An Overlooked Aspect of The Writing Process

Some authors see writing as an exorcism.  They describe some nagging psychological haunt that won't go away until it's banished to a page.  The writing process can change you.  Think of all the discoveries you make in the process of completing a long piece of work, and all that you learn about yourself.  Ideas that drive and inspire you ripen in a script or a novel.  Inspirations can also get old and sterile -- or worse you can get sick of feeling, seeing, thinking, smelling and tasting them again, and again, and again... and again.

On top of that think of all the news, pain, happiness, and experience that transpired in your other, real life while you spent all that time traveling back and forth from your imagination...

When you complete your script, are you the same person you were when you started writing it?
 

Probably not, but it depends.  What are your writing habits?  Do you outline?  How many drafts do you write?  Do you write all the way through a first draft before you go back and look at your work, or are you a writer that re-reads and revises all of the previous days work before a new word is written?  Those preferences and superstitions combine into a long process or a short one; does it make you one of those blowhard writers who swear it takes a journey to write something worth reading, or one of those cocky crackerjacks who explode script faster than oil shooting into the gulf?  (or are you one of the other writers who fall somewhere in between?)

Give your preferences some thought, because they combine to affect how different you are at the beginning and end of the process.  How much time did you allow yourself to change?  What freedom did you allow yourself to question your perspectives, or potentially lose motivation in your subject?

It's possible that our consistency or our ability to change, is what ultimately distinguishes a good writer from a great writer.  You are not the same person you were when you started writing that first draft... How different are you?  And how does that affect a script?

Maybe its a good thing to change; like getting another set of eyes to scrutinize your work on the next draft, with the advantage of sharing the same intimate knowledge of the script.  Stephen King might agree when he offers the following advice in his increasingly seminal book, "On Writing."

"How long you let your book rest [...] should be a minimum of six weeks. [...] When you come to the correct evening [...] take your manuscript out of the drawer.  If it looks like an alien relic bought at a junk-shop or yard sale where you can hardly remember stopping, you're ready."

Divorce yourself from the material to get a clearer perspective, until you're less attatched to any line or section that doesn't serve the work as a whole.  Become a different person, with tweaked tastes and sensibilities who will approach the work with new found experience.  Who knows?  Maybe she'll discover that old-you's ideas are sophomoric and stupid...

Maybe there's an advantage to drawing a first draft out long enough for your views to change.  The tone of the work at the beginning will be inconsistent with the end, but in exchange you can attack the second draft with maturity, perspective, and new ideas.

Maybe it's healthy and even beneficial to change alongside your characters.

Then again, to let one person start a book, then hand it off to a stranger to finish it sounds like it could be a terrible idea...  What if consistency is the thing, and it's best to fight change however possible; to stay true to your original ideas -- to keep them vibrant and mysterious, and protect that they stay as close as possible to how you first found them.  Maybe this approach keeps the energy in a script, and one should rush through the writing process to avoid changing too much before he or she finishes?

Perhaps the mark of a great writer is his ability to change, but remain true to their original intentions on the page?...  What are your thoughts, fellow writers?

Charles Rhoads

You Gotta Watch This Movie: The Thing (1982)

 This is a new article series where we write about movies that have inspired us, driven us, left us speechless, or are just so well executed we have to talk about them. 

I’m going to kick this off with a movie I wish I had been exposed to years ago, but thankfully I finally watched in its incredible blu-ray release, John Carpenter’s “The Thing”.

Maybe you’ve seen it, but if you haven’t, hopefully we can expose you to movies you’ve never given a chance or one’s you’ve never heard of.  Either way, if it’s in this series, see if you can dig it up from somewhere, get it on blu-ray if you can, or at least throw it on your netflix queue (heck it might even be streaming).  I guarantee that whether you share our taste in films or not, for people who enjoy film, anything in this series will be worth your time.

-Nick Harris

 

The Thing (1982)

From the first heartbeat synth notes of Ennio Morricone’s haunting score, the atmosphere has already dug its hooks into you.  BUM… BUM-BUM… BUM-BUM… A lone helicopter flies over the vast, white expanse of the barren Anarctic.  The sheer scope of the landscape immediately claustrophobic; in a place like this there’s nowhere to run.  A gun shot echoes amongst the thrumming gravitas of the chopper blades.  They are hunting something – a dog.

It’s 1982 and a scientific research team has just unearthed an alien ship buried in 100,000 years of ice.  The pilot is revealed to be a shape-shifting creature; one that first takes the form of a sled dog, infiltrates the team, and soon begins to absorb them one by one in their isolated research facility.

The genius of this movie, however, is that it’s not really about the alien.  The shape-shifting effects are terrifying and incredibly conceived, in fact they are some of the best from a time when these sorts of things were hand crafted (giving them a sense of being more visceral, I might add).  But, as the researchers (led by Kurt Russell’s “Mac” MacReady) discover this “Thing” could be any one of them, paranoia over who can be trusted crumbles years of friendship, camaraderie, and faith.  “The Thing” is the story of 12 desperate men, alone in the bitter freeze with nowhere to go… and so into the darkness they venture. 

On the commentary track, John Carpenter and Kurt Russell recall saying throughout production that, “if at any point we don’t treat this story with complete and deadly seriousness, we will fail.”

 And serious this movie is. 

I have long said that what I love about film is that it can take you to impossible places.  When I sit in that theater seat I like to go on a ride, an adventure; to see worlds and characters and conditions I’m never going to see in real life, but I want it to feel real. 

The reason this movie is so effective is because they managed to take a far out concept of the “body snatcher” variety, stick it in a setting that’s unique and alien, yet of this world; and ground it with strikingly real characters.  All of this and a trip into the darkness of man’s psyche make for something that you will never forget.

The cast and crew look back on the production as a miserable, grueling experience.  Glamorous Hollywood film this was not, they lived it for 6 months.  The clouds of breath in the air, the shivers from the extreme temperatures of an unforgiving location -- all are authentic.

The cinematography is perfect, the effects are bar none, and John Carpenter shows why he was once one of our most talented directors. 

You gotta watch this movie!

The Meeting Of Minds

"The meetings.  It's all about the meetings", he said with a light chuckle. "Ya.  It is", I responded with a smile.  At the time I thought I knew what the guy was talking about.  How else do you complete a production if you don't meet with your core crew and cast?  But a few years and a slew of meetings later I now know exactly what he was saying.  For the life of me I can't remember who the guy was who said it or what the situation was but for some reason his all knowing yet humble demeanor towards meetings never left my memory.

In the past 5 years my life has been nothing but a series of meetings.  Meetings to network, meetings to gather crew, meetings to find the right cast, meetings to follow up, meetings with potential clients, meetings to just make a connection, meetings to find the right mesh, meetings to build the rolodex, meetings to find the right lawyer, meetings to find the right accountant, meetings with people you just plain like, meetings to plan a collaboration, meetings to ask for assistance, meetings to find the next rung on the ladder, meetings to offer assistance, and meetings to catch up with people you haven't seen in a while.  Meetings, meetings, and more meetings.  They are the backbone of this industry.

There have been some really awkward ones for sure.  A guy looking for a production company but clearly not meshing with our personalities, a fickle indie producer acting like they knew what they were doing but having no answers, ideas, or respect for anything in the end, an actor looking to turn writer/producer but so overwhelmed they emitted fumes of stress, a scamming director claiming to have investors for a slate of films, a development producer refusing to want to find money or laugh at a joke, a director who threw out strange smiles that came and went faster than the speed of light for seemingly no reason at all, a producer/sales rep who didn't trust a word said and actually came off angry and suspicious at the first and only meeting, and a marketing guy who used such large words and threw in such random knowledge of everything it was hard to decide if he was as knowledgeable as he claimed to be.  And most of the above took more than one meeting to find out the end result was not going to be good.

But then there have been some great ones.  Looking for interns was one of the great series.  I ran into so many excellent personalities, eager to learn, talk, listen and help.  Some of those ran long and to this day we all stay in touch.  Talking to a film festival marketer who raved about our short (praise is always good!) gave us the much needed boost at the time.  A production company owner who came from TV offering up so much info in his quick producer speak my pen never stopped writing.  A few Canadian directors and producers with great ideas and professional demeanors at the level of short film production.  Getting to know a fellow alumni and studio guy over dinner and drinks that moved on to a friendship and trips to art galleries and LA hot spots.  Sitting down with an editor to discuss making the impossible happen in a damn near impossible time frame...and making it all work out.  A DP with clear knowledge and excellent work but very little overbearing ego over lunch and a beer.  Catching up with a couple producer friends over breakfast to see if all was going well in our worlds.  Meeting a San Diego man through commenting on pay vs. no pay in the entertainment industry on Craigslist that lead to referrals and a job opportunity a couple times a year.  And last but not least all those company meetings with anyone interested in helping us build our foundation.  What learning those meetings have accomplished! 

Whether bad or good meetings are what build those very important relationships.  They provide for referrals.  They create new friends and collaborators.  They let everyone know you exist.  They reveal your personal essence.  I don't care how skilled, how talented, how efficient a person may be, if they are not out there following up networking events with meetings or sitting down with people in the industry to form friendships or, as a producer/director, meeting all cast/crew who will be on a production, success will be difficult.  We have a million ways to communicate these days but in the end it's the tried and true meeting that secures a trust and a bond between people. I get what that guy was saying more than ever before.  It really is all about those meetings. - TKS

Be a 1st AD, Be a Better Filmmaker

Walk a mile in a 1st Assistant Director's shoes (you'll probably end up walking a cumulative 7-8 by the end of the day) and you'll learn a lot about directing.  By leaving your creative hat on the rack when you walk out the door for your 3:00 AM call time, you'll be liberated to experience (not simply witness) a lot about how a set breathes, beats, moves, and functions.  A recent project allowed me that great opportunity.

I remember directing past projects, standing there, looking at my watch, wondering, "Alright, why aren't we shooting?

I'd ask the DP, who'd respond: "I don't know, I'm ready..."

Suddenly you'd realize everyone was standing around waiting for someone to move production forward.  -- One of many situations where excess anxiety came out as visible sweat, while I tried to understand why in God's name things weren't moving the way the schedule said they would.

For the uninitiated, according to "The Everything Filmmaking Book," (yes, one of those generic Barnes and Noble specials out there -- don't lie, you've got one too) a first AD's job description is:

"[Someone who keeps] the balance between actual filming and the daily production schedule. [...] They track a film's progress, prepare call sheets, and make sure that everything is on time and within range of the schedule.  They also coordinate with actors and crew to maintain shooting schedules."

Simply put: Everyone on their set has their role.  The director, the DP, actors, make-up, production designer, etc. -- the AD coordinates every department to move through the schedule quickly, efficiently, and as seamlessly as possible (safely) without trading off too much quality in return.

That was a huge lesson: there is a real and distinct trade off between quality and schedule.

The day started off like this: grip and electric appear to be doing their jobs... check.  Make up is setting up... all systems go, extras, actors and director are staged and prepped.  The DP (Nick), was setting up the shot with his crew and I hadn't realized the director in me hadn't been properly exorcised:

"Give them time!  They need time get it just right.  You need some more time? -- Take it!  Have some more time, get it perfect.  How much time would you need?...  Alright you have 5 minutes... 5 minutes are up.  Not done, ok go ahead and take another 5 minutes..."

The director in me was way to sympathetic.  The AD wasn't driving, he was being driven over.  Thankfully Trina (of course, our resident producer/production manager, and once again savior of productions) pulled me aside and talked sense into me.

A DP can spend hours making a shot better, and a director can spend hours working with actors to achieve her vision.  Unrestrained, no doubt the perfectionists and obsessives among us would take another hour on top of those hours to "just nail it," but something inside (or the AD) has to tell them when it's time to stop.

That time to stop became much clearer for me after stepping outside of the creative realm, into the world of the 1st AD.  Things can always be improved, but at some point, less improvement starts taking more time.  Look at the convenient graph below to see what I mean:

When the AD reaches the above point, there's a judgment call -- give them a few more minutes to reach for that forbidden fruit because we're already ahead of schedule?  Take the time gain and save it for a tough shot coming up?  Or GO NOW because we're fighting daylight.

As a director or a DP, knowing that point of diminishing return is extremely valuable.  The trouble of course, is recognizing it and then forcing yourself to stop.  It's a discipline that can be improved the more you're fundamentally attached to it's importance.  If you can cut yourself off, you won't render the AD's job meaningless, but at least you'll be shaving even more precious time off the schedule, keeping moral high, getting everything you need, and making your producer very happy.

Other valuable lessons and practice:

• If the AD doesn't need to tell you what you should be doing next, you're saving even more time and probably doing your job better.  What should you be doing next?  The answer and the urgency to get to what's next is something that being an AD can instill (or a good AD WILL instill on set).
• This one's pretty standard, but it always bears repeating: think your production all the way through in pre-production.  The answers should come fast (a little extra bonus time granted for problem solving).
• Delegate, use resources in parallel, and keep it moving, keep it moving, keep it moving.

Execution is easy to overlook when you're caught up in the creative aspects of filmmaking, but when it comes down to budget, set stress level (and what that does to performance and safety), and getting everything you need before the day is out, execution is as important as it gets.

Charles Rhoads

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