Last week, I was hired to do my first professional PA gig.
—Acquisition—
I landed the gig through a Los Angeles friend group, which is how most good jobs are found out here.
During the phone screening, the contact asked if I had worked with Canon DSLRs and P2 cards. I told her I had worked with only the former. Then she asked if I owned a car.
I told her that I did, since I could borrow Katie’s car while she was at work. This decision would torment me for the entire shoot.
I was called back later that day and told I would be a PA. She told me to expect the call sheet on Sunday and that the first work day was Monday.
—Day One—
I arrived at 8am to Avenue Six Studios, met the other PA at the entrance, and we waited until the rest of the crew arrived.
The studio itself was a much bigger, much nicer Weimer basement. Large set pieces were grouped in one corner. Each was essentially a wall on wheels, and each had a different style. One was a bedroom wall with crown molding, another simulated a long hallway with windows, and another had stairs built into it.
We rolled these pieces into place all week long, as needed for the shot.
An attached room, called “The Vault“, contained all the C-Stands, light stands, sandbags, extension cords and clamps. They sent me here whenever they wanted something retrieved.
The director arrived and started planning shots with the set crew and lighting guys. The shoot manager pulled me aside and gave me a list of supplies they’d be needing.
I hopped in the car and spent the next 6 hours driving around LA picking up props. I also picked up lunch and almost locked my keys in the car.
I returned to the shoot around 5pm and set up my laptop. The real reason I got the gig was probably My Macbook Pro, since it was able to download footage from the RED camera. I was told my computer would be used, but I was caught off-guard when I was expected to download the footage and replay it for the director.
Most of my lunch shift was spent reading the RED manual and hoping that I’d be ready by the time the camera arrived later that night.
Around 7pm, the RED arrived and we shot a few test shots. Fortunately, their in-house DP was using the RED for the first time as well, so we were able to stumble along together. We left around 8:30pm, satisfied we were ready for tomorrow.
—Day Two—
I couldn’t borrow Katie’s car for all 4 days, so Tuesday was the first public transportation day. I woke up at 5am to board the train at 5:30am and arrive at 7am.
After the worst commute ever, I was still on a bus at 7:30am. That’s when the phone calls started. Instead of transporting myself the last 20 minutes, they sent the other PA to pick me up.
I walked on set an hour late at 8am and set up my laptop as quickly and shame-filled as possible. Within 5 minutes, they handed me footage to download and playback.
The rest of the day was surprisingly much better than the worse-than-Hell morning. My grunt PA duties were 60% replaced with RED duty, and most of my work was (technically) post-production work, which is what I enjoy and am most skilled at.
A few friends clarified later that my position was the DIT (digital imaging technician), who ensures the footage is clean and transfers without error.
The director, who turned out to be a very nice and understanding person, took me aside after lunch to clarify that when one production member has a problem (such as getting to work), it becomes a problem for everyone. Next time a problem arises, he said, simply tell the shoot manager and we’ll come up with a solution.
As another crew member stated later, “When production waits, the production waits…
We left at 8:30pm again.
—Day Three—
This was my lowest morale day. Two days of shooting, each 12 hours long (15 hours if you include commute), had drained most of my stored up energy.
I woke up at 4am to avoid being late again, and I arrived to work at 6:30am, a half-hour early. I kept eating at craft services to burn more fuel each hour to make it to the next hour.
We had a few supply runs today. Since the other PA also didn’t own a car, we drove the director’s car, which is a nice Mercedes. At some point, a small ding showed up on the driver’s side door, and both our stomachs dropped out of our assholes.
None of us had checked the car for dings before, and we weren’t sure if it was new or not. We told the director at the next break. He was upset but not showing it externally. He didn’t say much about it and we went back indoors, since there was more to shoot.
It took until today, but I finally grasped how a shoot ebbs & flows between shots, and I discovered small tasks that could constantly be done.
As a shot setup was finished, I would move all the chairs that the director, shoot manager, actors and crew used to the new setup. I would anticipate when we were ready to record sound and turn off the AC beforehand, as well as shut the doors to “talky” areas. Essentially, the other PA and I made the building a “living” organism that changed with each shot. Like the stairs in Hogwarts.
Today was also the first day of hot chicks on set. The commercial was for an adult website (I never said it was noble), so these broads were top-shelf fancy. Their presence didn’t change the set much, but it was more motivating to have them on camera than, for example, the men for a Rogaine commercial.
We left on time at 6pm, and I got home at 7:30pm. I was asleep by 9:30pm.
—Day Four—
I was able to borrow Katie’s car again (Thanks again to Eddie), and leave at a somewhat sane time (6am). The final day was the most pleasant day, since I understood the rhythm of the crew and the tasks involved.
By now, I had deduced a fair amount of knowledge about the situation I had been hired to PA for.
The production company I was working for was Intermedia Advertising. They hired me and most of the crew as freelance for this four-day shoot. They were renting the studio, Avenue Six Studios, so they could use their equipment and sets. All of these practices are very common, apparently.
We cleaned up the set and left around 7pm. As we separated, I found the director and apologized for my rookie mistakes all week.
“What??” he said.
“Sorry for the freshmen mistakes.”
“What??!” he said.
“Good shoot,” I responded.
“There ya go,” and he shook my hand.
I picked up Katie from Comedy Central and went home. I was immensely tired. Like, mid-afternoon after Relay for Life tired. I was asleep by 9:30pm with a near migraine. Katie made sure I didn’t die and deserves all the Gushers you can give her.
—Aftermath—
Being a PA is a pretty sweet gig, especially as an entry level job, if you’re working with the right people. I found out later that they were paying me $150 a day, which brings me a cool $600 for 4 (so very long) days of work, and comes out to about $15 an hour.
The best part of being on-set is the food. Craft services (a general name for the food that’s always nearby) has bagels, fruit, drinks, cookies and other small snacks, plus the lunch is always delivered, free and delicious.
Lunch is also the time when the crew can actually talk to other members of the crew and learn about each other, potential jobs and the production industry in general.
YOU MUST HAVE A CAR TO PA. The title Production Assistant should be called “Guy with the Car”. Even if you are able to get to work, and even if you are able to drive someone else’s car, it’s unprofessional to be a PA without one. It’s immensely stressful, unpractical and embarrassing to be without one.
A car is required in Los Angeles if you want to have a normal job and any social life. People’s tolerance for the carless lasts for about 4 days.
Overall, it was a great first professional shoot for me. It showed that while productions are the same here as they are in Florida, they need to be sustainable.
So, the DIY methods and temporary bursts of energy that fuel shoots in Gainesville don’t work here. Everything they shoot one day only counts toward that day. Once the sun rises again, the count is reset and must be built up again.
Do that 5 days in a row, and you finish a week. Do that 50 times and you finish a year. You can’t “wing it” for 4 months or 1 month. I barely lasted 4 days.
On Monday, I will be showing everyone what I’ve been working on for the last 6 months.
Since February, I started making a documentary about my friends who were going to the 2011 College Improv Tournament. It can be seen at WhetherTheWeather.com starting August 8. While I have been around several video and live productions, this was my first time being in charge of a full-fledged project. I’m still alive, but a production always shows you the areas where you were underprepared. Here’s what I learned, and some general thoughts.
This group portrait hangs in the hallway outside the iO Chicago practice rooms.
The First Time You Do Something, It Won’t be That Great
I overheard a friend who wanted to get a screenplay developed. He mentioned the idea to his girlfriend and she said, “I believe in you and I think you can do it, but it will be your first screenplay. It’s not going to be good.”
WOW. That’s the wisest thing I’ve heard in 2011. It’s absolutely true. The first time you do anything, it’s not going to be good. The best you can do is put in extra effort so that it at least looks like it’s your second time doing it.
Great things are made by people who have done similar things 30 times, 80 times, 1,000 times before. The first thing they did sucked, and it sucked hard. If you’re making something for the first few times, put all you can into it, but it’s probably going to be less than impressive until you learn how not to make bad things.
I had a few clips of this place as b-roll. Without an extra person, I didn't have the energy to get more b-roll, which I found is super useful.
Have as Many Cooks as You Have Dishes
The biggest issue I faced was that 98% of the production “team” was just me. I planned, contacted, interviewed, shot, edited, and made everything. To drive the point home further, let me use capslock: I made EVERYTHING. (except the music)
While this does make some things easier (no differences of opinion), it means I had to focus on everything at once. Once something was planned, I had to go shoot it. Once the shot was set up, I had to decide which questions to ask. Once the rough version was edited together, I had to color grade it. As is typical with me, I committed to more than I was ready for and had to develop bigger focus-marathon muscles to get it done.
Having someone else to trudge along with me through the snow-covered city of Chicago would have been a huge relief. Back in Florida, having someone else who was dedicated to giving their time during editing would’ve been extremely useful.
Some of the creative mis-steps of the piece are due to a lack of quality time to reflect on the project. While a dedicated director would be focusing on who to interview (such as other CIT teams), I didn’t have time to imagine a better documentary as I was filming the Sunday Group backstage. Similarly, more complex interview segments could’ve been built by a dedicated content manager, instead of someone who was fixing the sound and simultaneously deciding which interview answer works the best.
I actually have very few photos from Chicago simply because I was entirely focused on video. My brain just couldn’t handle trying to get photos as memories in addition to getting to the next interview.
One of the few pictures of myself in Chicago. My feet were crying.
Making Something Great is Really Hard
All of us watch extremely high-quality shows and movies all the time. We horribly take for granted that those creative pieces took a team of people months to create. As an audience, we don’t have the chance to see the gigabytes of crap they delete on their way to the final product. I’m sure the big studios delete terabytes of crappy media before the final version is released.
Think of the latest great thing you’ve seen and think about the different parts of it. Every element (the actors, scenery, music, special effects, even camera cuts) all have to put in the movie by a person. Someone, somewhere, decided that Voldemort’s head should be full of veins. Someone, somewhere decided that the Tale of the Three Brothers would be told mostly in silhouettes.
More often than not, we respect someone’s creative choice because we realize how effed they would’ve been if it hadn’t worked out.
Chicago is Not That Great
This may be really controversial, but I just don’t like Chicago. One of the toughest challenges of this project was trudging around the Chicago winter and standing on a platform 30 feet in the air, waiting for the trains in the cold. Everything was wet. I was miserable anytime I was outside at night.
Before you decide to move somewhere, go there first! I thought Chicago was a viable option after I graduated, but I just can’t stand the cold. I’m probably spoiled, since I live in Florida, but no amount of improv can replace going outside in shorts, sandals and enjoying a breeze.
You’re Showing Your Project to the World
The glory (and bane) of the Internet is that everyone sees everything you put on it. Realistically, the word “everyone” is less scary than realizing specific people are included within “everyone”. Who cares what everyone thinks? What does the head of iO Chicago think? What do the people in TSF think? What does that one person you admire who could potentially give you a job think?
All those people are included in “everyone”. And all those people have opinions that they can tweet at you.
All these people are awesome and know so much about improv.
Overall
It was very worthwhile endeavor. I’m glad I go to go. I’m glad I got to create something that a bunch of young improvisers can benefit from. It’s another feather in the cap, and I’ve got so much free time now that it’s done.
After a long blog hiatus, I’m hoping to start posting more stuff again. So, quick updates:
1) Improv documentary: All the footage is shot and I’m currently in the editing process. Under the advice of a local video guru (Houston Wells), I’m currently transcribing each interview I managed to obtain, which is about 20 or so. The rough cut phase comes after that.
2) Money: Recently, I landed a job with a local web design company. It pays only a basic rate, but it provides steady income for a creative job, which is more preferred than being paid to lift things. Hopefully, I’ll actually end up with a good reference (instead of my other jobs).
That’s the basics. Occasionally, I’ll post things I’ve done in the past three months.
BUT here’s something I did tonight. While Photoshop and Illustrator are fine tools, they have one drawback: 3D. Both programs have pseudo-methods to create 3D objects, but they look like crap. Recently, I started playing around with a program called Cinema 4D, which is designed to create (amazing) 3D objects. See:
Filed under: Production
I’ve stumbled into a producing a documentary recently. Check out the website I made for it: WhetherTheWeather.com. If you like it, tell your friends about it and donate some money so you can actually watch it.
I finally finished the first music video for two DJs from the Netherlands who contacted me after watching my original After Effects test. It took about 3 weeks and a lot of trial and error, but I think I’ve got a pretty decent hook on how AE works.
After all the technical stuff (OpenGL render is amazing), I learned the most important part of a creative piece is its theme. While I am pleased with the video, I’ve noticed that it’s a collection of parts instead of one living thing. I think I’ll be making one or two more, so hopefully they’ll be a little more coherent. High standards, bla bla bla.
If you like their music, check out some other samples at http://www.youtube.com/user/RemyJoelXpressionTV.
Shades of Grey Music Video:
Filed under: Production
Learned Adobe’s After Effects recently and created the following clip. Warning: the music, while excellent and creative, contains some explicit language.
