This was a trick that was used during one of the shows I was on last weekend. It was a funeral scene inside a church, so the pews had to be full of mourners. The only problem was we had about ten extras, half of which were crew. Fortunately, the camera can be fooled....
Video Production
Grip and Electric – You Will Get Wet
I'm finally done with my two back-to-back film sets as Key Grip and Best Boy Electric. We wrapped at 12:45 am last night, pushing just about every Film School rule with overtime and wrap times to the limit. I learned a few things during the past two sets. One, though...
Take 5
I've been back on set since yesterday as Key Grip. I finally have a job that doesn't require a week of preparation or filing out paperwork an hour after the day is wrapped. The only problem is gripping can be physically demanding and does leave one tired at the end of...
Halfway Through Thesis
Some notes from the Head of Production concerning our thesis film sets: Well, it's halfway through Thesis and I wanted to give a few notes from experience. The tougher part is coming up. Everyone is getting more and more tired. Please remember, you'll want everyone on...
Time for Some Union Rules
Though we're not quite in the union, all our film sets are run using their rules (with the addition of some film school rules). This plays a very important part in how film sets are run and the day is scheduled, so I figured an overview is in order. A typical day is...
Craft Services – The Morale Booster
On set, one of the main responsibilities of the production team is craft services - the snacks and drinks for the crew to munch on when they have a break. Don't underestimate the power of good craft services. In our case (and possibly your case) the crew is not...
Six Days is a Long Time
W and the Freedom Fighters is finally wrapped. Coming from the world's easiest film set and two weeks of documentary editing, a six day shoot puts one's endurance to the test. The first two days were pretty easy, as we could only film a few scenes due to actor...
Filming in the Woods
From UPM to Zombie Extra
This is what happens when you don't get enough extras to show up.