1st AD Short

[Tim Tyler]

Somebody sent me this link. It's funny.

 

[Francesco Bonomo]

Somebody sent me this link. It's funny.

 

it is indeed. I'm thinking about two ads I know who are exactly like that. I'll save the link and re-watch the short every time I need to put some distance between my life and my job (hopefully I'll never end up as Lou, but you never know...).

 

Thanks for sharing it, Tim.

[David Mullen ASC]

I saw that short in New Orleans because it was based on our AD for "Solstice", Lou Tochette, who was the Key Set PA on "Titanic" apparently (and I think was the AD of the short, listed only as "Lou").

 

Heard a lot of stories about the "Titanic" shoot...

[Guest]

That isn't what a first AD does at all. On my feature the first AD, ran the slate, set up lights, hauled gear, swept the floor, pulled focus, the list goes on and on.

 

Unless of course things are different on big movie shoots?

 

R,

[David Mullen ASC]

That isn't what a first AD does at all. On my feature the first AD, ran the slate, set up lights, hauled gear, swept the floor, pulled focus, the list goes on and on.

 

Unless of course things are different on big movie shoots?

 

R,

 

Unless you are being facetious, you're confusing "AC" (Assistant Cameraperson) with "AD" (Assistant Director). AC's would slate and pull focus, etc. An AD runs the set basically, coordinates between departments, creates the call sheet and shooting schedule, etc. And this is true on small feature-film shoots as well as large shoots, any shoot large enough to have departments to coordinate on the shooting day basically.

 

Even on my first feature, basically made up of CalArts film students with a budget of $45,000 cash, we had an AD doing the traditional AD functions. And camera assistants.

 

I've even had AD's on small video shoots for infomercials where the total crew was a dozen at the most. It's not a question of big or small, it's a question of set coordination. If you've got actors with different call times / make-up times throughout the day, usually being dressed and made-up in another location off-set, someone's got to manage and keep track of all of that so they show up on set at the right time, not too early or too late.

 

You did a 35mm feature without hiring any camera assistants?

[Guest]

You did a 35mm feature without hiring any camera assistants?

 

I had one first AC, Stephen Whitehead, who posts here.

 

Every shot in focus and every shot exposed correctly. I had fewer out of focus shots than Casino Royale :D

 

And yes of course I was being some what facetious. My first AD did mostly traditional first AD stuff. But on occasion every one did some thing different. I picked up plenty of coffee cups from around the set.

 

Don't even ask what I've been doing tonight.

 

I will NEVER make another movie like this again I can tell you that. Next time it's a full crew or nothing.

 

But for now I have to take some what of a Robert Rodriguez approach. That's ok for one movie, you do what you have to do. So long as it looks good on screen that's all that counts in the end.

 

R,

[Chayse Irvin ASC, CSC]

I will NEVER make another movie like this again I can tell you that. Next time it's a full crew or nothing.

 

After its all said and done Richard, do you feel a challenge like that will only makes you better at your job and perhaps define how you work for the rest of your career?

[David Mullen ASC]

You do whatever it takes to make a movie, get it done. On a smaller movie with a tiny crew, it means a lot of job overlapping. I've worked with directors who wrap cable at the end of the day, carry c-stands, etc. I've collected and thrown away trash on a set occasionally, even on a bigger movie. I've had to stop trying to lift heavy things lately...

 

Ideally, you have enough of a crew so that you can actually direct when the time comes to direct, not piss away your concentration and energy doing things like keeping track of wardrobe or wondering where to find a second meal at the end of a long day or dealing with an actor's parking ticket.

 

But I certainly don't envy you Richard -- indie directors put up with a lot of nonsense just to be able to direct. Even on my first feature, the director would tell me that some actors would call him at 3AM, waking him up, to complain that they ran out of contact lens solution.

[Guest]

After its all said and done Richard, do you feel a challenge like that will only makes you better at your job and perhaps define how you work for the rest of your career?

 

I'll definately fall back on this experience in the future. I think it's easy to adapt to bigger budgets, rather than going the opposite way. I'm not sure I'll direct and DOP again. And certainly the people I'm talking with about doing a bigger film don't want me to do both. When other people have a lot of money on the line I think they are more comfortable knowing the director is focused on the actors, and not setting up the camera.

 

 

You do whatever it takes to make a movie, get it done. On a smaller movie with a tiny crew, it means a lot of job overlapping. I've worked with directors who wrap cable at the end of the day, carry c-stands, etc. I've collected and thrown away trash on a set occasionally, even on a bigger movie. I've had to stop trying to lift heavy things lately...

 

Ideally, you have enough of a crew so that you can actually direct when the time comes to direct, not piss away your concentration and energy doing things like keeping track of wardrobe or wondering where to find a second meal at the end of a long day or dealing with an actor's parking ticket.

 

But I certainly don't envy you Richard -- indie directors put up with a lot of nonsense just to be able to direct. Even on my first feature, the director would tell me that some actors would call him at 3AM, waking him up, to complain that they ran out of contact lens solution.

 

Well at least I had full catering, and my actors have all been very reliable and responsible. I had a small crew but at least they where all pros.

 

I'm sure if my film is a huge hit, there's a book in this. How to make a super low budget movie on 35mm. People have done it on video and 16mm, but I don't think many have attempted my budget with 35mm.

 

In any event I won't care much what the critics say I think I'll be fairly happy with the end product. My goal was to make a feature on 35mm, & I'm weeks away from achieving that.

 

Even if it's just a resume piece that's fine. At long last I won't have to listen to people say, "but you've never made a feature film."

 

R,

[David Mullen ASC]

I thought you had made one before, or was that just as the cinematographer?

 

The cheapest 35mm features I've generally heard of are in the $80,000 to $150,000 range -- films like "George Washington" for example, or the little 35mm feature I shot called "The Last Big Thing", which spent less than $100,000.

 

My first feature was shot for $45,000 in 35mm, but that was unique in that we had deferred deals on lab processing and a camera package because the lab and camera renter were attempting to be involved in producing and owning low-budget films - that scheme didn't last long. I doubt they ever saw all their expenses paid back, so I can't really say what the movie would have cost if we really paid for things. Probably $80,000 at least.

 

It's hard to shoot a 35mm feature for much less than $80,000 simply due to the cost of the stock, processing, telecine, and then later, finishing costs.

[Guest]

Ok I lied, I'm really spending a "million."

 

R,

[Matthew Buick]

My total budget for my current film is exactly £200.00, I should be starting the principal photograohy someting in June, I'll most likely wrap the next day. :D This has been such a hurdle for me to overcome (mostly ironing out technical problems) I'm doing VO in the film, I'm not brave enough to try and Lip-Sync, so I'll worry about that later.

 

I've got a more technically simple film called 'In the Can' which will probably be filmed in a quiet part of town over a lunchtime in August.

 

Good luck, Richard. ;) And I thought I had a hard shoot. :huh: