February 22, 2006
Now the waiting begins...
As with any project in the entertainment industry, there is a lot of hurry up and wait...
Since finishing the polish, my script is finally ready to move forward. When I get asked what I think is one of the most important characteristics for working in this crazy business, I reply, learn to have patience. It's taken me a long time to realize this but you're going to be waiting on various people throughout every stage of the process (except writing and then you're usually waiting on your muse) so you better learn it quick.
Patience helps when you get that knee jerk reaction to send out a script before it's ready (been there, done that, never again), it also helps when after the final polish (at least until pre-production) you're waiting to get back a budget from your UPM (Unit Production Manager), waiting to have your attorney read the project, waiting on the casting director to return your calls... as you can see, this is a team effort that requires a lot from others as well as the one driving the train.
The process for "Produced By Jimmy Wade" for the next couple of months is as follows... fine tune and tweek the budget, write the business plan, get an attorney to sign on to the project, get a casting director to sign on to the project, think about lead casting, start speaking to accredited investors about investing in the project... a long list that's just going to grow as the time passes. But this is fun, the hard part (getting the script in fighting form) is done.
When I handed off my script to the UPM here in New York for budgeting, he asked, "Why now? You've been working in advertising for the past four years, why are you ready now?"... I pointed to the script, "It wasn't me that needed to be ready, it was my script." Man, it felt good to say that. What I see too often here in the indie film world in New York is that people are hustling projects that clearly aren't ready in the script that's presented. Although there will be changes made to Jimmy Wade, it's where it needs to be in my honest to god judgement to move forward.
Now let's hope my UPM doesn't come back with, "You're going to need at least 5 million..."... in the meantime, check out Josh Friedman's blog, one of the best out there... and he updates about just as much as I do. EB
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October 31, 2005
Counting cuts...
If you're really interested in learning about filmmaking, I suggest trying something that I do when I watch commercials... count cuts.
That's right... everytime you see a cut in a commercial (when the shot moves from one to another), count it. In one Coke commercial, I got up to 78 cuts in a one minute commercial. Some, only use ten to fifteen in a minute commericial. Some one. Why count?... you may ask... this will give you an idea of how complicated shooting a commercial, tv show or film actually is. For each and every shot, a number of things needs to happen... lighting needs to be shifted, focus lengths need to be taken, dolly track needs to be re-routed, new marks given for actors, any "cheating" (shifting eye sight or anything else for the actor to make the frame look believable) that needs to take place... many, many things... and that takes many, many people. What I'm getting at here is that it's a very mundane and difficult process to undertake... counting cuts in a one 1 minute commercial will give you a small sliver of an idea how difficult filmmaking truly is. EB
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September 13, 2005
Piece of Cake…
I came across this article and thought I’d share it with you… sounds like a piece of cake...
As an indie producer, all ya gotta do is find a star to sign on the dotted line, get a completion bond company to give you a completion bond, sell presales to your movie that doesn’t exist yet in countries around the globe and take those agreements (the countries don’t give you money until you give them a film) to a bank to get the money to move ahead and make your film… as I said, piece of cake… or maybe not. EB
P.S.- Script comes first though... still writing.
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August 19, 2005
Why Direct (Part 2)?
1. To work with actors on compelling material.
2. To...
...collaborate with the most talented crew members I can find for the budget of the specific project.
3. Because directing is the best darn job on the planet bar none.
Now writing on the other hand is a bitch... but I am closing in on the end of the current re-write for "Produced By Jimmy Wade" so hang in there and please keep checking back. Posts will pick up when I get this draft out the door. EB
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August 10, 2005
A reading recommendation...
Just got back from a trip to Portland, OR, Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC... thus the lack of blog posts but as I continue to beat my head against the wall due to my current re-write, I decided...
...that I should share a book with you that I picked up in Vancouver.
Vancouver, being the film town that it is, had a book store devoted to the film industry that we stumbled upon. We stopped in looking for nothing in particular but I found myself in one of those rare instances when a book jumps off the shelf at you and you have to buy it. This book...
The Working Director by Charles Wilkinson is a MUST read for anyone planning on getting into directing or working on a film set. Charles presents the most accurate, detailed and straight forward account of what future directors and crew members can expect in development, prep, production and post when working in film and television. If any of that sounds of interest, I couldn't recommend this book more.
In my next post, I'll show a couple of pictures that I took along our trip and talk about why I took them. Until then, thanks for reading. EB
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July 27, 2005
InterCreativePersonal Skills
All of us have interpersonal skills, some more so than others… Some people are good at communicating and “reading” other people while...
...some aren’t and prefer to be left alone.
As a director, though, dealing with creative people from the actors down through the production assistants who have their own future stories dancing around in their heads, interpersonal skills takes on new meaning… thus my new term; InterCreativePersonal Skills.
All creative people work differently and it’s up to me, as the director, to learn how each person on my crew works best. First and foremost, I’m talking about the actors but please note that this way of working starts with them to the DP and then follows through straight down to the interns.
Being what I consider an actor’s director, I know that actors work differently and use various techniques to get to where they need to be in any given scene. It’s up to me as the director to learn each individual actor’s preferred way of working almost as if I’m learning a new musical instrument with every actor that I work with. One suggestion will work with one actor while that same suggestion could make another actor very upset. It’s up to me to use my InterCreativePersonal skills, there’s that word again, to learn and understand how each actor works. EB
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July 26, 2005
Why Direct?
To be honest, when I first moved to New York City in ’96 to work as a PA on “Addicted To Love”, I didn’t really have a clue as to what filmmaking was all about.
I had a cheap place to stay in New York, some money from graduation saved up, I was young so I figured, “Why not check it out?”… at least I have a job, right? As I got a chance to watch Griffin Dunne, the director, work with his actors, usually in very hushed tones apart and away from the crew, I thought to myself, “I want to know what that’s all about.”
After studying acting at Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute for over a year and then working for a bit bull of a Key Grip as his “best boy grip” on a few independent feature films, I realized that directing is where I saw my career heading. Why, you may ask?...
Directing is the most collaborative art form, that’s why. As this definition says, “All the director's efforts are aimed at creating a fully unified aesthetic experience.” Now to achieve that, the director needs to work effectively with the actors, DP, Gaffer, Key Grip, Locations head, Production Designer, Sound Mixer, Props department and every other person involved with producing a film.
Not only does the director have to answer every question that come his way from the actors about the script, story and motivations for each character, he needs to work; with the DP about where to put/how to move the camera, how to light each scene; with the production designer about how he wants Jimmy’s room to be decorated/look; with the costume designer about what Jimmy needs to wear for scene 32… you get the picture.
It might not sound like a lot of fun to you but being on set, in production, answering all those questions and solving the various problems that arise is exactly where I want to be… the center of the storm, the captain of the ship. Now, since I don’t have a feature film on my resume yet, the only person who’s gonna give me a shot with a great script is ME with the great script I’m re-writing… my least favorite part of the process. EB
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July 19, 2005
Another filmmaker blogging who's worth checking out…
Rob McKittrick gives a hilarious account of how his debut film “Waiting…” came to be on his blog. From starting in the trench’s at a chain restaurant to...
...writing, re-writing and re-writing, to dealing with a sleazy producer to finally getting a name producer and Lion’s Gate Films involved, this is a great tale told that’s sure to make you laugh and cry at the world that some of us are trying to break into.
Lion’s Gate takes blogging into the fold to help promote a number of their films. As I wrote back to Rob in one of my posts, it’s Project Greenlight on the web. While Rob recounts his various ups and downs while looking back at the long journey, we on the other hand hope to share our trials and tribulations in real time as it happens… now instead of procrastinating on my re-write with this post, I’m getting back at it. EB
P.S.- due to immersing myself in the above said re-write, please bear with the infrequency of my blog posts. Not to worry, when the script is ready, you’ll be the first people we tell and you can read all about it right here.
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June 24, 2005
“The Abbey Singer” & “The Martini”
As I explained other film terms used on set here and here, it is only fitting that I conclude these two posts with a third one about “The Abbey Singer” and “The Martini”...
“The Abbey Singer” is a term used by the assistant director to signal the second to last shot for a day of shooting to the crew. The term “Abbey Singer” came about because an assistant director, Abbey Singer, would always call “The Martini” (see below) and then proceed to ask for another take, thus extending the day for cast and crew.
“The Martini” is a term used to signal the last shot/take of the day. As you can probably imagine, its meaning comes from the fact that after this shot, the crew can go have themselves a cocktail.
If you’re fortunate enough to see either of these two terms in use, you’ll notice an extra spring in their step as the crew begins to wrap their equipment for the day. They’re ready to head off and have that martini! Cheers, EB
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June 21, 2005
"Turning Around", "Moving On" & "That's a wrap!"
In addition to seeing blocking, lighting, rehearsing or shooting if you happen to stumble across a film set, you might also catch a glimpse of “Turning Around”, “Moving On” or “Wrapping”.
Since a film is usually shot with one camera, you have to shoot one actor from one direction and then when the director, actor and DP feel that they got what they need, you’ll hear “Turning around” come out of the Assistant Director’s (AD’s) mouth.
This means that they have to move the camera to the opposite side and adjust the lighting so they can shoot the other actor’s reactions and lines for the same scene. When this is complete you have coverage (the different shots for one scene) of each actor for the entire scene.
After “turning around” and getting all the coverage that the director and DP feel is needed, you’ll hear “Moving on” come out of the AD’s mouth. This either means that you’re moving on to the next scene in the same location or that it’s a “company move” and the entire crew has to move to a different location to finish out that day’s shooting. If the next scene is at the same location, they start from the beginning again with blocking as explained in this previous post.
Lastly, “That’s a wrap!”, is an expression that is used for a number of different situations. First and most though, it means the end of shooting for that particular day or “That’s a production wrap” for the end of shooting principle photography. However it can also mean a “wrap” for an actor or department such as, “That’s a wrap on steadycam” or “That’s a production wrap for John Smith” at which point the crew claps and counts the minutes till they hear those words for their own department. Before a “wrap”, the crew is also listening for two other terms to come out of the AD’s mouth signaling a beginning to the end of shooting for the day… “The Abbey Singer” and “The Martini”… I’ll explain those in another post so for now, “That’s a wrap!” EB
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June 02, 2005
Block, Light, Rehearse, Shoot
If you happen to have the chance to watch a film being shot, maybe like this, it might look as if you’re watching paint dry… but in fact there are any number of things going on, and if you don’t know what to look for, you could miss it. If you look closely, you could see blocking, lighting, rehearsing, shooting, “turning around”, “moving on” or wrapping… but in this post, I’m going to focus on blocking, lighting, rehearsing and shooting… the foundation that makes up a working film set.
Orchestrating all of the different people and departments that it takes to make a film is very difficult work. The grips, electrics and set dressers don’t want to get in the way of the actors, make-up and hair people and vice versa. That being said, the protocol of “Block, Light, Rehearse, Shoot” helps to keep this orchestration flowing.
Blocking
Blocking happens when the director, actors and DP (Director of Photography) first enter a location or stage. As a director, I want my actors to inhabit the space, make it their own and find their “business” that they are going to perform during the scene. Based on their decisions and blocking, I decide where I want to put the camera and how I want the composition of the shot to look. Once this is decided, the actors leave the set and…
Lighting
…we then move on to lighting. This is when the DP tells his Gaffer (in charge of lighting and power distribution) and Key Grip (in charge of safety, rigging and shading) where he wants the camera and how he wants to light the scene. Sometimes lighting a scene can take two, three, four hours or more depending on the complexity of the shot… thus when non-film people watch filming, it can look like watching paint dry. Also during this time, set dressers move all of the pieces of furniture on the set to match what is being shot and the continuity of what was shot before. This is the labor intensive part of shooting. From here…
Rehearsing
…when the lighting, set dressing and camera position are set, the actors come back onto set to rehearse the scene. The rehearsals are not only for the actors but for the boom operator, focus puller, dolly grip, DP and others to get their movement down to pull off what is required in this specific shot. When everyone is pleased with their respective roles and all issues have been resolved…
Shooting
…we shoot. This is when you see the slate move in front of the camera and the director yelling “action” and “cut”… the fun part… actually, it’s all fun, you just need to know what to look for.
I am grateful for the DP that explained this format to me as it helps immensely when orchestrating, there’s that word again, all of the moving parts that make up a film set. No matter if you’re shooting a no budget indie or a blockbuster… work like the pros… Block then Light then Rehearse then Shoot… your crew will thank you for it and believe that you know what you’re doing. EB
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