Tag Archives: DP

Set Antics

Standard

I’ve realized I don’t particularly enjoy the manic bustle on other sets outside of my own and the reason being is because the egos and the insane need and attempt to get something in the can by any means necessary just drives me crazy when I’m not the one running the show! My nerves are already bad and to be around a bunch of folks speaking fast, piddling in hierarchy, talking over one another, and frantically trying to figure out how to get the next shot is just too much for zen little ole’ me. Nevertheless, I still do it because a huge part of me just loves the zeal of completing such a big feat in a small amount of time even if I am just one of the many contributors helping to make the film happen,  which is the passion filled joy of MAKING FILMS.

Whenever I am on other folks sets I am incredibly amused by the types of conflicts and conversations between keys (heads of departments) that arise. We innately place so much pressure on ourselves to be flawlessly superhuman that from the outside looking in it appears that we are all walking nutcases who need to be committed YESTERDAY–and you know what, perhaps this is a true statement in someone’s universe but I’d like to think that my set is a peaceful paradise where we can create PERFECTION calmly.

I am currently debriefing from a shoot that I recently AD’d and I must say that at times I thought I was gonna walk myself off the plank for a piece of sanity… any infinitesimal piece of it. And…now that I am looking back on the entire experience, I am more the wiser, patient and stronger for having worked on the shoot and this is why we do this…  for the almost immediate barometer of progress and growth that is the debriefing process of having written a feature script or worked on a film and the only reason such revelations are possible is because we put a shitload of work into the making of our filmmakers brew.

People who watch films have absolutely no idea but those who work on films can appreciate the two clips I would like  to share with you today… Take a look and I hope you find this amusing or somewhat sobering and for those of you who have no idea, this is a little taste of some of the ridiculously amusing parts of our world. You GOTTA LOVE THIS “FILM THANG” to put yourself through any of IT!