did not know. The curriculum at the school must mold these kids so they can be injected right into hollywood, because they used nicknames for everything and they had more crew at one location (a small b-unit was at the second location preparing to shoot there) than I usually had cast and crew for the entire production. For the duration of the production I was to learn exactly how that affected their methods.
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