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The life of a DP


Tyler Leisher

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Well said Richard. I think it's a question of establishing your own personal priorities.

I work with female 1st AC's that are really talented and will become great DP's in the years to come.

I work with one female gaffer who is super as well. I have yet to work with any female grips.

Yes it will be tougher as a woman but really be sure it is tough for men as well.

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Without delving in to the man/woman discussion I wonder if America will ever be more relaxed about shooting like in Europe.

 

I've only heard this but I believe in some union shows they have 5 1/2 day weeks. Not a whole lot better but I'd take it.

 

Why does it have to be this way?

 

little cheers,

 

Matt

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Have you seen Haskell Wexler's documentary on the long hours of U.S. production, called "Who Needs Sleep?"

 

Yes, it's nuts that we consider 12 hours to be a normal working day, and sometimes go beyond that.

 

On "Akeelah and the Bee", because we had a child actress as our lead, the producer added four days to our schedule if we promised to keep to 10 hour days, which we did generally. What a nice shoot that was!

 

Part of the problem is that movie stars get paid so much nowadays that a production can't afford for the schedule to fall over into another week with these actors.

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Without delving in to the man/woman discussion I wonder if America will ever be more relaxed about shooting like in Europe.

 

I've only heard this but I believe in some union shows they have 5 1/2 day weeks. Not a whole lot better but I'd take it.

 

Why does it have to be this way?

 

little cheers,

 

Matt

 

Not to mention that LEGALLY they need to have red wine available for the crew during meal breaks in France.

Thats all there is to it, im moving...

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I must say that all this complaint about long working hours is so tedious and it always crops up. We all knew this going into this business. Now, I do appreciate that for crew it is diferent than for director's, DP's and designers - but still. 12hrs is a perfectly acceptable working day, I find. 1,5 hours of those are spent eating food someone else has payed for and cooked for you. That leaves 10,5hrs to do work, which you're handsomely rewarded for.

 

Frankly, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

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I'm with you 100% on that Adam! I'd like to add that French grips can do to red wine what American grips can do to beer.

And where did you hear that LEGALLY they have to provide red wine?

I don't think shooting in Europe is any more relaxed than anywhere else.

Matter of fact the police in New York assigned to the Film Unit are the coolest I've ever encountered anywhere!

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hi i was recently proposed in france a job :

 

10 days in row

no extra salary for the WE

work in the "non working day" at normal working day fee

no avertime paid

and had to smile :(

 

it's a big production company renting expensive stuff

 

my point is: we have no union to protect the workers, productions don't want to put the minimum legal amount off money on people salary.

why? and i think it's the same problem everywhere? newcomers needs to know.

 

when you strart working in the film industry, from the indy side, you work for free.

when you start in the paying industry you'll work for the minimum wage (which isn't bad compare to other jobs)

but you'll work only one day or tow or if you are lucky the entire feature.

 

then you'll struggle to have a salary, that you need to negotiate each time, for each jobs with people a lot more experienced than you to talk about money.

 

when there are to many people for a certain amount of job, you become goods.

so you always need to know how much you are and why you acept to work at which conditions

 

i'm not talking about art or whatever, i'm talking about industry and people majing benefits whith your work.

i agree that it's different for directors, dop's.

 

most of the time if you are not respected in your salary there is no reason why you should be respected on the set.

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I must say that all this complaint about long working hours is so tedious and it always crops up. We all knew this going into this business. Now, I do appreciate that for crew it is diferent than for director's, DP's and designers - but still. 12hrs is a perfectly acceptable working day, I find.

 

Don't have a family or wife you'd like to get home and see, Adam? A 12 hour workday and commute home basically means that you go to bed almost immediately if you plan on getting a full night's sleep.

 

Plus how many features or TV shows do you work on? It's one thing to work for a week straight on a commercial or music video at those hours, but what about three months on a feature or six months on a TV series? It wears you out!

 

This is a serious issue actually -- people are getting injured and/or killed here because of unsafe working conditions due to long hours (not twelve hours, but the fourteen, sixteen, twenty-hour days we put in now & then.) I don't think it is fair to suggest that anyone who complains is just a whiner. Sure, a 12-hour day is doable physically, but there's no way to guarantee that the production sticks to that.

 

I took the job of shooting "Big Love" partly so I could be in town to see my wife regularly for seven months straight, but the truth is that with nearly an hour commute and 12-hour plus days, it was almost like being away on location, I hardly spent any time with her after work. And I'd spend half the weekend falling asleep while she tried to talk to me.

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Plus how many features or TV shows do you work on? It's one thing to work for a week straight on a commercial or music video at those hours, but what about three months on a feature or six months on a TV series? It wears you out!

 

I totally agree. Last year I worked for 10 months on a tv series, 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, with only a week off in august. We were all very tired at the end of the shoot, but I can't believe what it would be if it had been 12 hours a day.

 

This is a serious issue actually -- people are getting injured and/or killed here because of unsafe working conditions due to long hours (not twelve hours, but the fourteen, sixteen, twenty-hour days we put in now & then.) I don't think it is responsible to suggest that anyone who complains is just a whiner.

 

again, I agree completely with David on this. It's also disturbing to minimize things by saying you're being paid good money and you shouldn't complain, because, at least here, most of the times, it's actually below minimum wage per hour. I love my job and I love this kind of industry, but I think the unions should be more vocal and pretend stricter rules regarding working hours per day.

 

At the same time, I think that a lot of fellow colleagues are responsible for this, by simply not complaining about it since they fear they would be fired and someone else (who's willing to work 14 hours a day) would be hired instead, and of course a lot of producers simply take advantage of that.

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I have been married twice , both went down the toilet for same reasons never being at home , i only do things that suit me now i am lucky not married but have a nice lady we dont live together but i see her more than i did my two wives ,how sad is that ?

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I don't have a family. But I have done longer jobs - just finsihed a 3-week Ikea job, for example.

 

We weren't talking about the 16hr days or the occasional 18hr one, but the 12hr days. I think 12hrs is acceptable. If you factor in breakfast, lunch and dinner (which you are getting in your 12hr day) ANY working day would be 12hrs - even if you're a teacher, car salesman or whatnot. Besides, when the occasional 16hr day happens (I'm not defending it), you don't work 12hrs the day after and you get at least 11hrs of "off time" between, no? Just like any other job, there will sometimes be surges when one has to meet a deadline or work overtime, despite the best of plans. It's not ideal, but this must be accepted.

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Adam i do understand what you say it just gets harder when you are not a single man , even the money you earn shooting an ikea commercial [ you were getting a day more ikea staff get in a long week ] sometimes make up for having a life . will say no more .

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I have been married twice , both went down the toilet for same reasons never being at home , i only do things that suit me now i am lucky not married but have a nice lady we dont live together but i see her more than i did my two wives ,how sad is that ?

 

Yep...divorced and single people on film sets.

 

R,

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If you factor in breakfast, lunch and dinner (which you are getting in your 12hr day) ANY working day would be 12hrs - even if you're a teacher, car salesman or whatnot.

 

 

 

Well, you don't get breakfast, lunch, and dinner usually here in the states. Normally as a courtesy, they will have breakfast- thats pretty standard- but it's ready half an hour before call, so you need to show up early for call to get it. Most people do; pretty standard. Lunch is a given on all but the most insane shoots. Dinner I'm finding is more rare, at least where I work. The union requirements are a sit down meal for a half hour every six hours of working. But if you work a 14 hour day, ort a 16 hour day, or whatever, often the production will rather pay the extremely minimal meal penalties than stop for a half hour to feed the crew and pay the caterer more money for a second meal. The meal penalties really are pretty abysmal- I did a 20 hour music video a few months ago, where we ate once in 20 hours, and made $100 dollars in meal penalties. I, and I think probably most everyone on the crew, would sacrifice the extra hundred dollars for a half hour to sit down and recharge batteries. And remember, meal penalties only apply to union people- what about the PAs who can't eat on time because they need to watch gear while the rest of the crew eats, and who work for flat rates for those 20 hour days.

 

So these 12 hour days, at least where I work, are not normally a 10.5 hour day with 3 meals. And these 12 hour days are just as frequent as 14 hour days, with 1 meal, or the occasional 20 hour day, etc.

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Well, you don't get breakfast, lunch, and dinner usually here in the states. Normally as a courtesy, they will have breakfast- thats pretty standard- but it's ready half an hour before call, so you need to show up early for call to get it. Most people do; pretty standard. Lunch is a given on all but the most insane shoots.

 

On studio based productions - that is, shows based on studio lots in Los Angeles - there is usually only catering for special occasions. Breakfast is usually supplied by craft service, not a caterer. Lunch is an hour off and the crew is on their own. If you want to have lunch on the lot, there are commissaries for that, or you can go off-lot as long as you're back in an hour - which, in L.A., is not a lot of time to leave and come back, especially if you drive. Second meal, if required, is often either pizza, Poquito Mas burritos and tacos, or In-N-Out burgers. On location, of course, there is catering, for both breakfast and lunch, although breakfast is often done as a walking breakfast. This only changes if you are warehouse based, in which case catering is usually provided every day.

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I'd like to change the direction of the discussion to the best catering I've had.

 

I had a 10 hour music video where we ended up skipping lunch becuase we were moving inbetween locations. However at the end of the shoot the artist's mother (who owns restaurant) arrived with a truck of fresh aluminum trays with the best food I've ever had. Perhaps becuase I was starving but I really enjoyed eating about 4 plates of food.

 

I guess that shoot was kind of a screw up but the food was amazing. Some of the most rewrarding eating I do is on set after a long day.

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

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On studio based productions - that is, shows based on studio lots in Los Angeles - there is usually only catering for special occasions. Breakfast is usually supplied by craft service, not a caterer. Lunch is an hour off and the crew is on their own. If you want to have lunch on the lot, there are commissaries for that, or you can go off-lot as long as you're back in an hour - which, in L.A., is not a lot of time to leave and come back, especially if you drive. Second meal, if required, is often either pizza, Poquito Mas burritos and tacos, or In-N-Out burgers. On location, of course, there is catering, for both breakfast and lunch, although breakfast is often done as a walking breakfast. This only changes if you are warehouse based, in which case catering is usually provided every day.

 

If I had a dime for every cold pizza slice I've had as "dinner" sitting on some slippery, wet lens case in the rain - I'd be rich. It's not ideal, and what bothers me the most personally is all that unhealthy food - trays of candy, soda, crisps and all that poop we eat during shoots. I don't have the willpower to turn down that choc muffin when it comes around. I'd rather see better food at "dinner" (lunch is normally pretty OK), than money in my hand.

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I gained some weight during the "Big Love" shoot -- we had an excellent caterer from Louisiana (I think), but it was that kind of rich southern cooking... for seven months!

 

And craft services would roll in the fried snack foods in the morning and the evening, plus the donuts, etc.

 

I'm supposed to be on a low-fat diet after being prescribed Lipitor back in October, but my eating options were not optimal during this time. And with sensitive teeth, I can't chew on cold lettuce or other salads easily, so I was dying for some simple, cooked vegetables that weren't covered in gravy or heavy cream...

 

I mean, the food was wonderful, but it was like going to a New Orleans restaurant every day.

 

Best I could do, health-wise, was breakfast, usually some egg whites and spinach scrambled together, or oatmeal.

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Its really luck sometimes who you get for catering here in Melbourne.

 

Sometimes it's brilliant, healthy, fresh and so many options. Sometimes your looking at brekky searching for something that isnt smothered in oil. We have been lucky on our TV series and get the top caterer. It really does make you happy after working a long day and being rewarded with restaurant quality meals whether it's on location or in a studio.

 

In terms of the long working hours. On Tele Series here they try not to go Overtime too often. It's a standard 10 hour day then you have your Lunch ect on top of the that. So your at work for 11 (prob 12 with pre-light/wrap) Plus you need to get to location and back. There is no life during the week. I believe it's acceptable but not practical (i'm a young, single man).

Trying to run a family must be difficult if not bordering on immposible. You may enough time to come home check your email shower and bed. On Commercials i don't mind doing OT. Once your start doing three or four hours OT the Pro's of your pay outways the cons.

 

I don't think people really know what there getting into. I was stoked when i first started working in the film industry that i didn't think twice about the life/hours. Once it becomes your 'life' you start to wake up a bit.

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Its really luck sometimes who you get for catering here in Melbourne.

 

 

I don't think people really know what there getting into. I was stoked when i first started working in the film industry that i didn't think twice about the life/hours. Once it becomes your 'life' you start to wake up a bit.

 

In regard to your "once it becomes your life" comment, how many people have been on a

long shoot, both in length and number of days, and at some point if you wake up in the middle

of

the night and you become conscious of a night light flaring or something your first thought is

somebody get a flag on that?

 

I like to eat healthily so I always have a back-up plan, a bag of stuff that I can absolutely

find satisfactory, even hot food in a thermos, if I don't like what's available. People tell me

that I shouldn't have to do that but I don't care. I want to be in a good mood plus it often saves

waiting in line, time I can use to already be seated and thinking about what's next.

 

Also, I've learned to complain about some things (getting the right lights) and not others.

If the crew is unhappy I'll speak up but if it's just a case that I'm not interested in the food

I don't bitch and I dig out my FMREs (Film Meals ready to eat.)

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I agree with you James. In the beginning you'll put up with anything just to be doing what you love, but once you become more established, you have to protect yourself. If it's food or hours, whatever (obviously we have to make sacrifices) at some point you have to do what's good for YOU. Sure, there's lots of people waiting to jump in your spot, that's the nature of this industry, but know what you are willing to give beforehand, and stick to your guns.

 

That said, I find the job really rewarding. Sure, I never know what my schedule will be...even just the day before (sometimes the day of) but I do find myself in loads of interestig places, meeting different people that I surely wouldn't have met otherwise. Not to mention all the cool toys!

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In regard to your "once it becomes your life" comment, how many people have been on a long shoot, both in length and number of days, and at some point if you wake up in the middle of the night and you become conscious of a night light flaring or something your first thought is somebody get a flag on that?

 

I hear that! One night I was waking up every few hours and freaking out because nobody had a hand on the camera, which was dangerously balanced on a chair in my bedroom... Turns out piles of clothes look just like F950's to the sleep deprived!

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I don't think people really know what there getting into. I was stoked when i first started working in the film industry that i didn't think twice about the life/hours. Once it becomes your 'life' you start to wake up a bit.

 

 

Funny, that. :) It is precisely that epiphany that I had several years in that pushed me to write my book about the industry. Some people get in because it seems glamorous. Others jump in because they (think that they) like the idea of being on a movie set doing the skill that interests them. Other just jump in. Whatever the reason, all too often, little or no thought goes into what life will REALLY be like on and off the set. Certainly, schools don't do any significant "warning" of life issues and I have yet to find a published book which adequately explains those issues. I'm trying to fill that gap for future generations.

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You folks ought to try producing TV. How about staying up for 24 hours strait to shoot and edit pieces for next day air as I used to do weekly. The worst was 9/11. Americas Most Wanted asked me to cover the atack because NYC was locked down. I was up for three days strait shooting and editing so it could be satelitted to DC for air. Hours? It's not about hours for, but love. Man I love all of what I do from shooting to editing to directing. Of course my days as a crew member were about love but we didn't let anyone take advantage of us (to much).

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