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Crew Organization
Matt Sawyers
The Sequence of Events
• Script 1st step is coming up with an
acceptable script*
– Producer engages writers to rewrite, adapt &
develop
• Key People
– Director key decision maker
– Production Manager (PM)
– Director of Photography (DP) (cinematographer)
The Sequence of Events
– Production Designer (PD) begins preliminary
work to determine the overall design approach of
the film
• Independent/ Students, unable to afford the costs of
renting expensive studio space & creating sets,
frequently do all work on location
The Sequence of Events
• Casting
– Students/ Indi
• Informal
• Nonunion
• Sometimes lack talent
– Commercial
• Huge undertaking
• Agencies
– Unions (SAG & AFTRA)
» Rules
The Sequence of Events
• Casting (cont.)
– Action
• Students/ Indi.
– “cattle calls”
» Ads
» Theater
» University
Drama
Dept
The Sequence of Events
• Casting
– Action
• Students/ Indi. (cont.)
– Information
» Upfront
» Roles
» Scheduling
– Auditions
• Different interpretations of reading
• 1015 mins.
The Sequence of Events
• Casting
– Auditions (cont.)
• Don’t let appearance determine character
– Callbacks needed for final decision
• Talent commitment
• Work longer & larger parts of script
• Sense hesitation or condescending attitude
– Inexperienced
– Maturity
» Tardiness
– Talent vs. Reliability
» Less vs. more
The Sequence of Events
• Rehearsals Arranging as much time as
possible for rehearsals is a good idea, but in
reality they are rarely afforded as much time
as the talent and the director would desire.
– Bonus
• Location Scouting location scouts
– They have explicit descriptions of the features of
desired environments.
• A list of needed locations and their desirable features
– Once suitable possibilities are found, the director,
DP, and sometimes PD will visit the locations and
evaluate their visual and technical appeal.
The Sequence of Events
• Location Scouting (Cont.)
– Larger Cities
• Permits
– Smaller cities/markets
• Advantages
– Free
• Disadvantages
– Damage
– Injury
– (Money)
– No “Welcome Mat”
The Sequence of Events
• Location Scouting
– Smaller cities/markets (cont.)
• Always get permission
• Location
– Students/ Indi.
• Conform
– Commercial feature
• Manipulate
The Production Crew
• The Production Crew Most film crews
are put together from scratch, with skill
positions being filled from a pool of
experienced freelancers.
The Production Crew
• Catch 22
• Free taking advantage
– After 23 jobs w/o pay
• Freelancers (self)
– Deductions
• Taxes
• Social Security
• Health insurance
• Retirement
The Production Crew
• Team Spirit
– Creativity or suffer
– Crew Committing
– Chronic complainers = poison
• grant their wish
• Unproductive > door
– Crew is there to maximize efficiency
– Major Concerns for Independents
• With overwhelming technical and logistical
considerations frequently detracting from what is
occurring in front of the camera.
The Crew’s Responsibilities
• Responsibilities beginners may find
themselves in the role of grip/boom operator/
parttime script supervisor or some similarly
outrageous combination. This much
multitasking is discouraged, certainly, but it
represents the reality of working with limited
resources.
The Crew’s Responsibilities
• Professionals
– Must for certain cues
• Union Rules
– Dictate what can or can’t be done
• “Pitch in & get it done”
– Students/ indi
• Yes
– Commercial
• No
The Producer’s Team
• Producer supervisor usually
present before the project starts
to long after it ends.
• Production Manager (PM) responsible for
the general organization of crew as well as
practical planning & scheduling of the film.
• Assistant Director (AD) responsible to
scheduling the daily operations of the crew.
The Producer’s Team
• Production Management
– Production Board
Digital Filmmaking 101
Newton & Daspard
The Producer’s Team
• Craft Services
– Food & Small Amenities
• Exe.
– Preferences
The Director’s Team
• The Director’s Team reports to the director
personally.
– Firsttime crew members
• Think director is rude
• AD with Caveat
– AD is responsible for communicating wuth all the
departments, making sure the production is progressing
– AD also works hand in hand with the PM in scheduling all
the needed elements for each scene.
– The AD’s major responsibility is making sure that all crew
members are on the same wavelength, pursuing the same
goals
The Director’s Team
• Talent
– Working can be difficult for inexpireienced
director’s
• Translating words in the script into recognizable human
behavior
• Inexperienced actors
– Due to no pay
The Director’s Team
• Production Assistants (PA) do all the
general running around on the setand behind
the scenes.
– Responsible to the AD and as such are actually
part of the producer’s team
– Do last minute tasks
– Experienced & knowledgeable PAs can be a
valuable asset on a set
The Camera Crew
• Camera Operator does the actual shooting
– First assistant Cameraperson (1st AC) everything having
to do with film, camera, & lenses
– Second Assistant Cameraperson (2nd AC) also known as
clapper/loader
• Marking the scene
• Loading magazines
• Filling out camera reports
The Camera Crew
• Director/ DP Relationship
– Few directors shoot their own films, a fact that surprises
many newcomers.
– Directors must focus on the performance when the camera
is rolling. Rather than watch the performance, DPs tend to
treat the entire field of camera vision as an abstract space,
focusing on the movement of form & shape.
– Shooting & directing at the same time
• Commercials
– More attention is paid to each image and less to issues of
performance, continuity, and marshaling the many resources that
it takes to make a feature.
The Camera Crew
• Grip/Electric
– Gaffer the head of the electric crew
• Responsible for locating all sources of electricity and firecting the setup of the
instruments
– Key Grip head of the grip crew
– Best Boy gaffer’s right hand
– Electricians
– Grips the jacksofalltrades on the set
• The great practical problem solvers
– Expatiate filming greatly
• “They do just about everything under the sun”
The Camera Crew
• The Art Department
– Art Director an expert in materials and building and is responsible for executing the
productions designer’s plans
– Set Decorator plans the small items on the set, the details that make the space look
realistic
• Set dresser
• Costume designer
• Props master
• Hairstylists
• Makeup
• Production Values
– General term referring to the
overall quality of the image