Nicktales: Things You Step In On Set (a cautionary tale)

It was a crisp June morning in downtown LA when it happened…

5:45am; I pull up to the front of the penthouse loft we’re shooting in to unload my camera gear. The city hasn’t truly awoken yet, and the streets are empty save for a distant street sweeper whirring along sweeping streets and ticketing unsuspecting vehicle owners.

Taking the last swig from an energy drink, I quietly prep myself with a mental checklist of what is to come. The director was inexperienced and also acting as the DP, I knew the It was going to be a long day. Looking into the rear view mirror -- back at the pile of black cases full of gear in my Jeep I think to myself, “even on these longest days of shooting, at least I get to shoot.”

Then I step out of the car, my flip-flop wearing foot squarely landing on a fresh, glistening, layer-of-goo-covered pile of dog biscuit, sliding a good 5 inches before coming to a stop.

Let’s take a moment to appreciate that stepping in shit with your sneakers is one thing, stepping in shit in sandals -- much worse. The reason being is that -- the shit was tall, it was substantial and ever so slightly, when I surfed the wave of this shit sundae in my sandals, it grazed bare skin.

I bet at least one day in the glamorous movie set life of film sensation Jimmy Stewart started this way, quietly scraping his footwear of choice on the curb, maybe picking it out of the nooks and crannies of a rubber soled shoe with a stick.

Dogs-1, Nick-0

So halfway into the day, I’m in the middle of lighting a scene in the living room. Now -- in all of the scenarios where I’m on set, never in the mental registry of “things that might spontaneously happen”, did “dog will appear and urinate on my feet” enter that list.

See, there was no dog, no dog on set. No dog even conceivably close to the set. You can imagine everyone’s surprise when all of a sudden, without warning; a dog bursts onto the set.

I watch as this big, goofy puppy appears as if supernaturally, chased by a PA while the producer shouts “this can’t happen, this can’t happen!”, and tears around the room knocking things over, tail wagging like a windshield wiper and excited as can be. He narrowly escapes the grasping fingertips of everyone in his path, generally causing quite an impressive amount of chaos before turning his sights past me.

As he shoots by, I stoop down and grab him by the collar. I look into this dogs eyes and he’s just the happiest thing I’ve ever seen! Of course he’s still incredibly excitable so when I try to calm him down by rubbing his face and ears, this guy lets go, pissing all over everything, including on my feet.

Dogs-2 Nick-0

From now on, mandatory for any production I work on, it will be stipulated in the contract that at least one man with a net be standing on dog watch at all time. Apparently these dogs are a menace.

Just a week later I was barefoot again (why am I always barefoot in these stories?), shooting a steadicam shot on a private beach in Malibu.

The shots were gorgeous, the singer and the model looked amazing, everyone had a good time on that beach. When we were walking up the stairs back to the main set, someone points out "Hey there’s a giant seagull feather stuck to your foot." And there was, a giant, filthy, crusty seagull feather jutting out from the bottom of my heel. When it wouldn’t scrape off via my other foot, I had to reach down and saw that it was pasted onto my foot with nothing other than -- oh yes, a palm sized LAYER OF DOG SHIT!

Dogs-3 Nick-0

Now I'm thinking, do dogs have a pact with the universe against me or something? Did I accidentally kick a sack of puppies and I don’t remember it?

But when I reach down to peel the feather away it’s really stuck on there. This isn’t dog shit, it’s toxic sludge.

Whew, Dogs-2 Nick-1?

It stunk of motor oil, and refused to come off, even when I used a shell from some kid's shell collection to scrape it off. It was like pulling gum out of hair, just stuck.

This of course is when my gaffer comes out to tell me their ready for my approval on the lighting in the next scene we’d had them set up while we shot on the beach. So of course I spent the next hour lighting and shooting this music video with my heel covered in delicious, cancerous, oil. I know it’s impossible that it’s from the BP spill, but all the same:

Oil Barons-1 Nick-0

Hollywood, it’s a glamorous business we’re in :D

-Nick

A Wealth of Useful Information

One of the greatest things about the internet is the amount of assistance it can offer an industry person.  It's all relatively new to me but as I scratch the surface I find that there are so many resources out there to utilize.  It's just a question of searching and finding.

Most recently I ran into a guy on Twitter who posted a tweet saying he had access to the UTA job list and to contact him if interested in getting a copy.  I jumped on that opportunity and immediately raised my hand.  He sent one.  Then he sent another.  Then another.  Each time they came out he made sure I was informed.  I was more than grateful and so impressed with his openness to help others in the industry.  It made me realize that social networking is a great tool once you figure out how to utilize it for your purposes.  People all over the place are making careers out of consulting and lecturing on how to make it work for your business so about damn time I paid attention.  But the best thing is filmmakers out there understand the idea of give and take.  The more we support each other the bigger our circle seems to become which leads to a greater opportunity to get our visual stories created and seen.

I looked further into other potential ways of connecting and discovered many, I mean many, sites have popped up for producers, crew, actors, directors, and writers.  IndieProducer.net, Crewedup.com, Massify.com, Productionslate.net, & Theauteurs.com (now Mubi.com) are just a few I've found filled with valuable information.  And there are always the old standbys:  Mandy.com & Craigslist.  The deeper I look the more they lead me to volumes of helpful directories & social networking.  I've now been lead to amazing groups on yahoo and google as well.  Loads of great producer info so far!  Everything from questions about PA's to production insurance referrals to camera rental info.

Now, I'm not saying stay home and scour the internet for opportunities.  It's ridiculously important to get out and physically network, shake hands, and have discussions with other colleagues and potential mentors.  As a matter of fact I ran into the guy who turned me on to the yahoo groups at a networking event in Glendale one night.  His name is Alex and his latest endeavor is a competitive guide to LA 411's directory called CineCreative Media (cinecreative.com).  We stay in touch, me knowing that as soon as I can return the favor and help him out with some info I definitely will.

There are gems of people in our industry out there and meeting them is great.  Not only do you form a relationship with them but you get a chance to help each other out.  So, the balance, in the end, is to find a way to take the traditional path and attend networking events, join groups, then follow the modern path and stay on top of as much social networking as you possibly can.  Add those trades and news articles into the mix and you've almost got a full time job on your hands!  But it most definitely pays off as you go. - TKS

How to be an Effective Director

For most professions, you can make a strong argument for and against micro-management; but when it comes to film, an effective director is not a micro-manager.  He or she should not and can not get too absorbed by any one of their responsibilities on set, or else all other elements will be in danger of drifting from the director's vision.  This is one of the most important lessons I've learned on the job.

It can be a hard habit to break for an independent director.  Not too long ago, even though Nick and I had an experienced AD on set, I kept running out of the video village to chase down and re-arrange the background actors.  I didn't even notice what I was doing until Trina reminded me: "Use your AD!" -- "Whoops!  You're right!"

A director is responsible for so much at the same time -- in real time -- bound to a schedule that sprints but never exhales -- responsible for things like,

1. Making sure all elements of production are consistent with his or her overall vision -- acting, lighting, camera movement, set design, sound elements, costume, SPFX;
2. Contextualizing shots and performance in real time;
3. Extracting believable performances from the actors;
4. Quality control;
5. Strong creative guidance;
6. Captain the set and motivate the crew;

All this while paying close attention to what Martin Scorsese describes as "knowing exactly what you want and being able to change it according to the circumstances, or taking advantage of something more interesting. [...] Being able to know what is essential, what you absolutely can not change, mustn't change, and what you can be more flexible on."

It's a minor miracle any movie gets made, but for a movie to be made well, a director must focus clearly on all aspects, made possible only by a crew that can be trusted with the details -- a script supervisor, 1st AD, DP, Production Designer, Costume Designer, great actors (not to mention a magnificent UPM making it all possible).

The trap is getting absorbed in a single issue because any one of these components is lacking or completely missing.  It's a perpetuating problem.  Thought given to that continuity problem that a script supervisor should be concentrating on, is a thought that could have been some amazing visual that will never be improvised.  Focus on an actress that needs extensive coaching on set, is focus distracted from other actors who need less coaching but coaching nonetheless. -- The difference between a mediocre scene and good scene, a good film, and an inspired film are overlooked mistakes and details, and great ideas that never had a chance to be imagined.

Use the resources you've got and do pre-production right to avoid these distractions.  Take the time to find the right crew, crew you can trust to focus on the details, while you focus on the bigger picture.  Hire actors you can be confident in; collaborators who aren't just there to do exactly what you say (but will do what you say if you ask nicely).  As Clint Eastwood says, 95% of his job is simply picking the right actor -- I'm sure the same goes for his crew.

Low budget independent filmmakers often take pride in wearing all the hats.  They see AD and script supervisors as luxuries.  Why not just work a little harder and save on budget?  But until you fully utilize these roles, until you trust your crew; you'll bend over backwards, but you won't fulfill your full potential as a director or make your film the best film that it can be.

-- Charles Rhoads