There Must Be Some Way Outta Here…
Do you ever have one of those days where you look around and think, “What the fuck am I still doing here?” I’m having a day like that today. People always like to tell you, “You have to pay your dues.” But they never tell you how long you have to pay your dues for. […]
Wanna Know How Sausage is Made?
My freshman year at film school, I knew at least a half dozen people who dropped out of the program, if not college altogether. Even more changed majors in the years following. After picking films apart for class after class, they found that they just couldn’t enjoy going to the movies anymore, which was probably […]
Job Well Done
Some days, you can be proud of the work you’ve done, knowing that you’ve contributed, in some small way, to the production. Then there are days when you drive two and a half hours to pick up a DVD with a three second vanity card. I don’t understand why it wasn’t just uploaded to a […]
Success
I’ve met Bryan Singer twice. The first time, he came as a guest judge for a student film competition at my school. This was before X-Men had come out, but he must have been in the middle of post, so it was pretty cool that he came by. Of course, at this point, Singer had […]
You’re Fired!
I once worked for a guy who told me that he’s never had a job he wasn’t fired from. This was a point of pride for him, as it “proved” he had an entrepreneurial spirit, and he would never be successful until he started his own business. He seemed to be right. He started his […]
10-1
Anybody who works on set and who is slightly immature, by which I mean grips, just giggled at the title. You see, channel 1 is the main production line on the walkies. Anyone could be listening, so you shouldn’t say anything that you don’t want other people to hear. You’re also supposed to follow certain […]
Blame Arbitration
I remember a director trying to give a pep talk at the beginning of a shoot. It’s going to be a great film, we have a great cast, great blah blah blah. Then he gets to the part about how this film will be great for all of our careers. Pretty standard, until he says, […]
Good Mornin’
You work strange hours when you’re making a TV show (or a movie, for that matter). You’ll come in at 7:00 one day and 10:30 the next. Sometimes you’re there for twelve hours, sometimes sixteen. You just never know. One artifact of this, I believe, is that “morning” is whenever call time is, be it […]
Do Your Own Job
The people in charge don’t have any idea what’s going on. They hire people like me, so they don’t have to know. That’s why it really burns my toast when my boss tells me how things are run. Just today, our additional 2nd AD (not to be confused with the 2nd 2nd AD, which is […]
Small Talk
I just had a bizarre conversation in the office kitchen. I was making some coffee, and someone came in to grab a pop. (Yes, “pop.” Look at the drink. Do you see bubbles popping, or sodaing? You bake with soda, you drink pop.) Anyway, the conversation went like this– Me: “How’s it going?” Him: “Pretty […]
I Quit! Wait, Why Are You So Cool With That?
I used to be an personal assistant. I did it for about a year, until I realized I didn’t like living two lives. A personal assistant (which is not a PA) does the things you might expect– answer phones, schedule appointments, fax, copy, file, blah blah blah. But most assistants take control of every aspect […]
Learn To Suck.
Those in the art department aren’t the only ones who are required to suck sometimes. In the episode we’re shooting now, there’s a scene where one group of characters is teaching another how to dance. All four actors were required to take dance lessons, which is a little strange, since two of them are not […]