Archives

• November 2008
• October 2008
• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008

Admin

• WordPress.com
• WordPress.org
• Login

Daily Blog

November 20, 2008

I was recently finishing my on-set catered lunch, a swelling of cojones rancheros with a side of dill nipples, and I thought it was silken thigh time we genitaly fondled upon this topless of discussion. You see, when a Director is erecting a scene that features Naked Actors, there’s a certain sense of decorum you must forcefully insert into the proceedings. Bottom line, a well-run Nude Scene is a testicle to your talent as an Assistant Director.

Okay, no more lame puns but I recently found myself Assistant Directing a “Naked Shoot” and thought it would make for a good blog. We were doing a commercial for an electric razor that works in the shower and we had an attractive, young couple making out with “ahem” nothing on except for flimsy, nude colored G-strings which passed my 12 point on-set inspection for hygienic, performance and camera-friendly acceptability which is a test I also offer to the adult film community as well as amateurs looking to upgrade their productions. Anyway, I knew our actress was a bit nervous about doing nudity and had stipulated “No Full Nudity” in her deal so about 30 minutes before we were ready to call out first team, I had my 2nd bring them out on set for a little walk-through and hello chat to put them as much at ease as possible. When they arrived on set in their robes I introduced myself, showed them the set and explained why the grips and electricians had set up their own “spycam” in the shower which connected to a large HD flat screen out in their 10 ton truck (just kidding).

Actually, I just went over the day’s work, what we thought our camera positions would be and how we’d closed off the set for privacy. I also reassured them that if at any time they were uncomfortable about anything, to just let me know and their concerns would be immediately addressed. I was very laid-back and didn’t act like this was some major, huge deal which I’ve seen happen on other “Naked Shoots” and that just makes everyone weird and uncomfortable. I also introduced them to the DP, The Gaffer, Propmaster and Water Technician; all the people that would be working in close proximity so everyone knew each other and would be comfortable abut working in close quarters. It also worked out well that we had a couple hours of lighting and tweaking to do as this allowed our performers to get very comfortable with each other in the holding area (I told my 2nd to play “Truth or Dare” with them to get them in the mood) and by the time we were ready for them they were best friends…best buddies that were going to be naked together under a shower for about 10 hours.

We were shooting on stage which is pretty much a necessity for shower scenes so you have total control for lighting and camera positions and we ringed the set with blacks draped from high rollers so you’d have to be about 20 feet high to look over. My biggest concern, other than making the performers as comfortable as possible and how my hair was holding up with all the excess humidity, was making sure the water was a perfect temperature and that we would never run out since we were using a water truck for our source and it would take 30 minutes or so to refill it if we did.

Just like with any shoot, people take their cues from the people that are running the show so I made sure we kept the mood light and easy and thankfully I was working with a Director who was supercool and totally professional which only made the actors more at ease. I also went over the day’s work again with the DP and Director so we’d look like we knew what we were doing and instill some confidence in our actors - the last thing I wanted was to have them sitting there butt-nikked and have us trying to figure out what we needed to do next. We immediately got into a great flow, nailed the temperature of the water and level of spray as well as figured out it was often easier for out talent to stay in the shower, under the warm water, between takes or quick set-ups, rather than get out, put on robes and dry off and have to get back in.

It was strange but almost immediately it didn’t seem strange or odd that our actors were naked and making out under the shower and the day went exceedingly well. In fact, in between set-ups, the personnel working in close proximity to the actors were busy chatting with them about politics, current events, sports and all the regular stuff people talk about when they’re fully clothed at a party. I’ve AD’d love scenes in movies that were much more graphic than this but the bottom line is the same; just be cool, laid-back, well-organized and respectful and things will turn out great. One tactic I’ve also used is to have everyone on set be naked when the actors arrive on set. This worked great before the advent of 100 million dollar lawsuits for harassment and humiliation initiated by The Teamsters.

Best,
Phil

October 8, 2008

One of the bennies of being an AD is you get to take your superior scheduling skills and apply them to real-life situations. In fact, after a shoot I have a hard time “turning it off”…I get in line at Starbucks and before you can say skinny double machiato I’m organizing the line and repeating people’s orders to the Baristas so we can get through the process quicker.

Anyhow, I had my 4 year old’s Pirate-Themed birthday a couple weeks ago and I went right into AD mode to schedule the sucker just like a commercial production. Here’s a look at how I did it.

9A Breakfast RTS

Okay, a little Production Speak lesson here…RTS=Ready To Serve. This is the time the crew expects the caterer to be ready to serve. If the caterer is late, the whole day is screwed. For RTS at my house, that means I get my saggy ass up and pour my own G-D cheerios.

10A Crew Call/Art Dept. Call

This is the time that the Crew is to be on set and ready to work. For our party, this meant my wife and I were to meet in the kitchen at 10A to get this party started. We were the art dept. (hanging decorations etc.) and the camera dept. (videotaping the event and setting up my neighbor’s photo booth)…FYI thanks and a shout out to George from Geo Video for the photo-booth…it was very cool. Call George at 818-903-0580 for rental info…

11A Talent Call

On a commercial, this is when the Actors show up on set and are ready to start their process in hair/makeup and wardrobe. Oftentimes we stagger the calls depending on how many talent there are, how much time they need in Hair and MU (for some reason women seem to need 3x as much time as men which is nuts since I take 90 minutes every morning putting my face on and my wife is just like out the door), if they’ve been fitted for wardrobe already (they usually are) and whatever other factors come into play. For our party, this meant my stepson Ira who was playing Jack Sparrow and my friends Steve and Tina who were playing The Bad Guy Pirates were to show up and chill until the party started.

12N First shot

This is when you plan on shooting the first shot of the day. After consulting with the DP regarding how long it wll take him/her to set up for this momentous event, you put the time down on paper so the Prodcuer can tell you you’re already behind if you get the first shot off at let’s say 12:12pm.

For our Party this is when the Guests arrived and my videocam started rolling.

1P Lunch

On a commercial, it’s generally 6 hours after crew call. That’s when the Unions demand you take a break or else you get charged “Meal Penalties” which is like $25.00 for the first half hour and $50.00 or so for each half hour after that you don’t break. That’s SAG penalties, I don’t think the Grips and Electrics and everyone else get that much but it’s something and can add up.

For our party this was when our award winning kid’s pirate party chef (Me) brought out the tater tots and called them pirate cannonballs along with the piece of beef jerky (mutton) for each kid. I also provided some Grog (Margaritas) for the parental scaliwags so the day would go quicker though this (passing out of Grog) is not advised for commercials.

2P First shot after lunch.

Okay, you’ve just inhaled some chicken, beef and pasta and chased it all down with 3 chocolate chip cookies and you’re ready for a long nap except you remember you still have 8 shots to get before wrap…

For the party, this was the time that Jack Sparrow made his appearance and distributed the 15 foam swords to the kids so they could start going “pirate” on each other. My stepson was awesome, in fact, I’m sure he was chugging rum before his appearnace as his swagger was a bit too real and his breath a bit too foul. Nonetheless, he kicked Jack Sparrow ass and then my buddy Steve dressed as Black Bart the Villain who was busted stealing the presents. After a thorough thrashing from 14 sugar-crazed 4 year olds, in a scene reminsicent from the original Lord Of The Flies, Black Bart was forced to walk the plank into the chilling depths of the jacuzzi.

It was hilarious.

Okay, so it’s late and the party was great except for one kid who got freaked out at the whole stabbing/sword/walk the plank/Lord Of The Flies/Clockwork Orange’y ultraviolence that was taking place but hey, I did my job and at the end of the day, any AD worth hsi salt will be able to look himself in the proverbial mirror and go…I kicked ass today!

Have a good one,

Phil

August 22, 2008

While my last post went into how I became known as The Scorcese of Directing Background Talent, I promised to go more into the dark secret underbelly of Background Performing for this entry. One thing Extras have in common with Assistant Directors is that we’re both the Bastard Stepchildren of our Unions. We AD’s are members of The Director’s Guild though all we direct are Extras and where to put the Caterer - and Extras are members of The Screen Actor’s Guild even though one may argue that they’re not really Actors, though I would never, ever make that distinction. My belief: if they’re on camera, they’re acting.

Anyway, as in India’s highly institutionalized Caste system, their exists a very structured hierarchy in the world of Extra Work. At the bottom of the barrel are the Non-Union Extras…those poor misguided souls that are either actually excited to play “Onlooker” during an episode of CSI: Schenectady, or have been wrangled up by some Surfer Dude with a clipboard while hanging out at Graumann’s Chinese Theater with the promise of being in a Tara Reid movie during their trip here from Mattoon, Illinois.

So, what’s the difference between a Non-Union and Union Extra? About 12 bucks an hour plus benefits. Non-Union extras usually get paid minimum wage, eat a box lunch as opposed to a catered lunch, and most importantly, are relegated to the Non-Union craft service table which is comprised of a humongous bowl of stale Ruffles, 9 brown bananas, a variety of worm infested apple products, some of those really cheap, Smart N’ Final generic Oreo knockoffs with extra hydrogenated oils, an urn of tepid coffee and a Gatorade container of warm water from the nearest hose.

A standard complaint for an AD from the put upon Craft Service Technician is: “Tell those &*$%#@ Non-Union Zombies to stay the &%$#@* away from my table!”….Seriously, it gets to the point where we have to biometrically identify every person grabbing a Twizzler off the main craft service table because the craft service guy is convinced that his Taquitos have all been snagged by the Non-Unioners.

Whatever. The bottom line is its tough for The Non-Unioners to get any respect. Even during shooting, we position the Union Background first then the Non-Union people in back of the them so The Non-Union people are really Background to The Background and that’s not a great place to be. No matter, I still respect anyone that comes out and does their job so I do try and go overboard to show these people respect and decency and will often slip them some nut mix and a few cans of Shasta Orange Soda if they’ve performed well.

Even in the world of Union Background, there’s a pecking order there as well. Movie BG is less appealing than TV Background and at the top of the list are the Commercial Background Performers. Now if you’re dead set on making it as a BG performer, this is where you want to be. Many of the Commercial Extras show up for work in cars that cost $40,000 and above and in fact, a couple that I work with all the time own several successful businesses and real estate investments and drive $80,000 cars but still show up to work as Extras! It’s a different breed - the commercials Extras all drive nice cars and have nice clothes and are on the whole, extremely professional. They also get paid about 3x as much as Extras do on TV and Movie sets. The 8 hour rate for a commercial Extra is about $310.00, with bumps for wardrobe, use of car, overtime after 8 hours, double time for weekend work and a decent chance of being upgraded to a principal.

Many Commercial Extras were actors that got tired of auditioning and got into working as EXtras because they were still getting upgraded a few times a year while being BG and that was better than they were doing when they were auditioning!!!
I’d say the average yearly salary for the people I see on a regular basis is about $50,000 with the top people making $70,000 to $80,000 a year and that’s as an Extra! Crazy, huh???

How do you get into the Union? How do you get work as a Commercial Extra? Do you have to kiss any butt to get the jobs? What makes a great Extra? Stay tuned and I’ll reveal all in my next column.

Phil

August 7, 2008

I’m sure many of you took notice of how well those 2 Background Actors played frisbee in Burger King’s recent “Gladiator In The Park” spot or if you live in the Midwest, I hear you folks went bonkers over the performance of “Man at Hod Dog Stand” who was The Guy we saw (but did not hear) asking for a “Dog with everything” approx. 100 yards behind and to the immediate left of the Actress who played “Pizza Mom #1″ in Donato’s Pizza “Party in the Park” spot.

Now you think these Background Actors just decided on their own to cross the street or jog down the path or have a conversation about Global Warming and its effects on the reproductive system of The Rhesus Monkeys of Sub-Sahara Africa? Heck no! They were directed by an Assistant Director to “act” like they’re real people - helping to create an illusion of reality in the BG so our Viewer stays focused on the Principal Actors and the Product being sold.

I realize this is a shock to many of you - that those people way way way in the background are actually being directed to do whatever it is they end up doing. It shocked me too until one day a Director I was working for turned to me and asked me why the *$%#@ the background was just standing there twiddling their thumbs and talking on their cell phones behind the Actors?

Okay, I’m kidding here but as an Assistant Director, one of the few creatve things we get to participate in is the Directing Of Background Action. Actually, we’re the Ayatollahs of Background Action because if the Director gives the background a specific action, that Extra can argue that he/she should be upgraded to a Principal and this will make many people very upset.

My style of Directing Background was heavily influenced by an AD I first worked with on the movie Great Balls Of Fire which was my first real big movie on set experience. The 1st AD’s name was Jack Baran and he would go over to 2 Extras on the street corner Playing a Couple and say something like…

“Okay, Bob, your Plumbing Business is being investigated by The FBI for money laundering for the Russian Mob and you’ve been cheating on your wife Gladys here with the 16 year old babysitter who’s just informed you she’s pregnant and she wants to keep it - and Gladys, you’re conflicted about whether to make the pot roast or chicken a la king for your Bridge Group that’s coming over for a dinner party and oh, you’ve just made inquiries about hiring a hit man to take out Bob here…Okay, so when you hear the word “Action” you two cross the street.

He always made up these intricate motivations and backstories for the Extras and while they (the backstories) did zilch for making the scene any better, it created a great atmosphere for the BG and got them involved in really trying to do their job, as mundane as it really was.

On a side note - here are a few crazy Background stories that occured during my career.

1. During filming of Great Balls Of Fire, we dressed an older Extra up as a Homeless Guy for this huge street scene with hundreds of extras and a few hours into the day I see the Extra in the back seat of a Police Cruiser being driven away. Apparently, The Memphis Police thought this Guy was a real Homeless Person who was interfering with filming and didn’t believe he was an Extra because he was so convincing in his part.

2. On a Showtime Movie called Rainbow Drive, we were doing driving shots and I was waiting for an Actor’s Photo Double to arrive and get him immediately into this $100,000 Rolls Royce and have him drive a few miles away to where we were doing our shots. Shortly thereafter, a Guy looking just liek the actor he was doubling arrives and confirms he is the Photo Double so I hustle him through wardrobe, get him into the Rolls and off he goes. A few minutes later, a Guy comes up to me and says he’s the Photo Double reporting for work and I realize I handed the keys to a $100,000 Rolls Royce to a complete stranger.

Long story short - The imposter works as the photo double, does a good job and gets paid and at the end of the day I asked him why he said he was the photo double and he said he always dreamed about being in a movie and when I asked him if he was the double he saw this as his moment of glory.

3. On a sad note, I was working on a Movie, Crossing The Bridge, and I was talking to an Extra who had brought in his prized 1968 cherry Chevrolet to use as a picture car in the movie and I turned my head for a sec while answering another AD on my walkie and as I turned back to finish the conversation, the Extra was on the ground having a heart attack from which he died from. I’ll never forget waiting on set for the family and having them tell me that working on the movie had been a thrill for their father and that they were happy he left us doing something he loved.

I’ve got a million crazy stories- those are a few but back to the whole AD/Extra relationship.

HERE’S HOW THE BACKGROUND GETS SET FOR A BIG SCENE.

Usually, The Director will first want to rehearse the scene with the actors.

After rehearsal, teh actors go away to finsih MU/Hair and wardrobe while The DP lighst the set.

meanwhile, The 2nd Ad or 2nd 2nd will be checking in Background and getting them through wardrobe. Unless its a period or special scene like an upscale party or something of that nature, Background won’t go through hair and makeup.

As The DP gets close, you call the 2nd and tell him/her to help start setting the Background.

Background come son set or You go to where Background is and you give them a rundown of the scene and

After setting the Extras, you run through a rehearsal just for them while looking at the monitor.

When all looks dialed in, tell the Background to remember their positions, then release them until the Actors and DP are ready to shoot.

Also remind BG of the basics: No looking at camera, pantomime during takes, stay quiet in between takes, remember where you are and when, so you can help us reset quickly when we move in for coverage or do pickups (By this I mean a Good Extra will remember he was crossing the Girl in the red sweater when the Actoir said a specific line of dialogue so if we do a pickup, that extra will know where to start in order to keep continuity)

***Keeping Background continuity is the AD’s job (script supervisor can help) but a good Extra will be very helpful and will get repeat calls for work if they’re “on it”.****

Once shooting, I’ll watch the monitor and make adjsutments as needed.

Setting good background is an aquired skill that takes a while to perfect. I’m pretty good but could always be better and I actually Tivo spost I’ve AD’d when theyy come on TV so I can replay them and watch what’s happening in the BG. Next week I’ll get more into the world of AD’s and Extras - how to get into that biz, how much they can make, upgrading to principal, what makes a great BG artist, The Craft Service/Extra Talent conundrum, and other tasty tidbits of tantalizing tawdriness so have a great week and thanks for reading…

Phil

FYI - The Scorcese I was referencing in The Headline was Harvey Scorcese of Scorcese Wedding Video Hut in Akron, Ohio. He’s a genius and is doing some amazing things with cross fades and getting the Bridal Party to “smile and act natural”.

July 28, 2008

One of the cool things about being a top flight, A-tier Assistant Director is the opportunity to meet some of the people who made an enormous impact on your life. Just last week I got to meet one those special someones who played a major role in shaping the Phil that I am today. No, it isn’t Marcia Clark from the OJ trial or Marcia Strassman who played Gabe Kaplan’s wife on Welcome Back Kotter, though I did get to meet her several years ago, (name dropper!), no, I’m talking about the “Marcia that Matters” and that would be none other than the iconic Marcia Brady. I know, her real name isn’t Marcia but don’t tell me that!

So anwyay, last week we were shooting some promos for a new show featuring Marcia, Carnie Wilson and Bobby Brown and there I was, politely asking Marcia Brady if she could move a tiny bit camera left, then later, gently informing her she had a full hour for lunch or if she really felt she needed more time, 2 hours, if that’s what she required! I remember, I kept thinking while all this was “going down” why couldn’t this meeting have taken place like 30 years ago?! I would have been the toast of Junior High! Now, I come home and tell my wife I worked with Marcia Brady and I get “Honey, did you mail the gas bill yet??”

My wife’s psychic and she can tell meeting Marcia is a way bigger deal than I’m letting on so her strategy is to pretend like she didn’t even hear what I said about working with Marcia - and that’s something you’ll have to deal with if you want to be in show biz. Learning how to keep the home fires burning while you’re out there cavorting with sexy superstars.

Anyway, I’m still pinching myself that I actually met Marcia who happens to be the consummate pro; friendly, punctual, energetic, cute, funny, knows her lines, hits her mark, nice to the crew…I could go on and on but you get the picture. Carnie and Bobby were also great but I didn’t grow up wanting to hang out or go out with them, especially Bobby and that’s my prerogative, right??

Bottom line. Work hard and you too could find yourself standing face to face with The Bionic Woman or The Campbell’s Soup Chef or whomever it was that you idolized or had a crush on.

Take care,

Phil