The most important item to budget for is FOOD
A Day Player is a person or actor who works day by day
Be professional is the most important rule
Lighting:
Monday (3 Point Lighting) and Great Cinematography Video
Tuesday Setting up Lights and 135 Shots that will restore
your faith in Cinema
Wednesday Juxtaposition, Cinematography Analysis
Thursday Lighting set up with Camera and Test Review
Friday TEST
Lighting
Production Week 1 -
PRODUCTION TERMS:
General Production Slang
Abby Singer – Second-to-last shot of the day. Named for a crew member who
would always alert his crew of the second-to-last shot of a setup, scene, or
the day.
Apple or Apple Box – a solid wooden box that comes in standardized sizes (from
largest to smallest): full, half, quarter, pancake
Back In – phrase meaning lunch and/or any break is over and work has
begun again
C47 – a clothespin
Crafty – craft services area and/or person
Day Player – a crew member hired for only one day or a handful of days
worth of work
Furnie Blanket – a furniture blanket or sound blanket
Gary Coleman – a small C-stand
Hot Points – yelled when carrying something with the potential to hit
somebody like dolly track or a C-stand. Usually said when going through a
narrow hallway, doorway or around a corner
Juicer – an electrician
Last Looks – phrase to call in hair/make-up to give a final touch-up to
actors before a scene is filmed
Last Man – phrase that refers to the last person to get their food at
lunch; usually used because lunch should not
officially start until the last man has
gone through
Magic Hour – the time right before sunrise/after sunset in which the sky
is somewhat dark but still illuminated. Often lasts only 20 minutes despite its
name
Martini – the last shot of the day
Pancake – a size of apple box; see “apple”
Picture’s Up – phrase to alert all on set that cameras are almost set to
start rolling
Scripty – the script supervisor
Sides – a half-sized script that contains only the scenes being shot
that day
Sparks – an electrician; see “juicer”
Stinger – an extension cord
Talent – actor(s) or actress(es)
Video Village – the area in which viewing monitors are placed for the
director and other production personnel. Referred to by this name because of
the propensity to fill with people, chairs, and overall “too many cooks in the
kitchen”
Flying in – anytime you are bringing anything to set
TERMS AND SAFETY –
Action – Called by the director or 1st AD after
the cameras are rolling to indicate
Call sheet – a digital document or paper that contains
all the necessary information about that particular shooting day
Circled Takes – Takes that the director likes and the
script supervisor has circled. This helps the editor when putting together the
edit.
Set
Safety – (ALL)
When shooting outdoors while it is sunny, shade must be provided if it is not available, usually in the form of an Easy-up shade canopy. Light breathable attire and sunscreen should be worn.
Proper hydration is even more critical on warm days. Always have plenty of bottled water on hand.
Rain and Weather
Should there be rain, or the threat of rain, shelter must be provided if it is not available, again, usually in the form of an Easy-up shade canopy. Raingear should be worn.
Lights must be covered by securely placing a large flag above the light, and all electrical connections should be wrapped in plastic and raised off the ground.
Should it be windy, lights and stands should receive additional sandbagging. Rope can be used to stabilize tall stands.
Working at Night
Special care needs to be taken on night sets. Work lights should be set up when possible. Trip hazards need even more attention and all crew members should use flashlights in poorly-lit areas.
Length of Shoot and Turnaround
Shooting days should not normally exceed twelve hours, and the AD must also make sure that there is at least twelve hours of turnaround, meaning the amount of time between one day’s wrap and the next day’s call time.
The Wrap
Enough time must be allowed within the twelve-hour shoot day to have an orderly wrap. The temptation to rush in order to get home must be avoided. Extra care must be taken because the crew is tired, and may be working in darkness. At night, the work light should be the last piece of equipment struck.
Common Sense
Safety is no less a concern on very large sets or very small sets. Even on a two- person shoot, common sense and caution must be exercised at all times. Safety should be the first concern of every crew member involved in any film shoot. Everyone wants to make a good movie, but this goal is simply not worth risking the injury or death of anyone involved.
Don’t Hesitate to Ask
No matter what your position on a crew, understand what makes a set safe and do your best to behave in a professional, safe manner. If you ever have a question about safety, or need to report unsafe conduct on set, do not hesitate to talk to the AD.
Film Set Safety Week 2 – (ALL)
Safety on Set
Safety should be the first concern of every crew member involved in a film shoot. The equipment used in production can be particularly dangerous and the haste and improv- isation which are in the very nature of the filmmaking process puts individuals at even greater risk unless they are conscientious of safety at every moment. Unfortunately, failure to observe safety policies results in serious injury and even the death of crew members all too often. On the other hand, crew members who practice good safety procedures not only keep themselves and their fellow crew members safe, but also develop strong reputations for professionalism.
Preparation
Safety begins long before the shooting day. It is the responsibility of each crew member to educate themselves about safety and to arrive on set on time, well rested, and healthy.
The Assistant Director
The AD, or Assistant Director, is the primary safety officer on the set, and this respon- sibility takes precedence above all the other things that the First Assistant Director does. The AD is responsible for the safe conduct of everyone involved in the produc- tion and will inform the crew about and enforce appropriate safety precautions. Any safety concerns should immediately be brought to the attention of the First Assistant Director.
The First Assistant Director has the sole authority to shut the production down if there is ever any indication, large or small, that the safety of anyone on the crew for any rea- son appears to be in jeopardy.
No one else on the crew, not the Director and not the Producer, has the authority to make the decision of whether or not a situation is safe enough to shoot. The First Assistant Director is solely responsible for making that determination, and must always err on the side of caution.
The Safety Meeting
The AD’s first job at the beginning of every shooting day is to conduct a safety meeting with the entire crew present. New and returning crew members must be informed on a daily basis of the safety precautions for that day’s shoot, including the locations of fire extinguishers, emergency exits, and the first aid kit, as well as any special issues per- taining to that day’s shooting such as stunts to be performed or particularly hazardous rigging.
Proper Attire
The AD also checks that all crew members are in proper attire. It is particularly impor- tant that footwear be sturdy sneakers or boots. Sandals or high-heeled shoes of any kind are not permissible.
The AD also checks that all crew members wear well-fitting clothing that is appropriate to the weather, thin if it is hot, layered if it is cold, and waterproof if it is wet. No cloth- ing should have excessive fringe or any loose pieces that could possibly get caught in equipment.
Crew members are responsible for bringing alternate clothing to change into should weather conditions change unexpectedly.
Film Set Safety Week 2 for ADVANCED
Working with an Equipment Truck
Particular care must be taken working around trucks. Use at least one spotter when maneuvering a truck in close quarters.
The contents of any truck may have shifted during travel. The door or doors should be opened slowly so that nothing can tumble out onto a crew member.
There is enough power in a lift gate to cause serious injury. Operation of the gate should be performed by one crew member at a time. The crew member operating the lift gate should always yell out a warning of “going up” or “going down” to alert nearby crew members to stay back from the moving lift gate. Crew members not operating the lift gate should stay at least five feet away during operation.
Moving Equipment
Move only an amount of equipment you can handle. Avoid carrying anything that could be moved on a cart. Use extra people to move large loads and be careful moving through narrow passages.
Power Distribution
The Best Boy Electric is responsible for all power distribution from on-set lighting to extension cords for craft services.
Cables should be run together out of foot traffic areas as much as possible. When cables must cross any area where they could present a tripping hazard for the rest of the crew, they must be secured with tape, heavy carpet, or rubber matting.
When using power on location, particular care must be taken not to overload circuits. In any case, only the Gaffer, the Best Boy Electric or an Electrician should ever plug in any cable or light.
Stands and Rigging
The Grips are responsible for all rigging, meaning anything that needs to be hung or put on a stand. This includes the setting of light stands. When carrying a stand, the warning “points coming through” should be yelled out so crew members can move out of the way of the possible hazard. All stands in use on the set must be sand-bagged according to their load or precariousness of their position.
C-stands must be set correctly. A C-stand’s arm is designed to extend over the knuckle with the load on the side toward which the knuckle tightens. This way, if the load forces the arm to slip, it will actually tighten and stop. If the rear of the C-Stand arm extends out beyond the base, a marker should be attached to it so that it can clearly be seen. This is true of any equipment or prop on set which sticks out and is particularly critical if something sticks out at eye-level.
Dollies
Grips are also responsible for the dolly. Once dolly tracks have been set, the crew must be careful not to trip on the tracks.
Heavy dollies should not be lifted, but ramped onto their tracks with wedges. Once on the track, the dolly should be prevented from rolling off the track with clamps
The Dolly Grip is the only crew member permitted to operate the dolly. Except during an actual take, the dolly grip must always warn those on and around the dolly before moving the dolly, yelling “dolly moves!” or “boom going up!” Crew members must always let the dolly group know their intention to mount or dismount the dolly before doing so, usually by saying “stepping on” or “stepping off”.
Nutrition and Hydration
Food and drinks should be available to crew members throughout the entire shoot. Craft services keeps a crew happy, but more importantly, crew members who lack energy or focus are a hazard on set.
Snacks should include fruits and vegetables as well as snack bars and candy bars. Drinks should offer both caffeinated and decaffeinated options.
Working with Talent
Particular care must be taken with talent. Actors should not be expected to be as aware of the possible hazards on a set as crew members. It is the AD’s responsibility to get the actors to the set and make them aware of any hazards.
If child actors or animals are on set, they must have a crew member assigned to watch them at all times. For Advanced Productions, a Studio Teacher must be hired anytime a child actor is on set.
Fire, Stunts, and Firearms
Candles and cigarettes should be handled with great care on a set. Any larger fire used on set, even a large group of candles, must be supervised by a paid Fire Marshal.
All stunts should be planned by a professional. Crew members need to be made aware of all aspects of any stunt before it is executed, and should watch for related hazards.
If weapons of any kind, including guns, swords, and knives are to be used on a pro- duction, local law enforcement must be notified, even if the weapons are non-function- ing replicas to be used on a closed set.
The use of functioning firearms, even with blanks, should be avoided. Remember, real- istic muzzle flash can very easily be added in post. Functioning firearms must be han- dled by a professional. The weapons specialist must only allow the actor whose part requires handling the weapon to handle the weapon during actual filming, and no one else should ever handle the weapon. When not in use, weapons should be stored in a locked location. This goes for replicas or functioning firearms.
Driving Shots
Any shot sequences that involve moving vehicles must be approved planned for in advanced in a way that assures their safety. A process trailer should be used in cases where actors cannot safely operate a motor vehicle at the same time they are focused on delivering a performance. Local law enforcement must be made aware of any situa- tions involving the shooting of moving vehicles on public streets and in some case may need to restrict traffic in the shooting area.
Meal Breaks
A meal must always be served no more than six hours after crew call. All meals should be nutritionally balanced, and enough must be provided for the entire crew and cast. Everyone in the cast and crew should get at least half an hour to eat.
Company Moves
Should it be necessary to change locations in the middle of a shooting day, the compa- ny move must be handled carefully in spite of the temptation to rush to the next loca- tion. A safety meeting must be held at the new location before filming resumes.
Even for a short move, all equipment should be stowed securely in the production vehicles.
Shooting Outdoors
Film shoots always attract the curious. Particularly when outside, the crew needs to watch out for individuals who are not part of the film shoot and keep them clear of all equipment and the shooting area in general. Report anyone who does not belong on the set to the AD.
Shooting should not occur on public or private roads open to traffic. Contact local law enforcement or the property’s owners to close the area to traffic.
Under no circumstances should lights or rigging of any kind be set up anywhere near power lines or overhead lines of any kind.
Pre-Production:
#1 Name the 13 parts of pre pro:
Produce a final script
Script breakdown
Schedule
Shot List
Storyboard
Board (ADVANCED)
Crew Up
Cast
Meet with department heads
Scout Locations
Build and decorate sets
Wardrobe
Get music
Script read through
#2 How many weeks are there in pre pro?
8 weeks of pre production
#3 What happens in week 1?
Week #1
Finalize Script and script breakdown
Begin Casting
Start lining up crew
Start scouting locations
#4 What happens in week 2?
Week #2
Start working on music
Start building sets
#5 What happens in week 3?
Week #3
Director meets with department heads
#6 What happens in week 4?
1st AD addresses the crew
#7 what does the 1st AD do on set?
He runs the crew.
#8 What happens in week 5?
Gather props
Gather costume
Now you are ready for your first full production meeting.
#9 What happens in week 6?
The director and Cinematographer finalize shots (and shot
list).
#10 What happens in week 7?
All departments are ready to be reviewed.
#11 What happens in week 8?
Any contracts
Finalize EVERYTHING
Start rigging
Final shooting schedule
#12 What is the difference between a Cinematographer and a
Camera operator?
#13 What does the 2nd AD do?
#14 What is a storyboard and what is it’s purpose?
#15 Why is preproduction important to filmmaking?
• Location scouting
• Prop and wardrobe identification and
preparation
• Special effects identification and
preparation
• Production schedule
• Set construction
• Script-locking (semi-finalisation of
the script)
Script
read-through with cast, director and other interested parties
8 Core group of the production team:
Producers
Director
Unit Production Manager
Production Accountant
Production Supervisor
Production Coordinator
First Assistant Director
Second Assistant Director
Six phases of filmmaking?
Development
Pre Production
Production
Post Production
Distribution
Exhibition
History of film begins in 1890s
Vaudeville programs.
Single scene.
1897 George Melies built first studio out of glass. It was
modeled after large still photography studios and it had cotton stretched over
the ceiling to diffuse light on really sunny days.
What was the execution of Mary Stewart? First Special FX
Movie.
Up to 1913 most films were still made in New York but since
Thomas Edison Inc. held the patens on the film industry most filmmakers moved
southern California and Texas.
Kalem Company were the first to send crews on location to
shoot movies (no studios)
Kalem also pioneered the female
action heroine from 1912, with Ruth Roland playing
starring roles in their Westerns.
1902 A trip to the moon is the earliest known/example of the
Sci Fi Genre.
Films then were under a minute and until 1927 done without
sound.
Films were usually accompanied by live bands to enhance film
experience.
First rotating camera was built in 1897 and so were the
first studios
Panning shot camera was built by Robert W. Paul in 1897 on
the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. His shot was referred to as a
PANORAMA.
In 1900 the close up shot was invented (some say that DW
Griffith invented it)
First use of animation was 1899
1900 first motion pictures that can be considered as films.
First multi reel film was in 1906
The first theatre was called the Nickelodeon in Pittsburg in
1905
Who was DW Griffith?
The Photo Drama of Creation?
By the 1920s America was outputting 800 feature films
annually (82% of the global total) How many are made on average now?
The Jazz Singer (first talkie)
Wings. First and only silent film to win an Oscar. Filmed at
Kelly Base in San Antonio for a budget of $2 million from September 7 1926 –
April 7 1927. Directed by William Wellman and released by Paramount Pictures.
Only director at the time with WWI experience. First film two show two men
kissing and first film with wide release to show nudity.
For Fridays test:
Who belongs in the production office?
Production staff. UPM, Production Supervisor, Production
Coordinator, APOC, Production Secretary, Office PA’s and Office Interns.
Why is it important to know who belongs in Production Office?
So you know who DOESN’T belong.
What is the best way to answer the phone in the Production
Office? Production this is (NAME).
The Production Assistant or PA is thought to be half a rung
up from? an Intern.
Good Production Assistants are worth their weight in gold
yet as a group they are often the lowest paid.
What is an intern? Interns are students or individuals new
to the industry who lack the experience and contacts.
What is the benefit for the production to have interns?
Because they work for free!
What are the six major Hollywood Studios?
Universal
MGM
Columbia
Paramount
Disney
FOX
(and sometimes Sony)
What was the House of Un-American Activities Committee?
During the post WWII era what was the biggest threat to
movies and theaters?
What is Cinemascope?
The House Un-American
Activities Committee investigated Hollywood in the
early 1950s. Protested by the Hollywood Ten before the committee, the hearings resulted in the blacklisting of many
actors, writers and directors, including Chayefsky, Charlie Chaplin, and Dalton Trumbo, and many
of these fled to Europe, especially the United Kingdom.
During the immediate post-war
years the cinematic industry was also threatened by television, and the
increasing popularity of the medium meant that some film theatres would
bankrupt and close. The demise of the "studio system" spurred the self-commentary of
films like Sunset Boulevard (1950) and The Bad and the
Beautiful (1952).
Distressed by the increasing
number of closed theatres, studios and companies would find new and innovative
ways to bring audiences back. These included attempts to widen their appeal
with new screen formats. Cinemascope, which
would remain a 20th Century Fox distinction until 1967, was announced with 1953's The Robe. VistaVision, Cinerama, and Todd-AO boasted a "bigger is better" approach to marketing films to a
dwindling US audience.
Gimmicks also proliferated to lure in audiences. The fad for 3-D film would last
for only two years, 1952–1954, and helped sell House of Wax and Creature from the Black
Lagoon.
What is Filmmaking? Unit 1. TEKS C5. Presentation describing the history of Filmmaking. (Advanced
students must present 20 facts). Must present the history and evolution of the
various related fields of study in filmmaking, its economic impact, and the
interdependence between the technical and artistic sides of filmmaking. They
can do this with a video, traditional presentation or a graphic model.
During the 1960s, the studio
system in Hollywood declined, because many films were now being made on location in
other countries, or using studio facilities abroad, such as Pinewood in the UK and Cinecittà in Rome. "Hollywood" films were still largely aimed
at family audiences, and it was often the more old-fashioned films that
produced the studios' biggest successes. Productions like Mary Poppins (1964), My Fair Lady (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965) were among the biggest money-makers of the decade. The
growth in independent producers and production companies, and the increase in
the power of individual actors also contributed to the decline of traditional
Hollywood studio production.
The New Hollywood was the
period following the decline of the studio system during the
1950s and 1960s and the end of the production code, (which was replaced in 1968 by the MPAA film rating system). During the 1970s, filmmakers increasingly depicted explicit
sexual content and showed gunfight and battle scenes that included graphic
images of bloody deaths - a good example of this is Wes Craven's The Last House on the
Left (1972).
Post-classical cinema is the
changing methods of storytelling of the New Hollywood producers. The new
methods of drama and characterization played upon audience expectations acquired
during the classical/Golden Age period: story chronology may be scrambled,
storylines may feature unsettling "twist endings",
main characters may behave in a morally ambiguous fashion, and the lines
between the antagonist and protagonist may be blurred. The beginnings of post-classical storytelling
may be seen in 1940s and 1950s film noir films, in
films such as Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and in Hitchcock's Psycho. 1971 marked the release of controversial films like Straw Dogs, A Clockwork Orange, The French Connection and Dirty Harry. This sparked heated controversy over the perceived escalation
of violence in cinema.
During the 1970s, a new group of
American filmmakers emerged, such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Woody Allen, Terrence Malick, and Robert Altman. This
coincided with the increasing popularity of the auteur theory in film
literature and the media, which posited that a film director's films express
their personal vision and creative insights. The development of the auteur
style of filmmaking helped to give these directors far greater control over
their projects than would have been possible in earlier eras. This led to some
great critical and commercial successes, like Scorsese's Taxi Driver, Coppola's The Godfather films, Altman’s Nashville, Allen's Annie Hall and Manhattan, Malick's Badlands and Days of Heaven, and Polish immigrant Roman Polanski's Chinatown. It also, however, resulted in some failures, including Peter Bogdanovich's At Long Last Love and Michael Cimino's hugely expensive Western epic Heaven's Gate, which helped to bring about the demise of its backer, United Artists.
Tuesday:
Top 10 Modern Film Directors:
Films of the 70’s:
The French Connection: First R Rated Film to win an Oscar
Deliverance: Banjo Scene. Filmed in Georgia
The Exorcist: Directed by William Friedkin (who also Directed
the Fench Connection) First Horror film to get an academy award nomination for
Best Picture.
Chinatown: Roman Polanski.
Godfather Part I and II
Jaws: Steven Spielberg. First Summer Blockbuster. Shark
Never Worked
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest
Carrie
Rocky
Taxi Driver
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Star Wars
The Deer Hunter
Halloween
Texas Chainsaw
Animal House
Alien
Apocalypse Now
