How Prevalent is Sexual Harassment in Hollywood?
Reader Jess wrote in response to this blog post on sexual harassment: Obviously each department is its own animal, but having worked the majority of my life on skeleton crew indies (with the exception of one major TV show when I was in school) I’m worried that getting any deeper into things is going to […]
How to Identify Trucks on Set
My parents were visiting from out of town, and the came by set last week. Since we’re still in prep, I had time to take them on a tour of our offices and stages. We passed by the transpo office, and I mentioned that’s where the teamsters hang out when they’re not in their trucks. […]
How to Set Up a Courtesy Flag
It’s a grip’s job, but someone’s gotta do it.
Non-Union Grip & Electric Chandler Forbes
In Los Angeles, the various departments are very distinct. In smaller markets, the lines can be a lot fuzzier. That’s why we’re speaking today with Chandler Forbes, a grip and electrician from Grand Rapids, MI– the home town of the only unelected US president.{{1}} Despite the relatively small number of productions, Chandler has worked on […]
Grip & Inventor Steve Cardellini
If you’ve spent any time around grips, you’ve very likely heard our guests’ name: Steve Cardellini. He is the veteran grip who invented the eponymous Cardellini Clamp. If you haven’t heard that term, you’ve definitely seen it– Not only will Steve tell us about the day-to-day life of a film grip; he also discusses gripping […]
There’s Lazy, And Then There’s This
It’s been a while since I complained about ADs, so how’s about I do that right now? We had a [glossary]tech scout[/glossary] on yesterday. When the party bus{{1}} returned, the 1st AD called the office and asked for a PA to come down and gather the stuff that people had left behind. Now, our production […]
Perfection
Following yesterday’s post, I had a few more thoughts on mistakes. I used to be a personal assistant to a producer. He asked me if I ever wanted to be a director, and I said I did. He told me I could never do that job until I could do this job perfectly. This statement […]
Manly Men
I’m not the most macho of men. I don’t know anything about cars or sports (although I do have an avowed fondness for boobs and explosions). Still, there is a kind of silent male communication I can participate in. I was passing out callsheets, and I happened to be walking about ten paces behind one […]
Why Would Anyone Want To Be A PA?
The hours are lousy, the pay is worse. No one respects you. If anything goes wrong, it’s always your fault. And everyone tells you you’re lucky just to be here. There is one advantage– free time. We’re often busy, it’s true, but a lot of a PA’s job is simply to be ready. While we […]