Premium Member Adam Frisch FSF Posted February 19, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted February 19, 2005 (edited) Accepted to do a small music video back home in Sweden for a director I've known for years. Budgets are completely shot up there for videos, so it was against better judgement, but hey, It'd be fun, right? So we shoot on set all day with smoke machines and tungsten lights killing my pores and lungs (I still have such heat-rash and cracker-oil clogged pores that it's not even funny - had to cancel a date just because my forehead is infested with zits the size of Kansas :blink:) Natuarally film was out with that budget, and I found myself wielding some kind of sports slo-mo videocamera from hell. It did a constant 75fps. Not only was the umbilical cord thick as my thigh, the whole thing weighed a ton. And naturally, to really hit that home - all handheld. The camera was also issued in bureacrat grey as a final insult. I did however manage to stick a Pro 35 adapter on it and use a set of Zeiss primes - at least something. We wrap at 4AM in the morning after an 19 hour day. The crew takes off and the director starts striking the sets with his slightly sleepy buddy (they call him The Fog, so that ought to tell you something..), simply because a striking team was not really budgeted for and the studio has to be vacated by 8AM. Naturally, being the general friendly, helpful character that I am, I simply can't walk away knowing that the director and The Fog will have to clear that stage by themselves. So I offer to pitch in. After all I'm the one getting paid the most. When will I ever learn? I should have just lived with the stigma of being a diva and gone home. By 8AM all the rubbish from the set and the walls are down. I'm a walking zombie. By 9AM all the rubbish is in the huge dumspter strategically placed on the backlot. I barely make it home through the snowstorm to try and catch some sleep before my afternoon flight back to London. I just manage to undress and get embraced by mum's comfy sofa when the phone rings. It's the director. "We dumped all the poop in some kind of construction firms dumpster. They've gone mad, called the studio and found out it's our poop and are now threatening us with a $2000 fine if we don't clear it in 10 minutes. Can you come down and help - I don't know who else to call?". I don't learn, apparently. I pull my clothes back on, stick some toothpicks under my eyelids and drive off. We clear the dumpster in the freezing snow only to realise that we can't dump it at the studios dumpster because they haven't arranged for any dumping due to the budget being completely shot (you have to pay per cubic inch of trash when you put it in the studio dumpster). So now we're standing in the snow with a mountain of rubble and poop. And one Totoya van. Naturally it doesn't fit. Nor do they have a clue where they will be able to dump it. I offer to take some in my mum's car and try to find someplace on the way back home. It's now about 10:30AM. I drive far out into a suburb that I know has a public dump, only to find it closed on that particular day (all other days but that one they're open, of course). So I return to town, sneaking by known and unknown industrial areas and on the prowl for a dumpster - ANY dumpster. Aha! I spot one! I quickly unload all the crap from the back of my car, which takes a considerable time since my mum's car is rather big. Just as I'm about to throw the last obnoxious item into the dumpster I feel a firm hand on my shoulder. "What the f****** hell you thing you're doing??" "Eh..., I'm dumping stuff in this huge container". "This is *insert company name*'s private dumpster that we've paid for - you'll just have to put all that stuff back into your car and get the hell out of here, son". "Are you serious?" Turned out he was. So now I climb into the huge rusty container and throw every single item back over the edge and put it back into my mum's car. All while the man is watching my every move over my shoulder, fuming. To make matters worse - all his collegues have come out to look at the stupid idiot who thought he could dump unauthorized stuff in THEIR dumpster. The nerve!! They're also all fuming. At this point I'm ready to crack. The snowstorm, the idiots, the sleep deprevation, the clogged pores - it's all just too much. I manage to refrain from killing the men or myself and drive off - on the road once again - I feel like some mental Jack Kerouac in a stupid Renault full of crap. I finally spot a building site that's got some nice heeps of poop and I manage to get rid of it all there. Time is now around 12PM. Final insult: when I drive back home I stop for 1 minute to get a ticket for the airport coach which I'll soon be going on. When I get out I've got a $90 parking ticket firmly planted on my moms wiper. At this point I just laugh. Another day in the glamour-biz. :D Edited February 19, 2005 by AdamFrisch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidSloan Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 You'll be laughing about this in the years to come! No sweat mate. Sucks about the date though...was she cute? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Pacini Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 Wow! I've had days where I swore I had an invisible target painted on me, but that is one big FUBAR of a day you had! I'd send a bill to the director for the ticket at least, telling him it was a dumping fee. Of course, collecting is another thing altogether. Matt Pacini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adam Frisch FSF Posted February 19, 2005 Author Premium Member Share Posted February 19, 2005 (edited) You'll be laughing about this in the years to come! No sweat mate. Sucks about the date though...was she cute? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm seeing her next week instead, when the rashes have subsided (hopefully). :P Edited February 19, 2005 by AdamFrisch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Belics Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 So we've got a Swedish guy living in England with zits the size of Kansas. Is this an international board or what?! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Salzmann Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 Sounds like a lack of pre-prod. that transformed into an abusive situation. Were there no PA's? All that driving with no sleep is dangerous. I like yourself lend a hand with stuff when necessary but it is important to set limits. I would have gotten the group in there helping out. After all it is their promo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Achterberg Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 I'm seeing her next week instead, when the rashes have subsided (hopefully). :P <{POST_SNAPBACK}> come on mate, answer the questions...is she cute? yeah, I agree with homie...I personally would have helped too, but only the once, then sent the bill to who ever was runnin the show. and yes, lack of pre production Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted February 19, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted February 19, 2005 Hi, The thing is it's the people who do this kind of thing, saving the production money (at the cost of people's time) who achieve success. It's always the arseholes who make it big. I can't believe someone didn't plan for this either, but doubtless this guy will go far. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tony Brown Posted February 19, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted February 19, 2005 Prima Donna - moan moan moan :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Adam Frisch FSF Posted February 20, 2005 Author Premium Member Share Posted February 20, 2005 Just to give you a little bit of perspective - we're talking a $12.000 budget here, so shooting in a studio with a set was madness to begin with. I knew this going in - that's a normal music video budget in Sweden these days. What can you do? The worst part is it looked quite good on the monitors, so maybe the notion that you have to suffer for your art is all true, huh? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted February 20, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted February 20, 2005 Hi, Twelve grand is loads; it sounds, with the exception of the Frisch Refuse Service, like the kind of thing I'd happily do for free if such a job existed in the UK. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidSloan Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 Actually 12k is pretty meager for a music video, Phil. I'm shooting a music video in May for 20k and we're still struggling for money. Once you add up people's day rates, catering, rentals, post, location fees, transportation, film stock, props, etc, etc....that money goes *poof* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Andino Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 Now this is a story I wanna see on the big screen... I see a Jake Gyllenhal or maybe a Jeremy Davies playing you... Someone young and friendly and a tad bit gullible but not too much And instead of being filmmakers making music videos They should be ad-men doing a visual presentation Or anything cool and hip like that The audience doesn't like to see movies about filmmaking (no matter how much we love) SO LET'S DO IT :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Keith Mottram Posted February 20, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted February 20, 2005 the only words that come in to my mind, considering the fact that it is 2am and i really shouldn't be on the net right now is that you are a "gentleman and a scholar". we do it for love, or to be masochists. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tony Brown Posted February 20, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted February 20, 2005 Nope.....too late......you're now officially the forum Prima Donna :P (we had to find one eventually) Anyone have a suitable avatar? Maybe this could become a monthly award :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewbuchanan Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 Hey Adam, I'm shooting a low budget music video in March, if you have any time open... In all seriousness, you sound like the kind of person that a director would be proud to have on their set. I know these kind of shoots suck and I have done my share, but people to take notice and remember the crew members who go the extra distance out of love. Those are the guys who get the call backs... and the occasional "he hasn't done it before, but I've seen him work and he gives it all he has got" that's how you get ahead. Too bad about the date though, you'll get more when your the director/dp. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Kevin Zanit Posted February 20, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted February 20, 2005 "Anyone have a suitable avatar? Maybe this could become a monthly award" I think my Avatar would be quite suitable. :D Kevin Zanit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riku Naskali Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 Twelve grand is loads; it sounds, with the exception of the Frisch Refuse Service, like the kind of thing I'd happily do for free if such a job existed in the UK. That's true, I almost got a music video with a budget of about 4 grants, but it was too expensive. Music videos don't get done here anymore, except for the really "big" names. And wow, they even shoot film! <_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted February 20, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted February 20, 2005 Hi, > Actually 12k is pretty meager for a music video, Phil Not round here it's not. > day rates... You mean people get paid to shoot music promos where you are!? Wow, I had heard legend of it happening in a near-mythica, far-off land. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gray Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 isnt there a movie with steve buscieme? as a movie director where the budgets crap the foods lame and everything that can go wrong does? Its HILARIUS j Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Andino Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 isnt there a movie with steve buscieme? as a movie director where the budgets crap the foods lame and everything that can go wrong does? Its HILARIUS j <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yeah it's pretty Hilarius {or Hilarious} for us...filmmakers But I showed it to a couple of friends (not filmmakers) they were unimpressed It seems the industry jokes are pretty boring for everyone else And I thought everyone wanted to make movies But nope just us crazies B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Andino Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 Oh and yeah the movie is called "LIVING IN OBLIVION" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Pacini Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 That reminds me of when my cameraman & I went to the theater to see Ed Wood. We were laughing to the point of almost peeing our pants, and I swear to you, nobody else even chuckled through the entire film. They were staring at us like we were from Jupiter. (Also, there were maybe 7-8 people other than us in the theater, which was sad.) Matt Pacini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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