Surreal Lessons from Pills

So remember my rant last blog? The one about all the people here, stupid people here? Well, I changed my mind. I mean, kind of not but yes. Okay, so the film wrapped production and now that I have had a few days to look back and reflect on it, I have learnt a lot and their sitting on me and squashing me was a little good for me. And I dont think its just this job, in any job, you just have to toughen up and learn not to take things personally.

I just finished reading a book called Rebels on the Backlot. Quick read about six "maverick" directors who flourished by rebelling against the studio system. These guys sounded a lot like my supervisor at this gig: they sweet-talked and smack-talked at the same time, did not accept no for an answer, were not afraid to bully people around them and ultimately got their film made. Traffic, Fight Club, Three Kings, etc are all films that are hailed as classics right now and were critically lauded when they came out (except for Fight Club which got terrible reviews and failed commercially). But these guys never had a bad attitude about it, I mean they knew what they were making and had the confidence to crush everything that told them otherwise. I love this one quote David Fincher has about Fight Club: The producer is whining to him about how he is going to loose his job fighting for the film. Fincher whips back, "I dont have any sympathy for you. Ten years from now, you'll be picking up chicks saying - Im the guy that made Fight Club." And, you bet he is. So, lesson, not all lessons come to me right away. Some of these take a little time to settle in.

I'm done at Akeelah. I had a fabulous time at the wrap party and got a whole bunch of numbers and what not. I have to set up a meeting with both the director and the producer sometime because there is a lot I want to know from them. If I had a script, I would have given that in to the producer as well, but like hell I don't. Its all a land of opportunities and no one knows which one is going to serve up.

Today I was supposed to start at the Surreal Life because Bernie Mac is on hiatus for a week. So I was going to check that gig out and see how those guys put that house together. I havent seen the Surreal Life and dont care much for it, but I'm always in on the learning ride. Have you ever thought about how those shows are lit.. how do you light a reality show in a house, and never have people bang into lights or always expose everything perfectly or indicate times of day? How many crew people do you have? How do you do script notes and classify footage for editing? These are all answers I hope to get from the Surreal Life.

But I DID Not go to the surreal life today because I'm home sick and with a cold. Today was my first day off since Feb 10, when production on Akeelah started so its not so bad. I watched The Incredibles on Josh's computer (Josh Hegmann is my roommate...) and just chilled out and ate Thai Food and took some medicines. I rarely fall sick, so I was really frustrated. Dang it.

Jeesus Christ!

Phew! I'm in the middle of a crazy weekend that actually started yesterday, Friday. It's wrap weekend on Akeelah and the Bee. The shoot is goign very well and it will finish up tomorrow. The day after is a reduced crew day when we go in and shoot some White House interiors on the West Wing set. That should be interesting.

Why am I writing this: Well, I want to talk about a low point. So you meet all kinds of people on set and you meet bullies, and insecure people, incompetent people, greedy people and then as many awesome, nice people. I had to deal with some people of the former kind this week and I swear I thought I could handle it just fine after 6 years of boarding school experience in India. Well, apparently not.

Today, I almost threw up my arms. I was two microseconds away from cussing like crazy and I had to just contain myself and avoid this person. I am actually seconds away from going on a rant about the things that are absolutely so messed up about this person but I'm going to contain myself.

The lesson to learn is when people say don't take anything personally, they REALLY mean it. You just CAN NOT take anything personally or it will chew at your self-confidence. I'm confident it will happen to everyone of us at all our internships, whereever it may be. Suddenly, youre like, WHAT! SO NOW I DONT KNOW HOW TO RECOGNIZE A 40mil LENS!! or STAPLE A BUNCH OF SHEETS! or something totally stupid like that.

My first day at Bernie Mac, I could NOT, for the life of me, slate the shots in a remotely graceful way! Back up: I was with the camera department my first week at Bernie Mac and one of the responsibilities I had was to SLATE the shots that week. So, having made all these films at Ithaca, I was so damn confident I knew how to do this but BAM, I started tripping. I couldn't center it, avoid glares, soft-slate, remember right take numbers and made EVERY single mistake in the history of slating.. Jeez, I was super embarassed and my confidence was majorly shaken. Part of the reason was that I got nervous and screwed up like a jackass, but part of it also was that I took all the jokes everyone made at my screw-ups seriously.

This weekend was worse than that. The way these guys joke around is they make fun of me or yell at me or transfer their mistakes or others' mistakes on to me. When I rebut it, they tell me they are just giving me a hard time - which is totally true. It's just that I'm letting this get to me and getting really frustrated with it. I don't know what the lesson in this is, but I know it will probably happen to all of us.

Bucky, this grip on the Bernie Mac show, told me this when I was working with the grips; a lesson I carried with me, one that I use to console myself and justify certain situations. He said: Everyone tries to make their job look complicated. All you're f***ing doing is trying to capture an image. So there are a hundred ways to do it and none of them is right. A C-stand is a C-stand whether Conrad Hall is holding it or Suds. SO DAMN TRUE. I see these people all the time, who draw their standing in life by opressing people below them. That's why going to college does more than give you a space in film school. Jeesus Christ! If only I could explain this to them, I wouldn't have to justify going to college everyday to these guys.

Guy: So, Suds, what do you think: Is film school a total waste of time?
Suds: (O. My. God.) (polite laughter).

La La School

He-Yo!

Misinformation # 1 about semester in LA are the classes. I'm taking both Fiction film Theory and Senior Seminar in Film Studies here. Everyone at IC talks about how theory classes in LA are a breeze. The notion I got from them was that classes in LA are a joke, not much learning, just attendance and easy As.
FACT # 1: NOT TRUE. The theory classes Im taking in LA are the best film theory classes I've had in my entire college life. Period. Are they easier than the ones at school? Definitely so, and part of the reason is that Doc Tropiano is an excellent teacher. Why is that? I don't know. I cant put my finger on it; maybe its because you can tell that he is excited by the material he covers in class or maybe it is because he doesn't read theory papers or books out loud to us while we sleep, or maybe because he isn't constrained by the year of the film's release and will freely mix films like Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) and The Dreamers (2003) with The General (1918?). Or it just might be because you get to here things like "... not that I look down upon any film called BOOTY CALL" a direct Trope Quote from my notes. I don't know, even though the classes are 4hrs each, they just breeze by and we actually end up having a nice time, and learning a lot too. SO HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, look forward to the theory classes here.

MISCONCEPTION # 2: Public transportation system sucks. Truckin' buses in LA don't show up at all, run couple of hours late and everything, everywhere is completely unsafe. Oh yea, also, the Earth is too big and stars don't seem to be shining as brightly anymore.
FACT # 2: Yeah, RIGHT! Too many sissies out or spoilt kids or god knows what. I'm not the only one doing internships w/o a car here in LA and all of us seem to be doing FINE without a car. Dont not come to LA because you don't have a car. In fact, don't even spend too much to get your car over. If you have any sense of adventure and don't mind behaving your age, i.e., roughing it out, you will have a lot of fun here. Not goign to lie: The buses are erratic, but only by about 5 mins so get there 10 mins early and you will definitely catch the bus. Also a 15 min car drive will take you 30 mins by bus. But, you don't have to park, deal with single lanes, carpooling, jams. Not to say anything about gas bills or insurance payments. A $3 pass gets you on the bus for an unlimited-all-day ride session or you can get a month pass for 40$ or something. PLUS; nearly all of us found people who live around us and dont mind giving us a ride... so THERE YA GO!

Misinformation # 3: Internships = Slave Labor. Your only job is to get out of the way. Your employers are only interested in making money and you are basically a pain in the ass. So stay low, dust the floor, wash the dishes and get out of the way.
FACT # 3: NOT TRUE. For every internship that is like that, there is another one where your boss was once in your situation, understands your trepidation, could do with an extra hand AND genuinely wishes to pass on information he/she has gathered over the years to an enthusiastic, respectful learner. SERIOUSLY, there is. Now I had some offers from the first kind of people and I swiftly turned them down. Just when I started to get discouraged, and my semester-in-LA started to look like 4 months of ass-kissing, I found mentors in the other, second, more awesome bracket. Don't get me wrong, I still brought these people coffee, but I did that in exchange for knowledge, not to simply JUSTIFY my existence at their agency. PLUS, I only got them coffee TWICE in all the time I've been here AND i got a free milk-shake out of it!! Wee Hee!! So most people love you asking questions. My Boss at Bernie Mac got angry at me because he didnt thinK i appreciated the internship enough, he thought I wasn't asking any questions. Believe me, I haven't felt happier in a while. I just threw all the internship info I had recieved from all these instructors here right out of the window. My boss doesn't fit into the second bracket.

So doesn't mean, these myths aren't true for some people, but what I am saying is, you don't have to hang out with those people. Make your semester in LA rock. I mean, make it reallllly count, dont just go through the motions! Phew!

Latrrr

Flying Pots

This week, I am with the Prop Department. Back up: what I'm doing at Bernie Mac is jumping from department to department every week. Yes, this is a fairly non-traditional way of doing an internship, and, yes, it does break a whole lot of union rules and yes, it did take balls to suggest the idea to my boss in teh camera department but hey! its working out for me and im learning a lot. No Suds-stuck-in-the-rut deal for me!!!

Interesting things about Prop Department: Anything an actor can eat or throw away is a prop, everything else = set-dressing. Watches or Cereal are props because they can be either thrown away or eaten, whereas chairs = set dressing. But then, wardrobe takes over jewellery, accessories and clothing. Except, briefcase is still a prop item. I know, this business is riddled with these strange itemizations. Also, you know the light-wood and cloth chairs that everybody sits on on set, those are to be taken care of by the prop department; dont ask why.

Today we filmed some scenes in a french restaurant. Lots of extras, lots of food and lots of props for me to take care of - very cool! The A Dolly Grip, Smithy, at the last minute, also pulled me in to help achieve the camera-through-the-window-to-Bernie-and-Kellita move - the one that establishes the scene. It is kind of a citizen kane shot where the camera establishes the restaurant, then swings in through the window, around the extras and lands on Bernie and his wife as they proceed to talk about the scene. It was a long shot and took several people to make it happen. Caleb, the Best Boy Grip, was pushing the dolly along with Armen, the B Dolly grip. Jon Purdy, the A Camera Operator, was on the hot gears remote head so he was manipulating the camera on a trolley. Dave Tully, the greensman, was flying a potted plant out of the shot as soon as the camera went past it so that the dolly could continue going in. I was by this potted plant that sits on the window sill. Again, just as the camera goes past it, I have to swing this plant off the sill so that the rest of the extended dolly arm can fly through the window. Finally, smithy gently takes care of the arm and guides it to its final position resultig in a smooth, and completely editable, camera move. Look for it in the Bernie Mac episode titled: SORELY MISSED. It should air sometime in the next month.

More next time. Later, Suds

Thank Bernie

That's right, I'm back with no break. And you have Bernie Mac to thank for this. Why? Well, the poor guy is sick. So today, on a 9am set call, he really came in at 2p and packed off at 4p giving us a 4pm pack up, as opposed to a 10p pack up like would happen on an avg show. So, I get more down time, which means, I update more often. Get it? So Thank Bernie... or rather wish him well. Coz, he really is a gem of a person and we dont want him to stay sick do we?

After we packed up, I went on a location scout with Antar. Antar is the gaffer for the show at the moment. The DoP, Victor, is off directing an episode of SCRUBS so Patti - the awesome gaffer - is now the DoP, and Antar - her best-boy - is upgraded to gaffer.

Let me back up and explain a little and let me apologize for all the times I am going to do this. I just want to elaborate instead of assume that people know what I am talking about. If you do, skip this paragraph and meet up at the next one. If not: DoP = Director of Photography - the person who is responsible for the visual look of the film. Three main departments responsible for: ELECTRIC, GRIP and CAMERA. The Camera department, well.. The Electric Department is headed by the GAFFER who delivers the lighting the DP wants. Give me a hard light here, a soft light there and all that. Of course, the Gaffer has a team under him/her who deliver on those requests. The head of these guys is the BEST BOY. The Grips SHAPE the light that the Electrics deliver: So they add flags, and dimmers and shit like that. They also construct stuff, move stuff and rig stages (etc etc). The head of the grip department is also a BEST BOY. Back to the convo.

So Antar is the best boy on the show, who is right now the gaffer because the gaffer is now the DP because... phew! So Antar is DPing a concert and I'm helping him out. So we went on a location scout to check out the thing and see what electricity is available to us and what kind of wiring and lights we can bring on to the show. But the highlight of the day was being able to talk about the business with him.

Lesson I learned today: DO NOT GET STUCK IN YOUR JOB. He wnated to be a Director. The Stage dresser today told me he wanted to be a Director nad went to film school for it. But these guys all got stuck in their jobs. They get jobs that pay, buy a car, buy a house, start paying overheads, get a family and soon they cant quit their jobs and bam, life is over. So lesson for today: yep.

Okay, short and sweet, gotta sign off now.

Again

Okay, I swear I planned to update before this but this working seven days a week can take its toll on you. A standard day starts at 6a and ends around midnight. But I'm not complaining, because it's all worth it.

Last two days were spent on the AKEELAH set. I'm training with the DP here. A month or so ago, as I was trying to convince the DoP to even take me on, the standard question arose:

INT. STARBUCKS CAFE, STUDIO CITY.
DP: But, Suds, what would I have you do?
Suds: Anything at all, Sir. I just want to be on set. I just want to see how you guys light, be able to ask a couple of questions and soak it all in.

( I really wanted to see how these films look so georgeous. I mean, David Mullen, if you see NORTHFORK (his last film), it makes you drool - its just so DAMN beautiful.
So my theory was, if I could just see what the hell he thinks like, how the hell he lights, that would be a huge learning experience for me.)

DP: But, it's a UNION gig Suds.
( Union shows mean anyone who is NOT in the UNION can not be
touching any equipment or helping out, its illegal and everyone gets fined.)

Suds: I know, Sir. I'll stay out of the way.
DP: Actually, I need stills for my website or for a book I may write about cinematography, so you can take still shots on set.
Suds: Sweet. I can definitely do that.

( Here's the link: CLICK ) If you go on the 35mm forum, you can see more posts like this one and more photos taken by moa. These are the guys I work with.)

So that's how I started on Akeelah. I went with Mr. Mullen (the DP) to the office and got me a copy of the script. It's a pretty story, uplifting (add all the cliches associated with those kind of stories) but it's a good uplifting story. I think its going to make a bundle for Lions Gate because it's a family based film. PLus star power of Fishburne and Bassett. The little girl playing the lead AKEELAH just got a SAG nomination for the William H. Macy film THE WOOL CAP so we know she is good. EWeekly did a feature on them last week, and ACCESS hollywood was on set today. Pretty neat! Also interesting fact: Doug, the director, did a film called "The Pornographer" before he did this one, kind of like Cuaron being invited to direct Harry Potter 3 after making Y Tu Mama Tambien.

Anyway, so I'm almost at the end of my Akeelah stint, the last week of shoot had started. Miss Bassett wrapped today. We have been shooting scenes at Fishburne's character's house all this week. I'm learning a lot about what you can do in a small space. Shooting on location has its challenges. Today we had a very intimate scene in Fishburne's living room and the place is pretty small. Student film or not, the character's space is going to remain the same. Yes, the amount of equipment is going to change but hell, that can be dealt with.

I was thinking about how I would have lit that frame and how Mullen chose to lit it. The first observation I have made this semester (on Bernie Mac and on Akeelah) is what a HUGE HUGE HUGE effect good GRIPPING has on the scene. We dont even have any flags at PPECS so thats a huge problem right away. These guys use 3 flags per light. They really believe in SHAPING the light to EXACTLY do what it is supposed to do. So FLAGS are HUGE. Problem Buster: Make your own flags for next shoot: you just have to. No way around it. PS: Flags = BLACK cloth mounted on a steel frame (different sizes) put on a C Stand to block and define light more clearly. Kind of like a mobile barn door.

Observation Two: BACKLIGHT is VERY important. I can't believe how easily I sacrifice the backlight on my shoots. These guys are dogged about it. They will not let go of that damn backlight if they can help it. I mean, I have never seen so much equipment and people jammed into a single room as I did today. They had 5 sources of light, 5X6 number of flags, lensers and toppers and cutters on C-Stands and wires and a video-village, and a million other things going on in that space. Pretty amazing.

Observation Three: Monitor is important. Do not, do not, do not underestimate the importance of seeing the framing on your shot. Seems silly, but its muy importante. Mullen is a composition freak - my kind of DP. He just is a stickler for it. And thats the way it should be.

Observation Four: A GOOD AD CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE. This comment will take too long to explain. Look for a subsequent post on what a Good AD does. At IC, I feel like we dont know what an AD does. This is the first thing, I plan to introduce on our film shoots. Its so damn important. The ADs on Bernie Mac and on Akeelah are fantastic and are really the backbone of the damn production.

Too many other things learnt but I have to pack off here. The last two days were also good. Tomorrow, I go to STRAND so there will be some learning done there. Marcus, the topcat at Strand, said he wantd to speak to me so I plan to glean some information out of him tomorrow. PS: Look him up, he is a stud in the indie distribution world. I was reading a book by CHRIS GORE called : THE ULTIMATE FILM FESTIVAL GUIDE or something like that and it had an interview with Kevin Smith in which they both praise him to high heavens plus Sundance had him in thier opening write-up this year. Cool stuff!

Finally: I have this motto: Everything I need to know about being on a film set, I learnt in Doon (Name of the boarding school I went to when I was in India). It's just like that: you have to be thick skinned to survive. People move fast, they are pretty ruthless and love ribbing. Enjoy it and rib back or get buried and dont take anything personally. Thats the way it works. Oh, PS: if you're looking for politically correct or if you are a woman: you need TWO doses of good luck to help you out.

Later, sorry about the delay in posting. Here's to more regular postage. Comments at ssaria1@ithaca.edu

The First One

So, why this journal? I dont really know. Actually, I do. I was talking to Dean Lynch and she floated the idea of sharing this experience with people. Plus having a record of what your brain is going through on a day to day basis is pretty interesting. Plus, my family and friends have no idea what I'm up to because I refuse to send out mass-emails, or have a proper conversation on the phone. It's time-consuming, so let it pass. Anyway, moving on.

This first entry is probably going to be a complicated one. I'm going to try and set up this post so all the ones after this make sense. Since I'm starting this blog halfway through the semester, none of my day to day experiences are going to make any sense. Lesson 1: Notice how I used the phrase "any sense" in both sentences preceeding this one? Yeah, that may not be the best way of conveying that thought, but it's going to happen a lot on this blog. I'm just rambling... keep up with me.

Actually this is a really awesome way of writing this. We start in the middle and move both ways - forward and backwards. Instead of giving you the entire backstory on this semester right now and then starting my regular updates, Im going to give you a little backstory every time I update. Memento-much?

BASIC FACTS: Im interning at three places at the moment: The Bernie Mac Show, Strand Releasing and "Akeelah and the Bee".

Le Bernie Mac: I'm a trainee with the Director of Photography, Victor Nelli, Jr. It's awesome. I've designed the internship to give me a basic understanding of every single department on set. I was with Camera the first two weeks, then Grip, then Electric, then Sound and now I'm with the ADs on set. I definitely didn't know what all those departments did before I started work at Bernie Mac so don't worry if someone's like wha? I'll share the wealth. The experience is excellent, I'm learning truckloads. In fact, I call it The Bernie Mac School: seems like these guys go to work so they can make sure I learn.

Strand Releasing: Whoof! I got lucky with these guys. They are one of the biggest little distribution companies out there. I work with the President Marcus Hu at Strand. HE is on the board of Sundance, his company goes to festivals and picks up small, indy films for theatrical distribution and home video sales. They are smart people, with a commitment to independent filmmaking. They don't want to join hands with a big studio and become someone's speciality division. They want to make sure REAL indy films see the light of day. Cheap buys, small marketing, easier to recover profits, more honest, original and challenging films in the market for us. More about this later. Oh, did I mention its a 6 person company, so I actually get to participate in EVERY thing at work?

Akeelah and the Bee: I'm training with the Director of Photography David Mullen, ASC on this Lions Gate Film starring Lawrence Fishburne and Angela Bassett. It's a cute story, shot in 35mm anamorphic, on Location in south-central Los Angeles. imdb it, its an interesting project. Again, I clearly got lucky. It's a low-budget production and I have free hands on the set. I work mainly with the camera department. An anamorphic show on location is a lot of work, long hours and fast thinking AND luckily for me, the camera department is understaffed so they let me do a lot of shit, which makes me learn a lot more. David Mullen is an awesome guy and just seeing him direct lights is such a learning experience.

Phoof! That's a good start. More tomorrow. Here's an insight into LA. Time, Day, Weekend, nothing matters. Film rolls 24/7. I got a 7am call tomorrow at Akeelah and the Bee. We're shooting at the Palladium in Hollywood tomorrow. It's going to be a long weekend.