Here’s my second entry on “prep,” this time focusing on our
crew.
There’s a whole lot that goes into
it, and there are more jobs to fill than one might think.
But
The
Hunter’s Anthology is running on crowdfunding, so we definitely went with
the bare minimum.
Lucky for us, you’d
never know, because the result is incredible.
Here’s a breakdown for some key
positions.
For those in the business,
you probably know this already, but for those that aren’t, introducing these
key positions could prove interesting:
Camera: The first thing to get covered is making sure
you have a good director of photography, or DP. The DP is responsible for
several key elements, most importantly translating the director’s vision and
overall look to the screen. They also have
to know all the technical aspects of the camera (if they don’t it’s gonna be a
looooong shoot) and hopefully adding their creative ideas to enhance what the
director has originally planned. I was
lucky in that way. I was prepared with a
clear storyboard, but Ben added to those ideas and helped me take it to another
level. He also was able to tell me what I could and couldn’t do based on the
location and equipment the production could afford. Just as important, the director and DP have
to get along. I was lucky there too.
1st AD: The first assistant director is
very important. They basically run the
set, making sure everything is running on schedule. We were on a pretty darn tight schedule for The Hunter’s Anthology, so I did have
limited time for setups (camera department) and the amount of takes shot (me),
did have a time limit. It’s rare that a
director feels he got everything on such a small budget film, but I really did
feel that way. That’s a heck of a
feeling. No reshoots required. Trinidy, our AD, really was aware of the time
we had left on our days and was diplomatic about it. Diplomacy is huge for an AD. Their attitude usually reflects everyone’s
attitude. That and the attitude of the director. Trinidy, and Nicky, and I are pretty positive
and friendly in general, and I think that made for a happy set. And trust me, happy sets are awesome!
Scripty: Attention to detail. That’s the most important thing for a script
supervisor. I thought I knew my script
inside and out because I wrote the damn thing, but believe it or not, I just don’t
have every line and movement memorized. When
we’re shooting, I’m so busy looking at the shots and performances that I can’t
follow along with the script. Scripty is
there to tell me what’s supposed to happen and when, if there’s any lines skipped,
or if things are happening differently than what’s on the page. I think an even harder part of the job is
keeping up with continuity so the editor doesn’t lose his mind in the editing
room. Daniella, our script, was very on
top of things. She’d say something like:
“Madame Renee’s hand was there in the last shot so it has to be there now,” or “that
candle was here while Tabitha was tying up her hair.” Or, “Wait, doesn’t she have to look to her
left before she says this line? That’s
how we did it yesterday.” This is soooo
important. Actually, the big continuity nightmare
of shooting “The Fortune Maker” was the Tarot cards. We had to spend a lot of time rigging them for
consistency the whole shoot! Which cards
are face up, which are part of this reading, how are they placed? We had three decks: The first reading, the
second reading, and the random cards to shuffle. It was quite the challenge, but we did it!
Production Designer: The production designer is in
charge of the set. He or she doesn’t
actually shoot the film, but he or she creates the world that is shot. We hired our production designer Jack
literally on the first day of shooting.
We thought we weren’t going to have a production designer at all, but I’m
glad that didn’t happen. He helped us
turn an Airbnb basement apartment in Brooklyn into a fortune teller shop in
Manhattan! It was very convincing: hanging
sheets to hide the bed and kitchen, lighting candles (real and fake) to create
the mood, and providing strange mystical stuff to hang on the walls. You’d never know it wasn’t a fortune teller’s
place onscreen. One of my favorite props
he created? The lust potion. Not sure he liked it so much, but that’s
a funny story for another time.
Sound: What good is a beautifully shot film when the
audio quality isn’t good? Scratching,
background noise, improperly placed mics, these things can kill the credibility
of your film real fast. In my opinion,
sound is the most underrated technical part of a movie. It really makes or breaks it. Bad sound takes an audience completely out of
it, so good sound is really, really a big deal.
I was lucky enough to find Andrew, someone who had an ear for things the
rest of us couldn’t hear. He also was
able to mix on the spot, and was skilled with wireless mics and boom. All of this is critical during shooting and
he did it all.
Those are just some of the many jobs on set. I didn’t mention grip and electric,
hair/makeup, assistant cameramen, production assistants, special FX makeup, and
everything else. Considering we worked
with about as small a crew as possible, I’m grateful to have the product I have
now. Next up: location scouting.