In this episode we speak with Rose Beale (@laurenrosebeale on Instagram) about using people skills when solving problems and working in production. Rose has worked as a Production Coordinator, Supervisor & Production Manager on numerous film and tv shows. Some of her credits include Just Mercy, The First Purge, Kidnap, LBJ, The Expendables 2 and many more…
On any given day during production it can be challenging to “make the day” for a number of reasons. You might not get everything or go into overtime or even have to push scenes to the next day. While this may be expected on occasion, having this happen everyday on production can get quite frustrating and rather expensive. Even the best production schedules will sometimes have unforeseen delays or mishaps and this is understandable to a point.
One of the best ways to really “make your day” is to make half of it. If you can make half your day then making the other half is a whole lot easier. Do the DP, Director, UPM and 1st AD all agree on the half way point? Where does everyone want to get by lunch? Is this answer is known by all or is the answer kept secret by the 1st AD? If shooting 10 pages will you accomplish 5 pages because they are all pretty even or will 2 pages be the needed amount because the last few are a phone call and have no coverage.
When the 1st AD figures out the ideal half-way point with the help of the Director and DP the day can feel a lot more manageable. Instead of trying to shoot 10 pages in a day you are only worried about shooting 5 pages before lunch and 5 pages after lunch. Having this mini-goal creates a sense of urgency that is sometimes lost in the beginning of the day when you feel like you have all the time in the world.
If you decide on the half-way point and get there…it’s all down hill.
If you decide on the half-way point and are still behind on any given day its time to regroup. A discussion might be needed on what to do in the second part of the day whether its loosing shots, moving scenes or shooting more efficiently.
Deciding the half-way point is not a science and sometimes guessing what is really the half-way point is not always easy.
If you don’t decide on the half-way point you are in danger of slowing down and then racing at the end of the day.
Prior to working in the film industry I worked for several non-profits for years at a time. During that time I worked closely with several of the employees who quickly became friends and I was able to see how they worked and what their quirks were. There were even many times that we would do team-bonding events and learn about each others strengths/weaknesses and sometimes personality profiles.
The secret to really sharing the same values was having the time to get to know each other and learn how everyone likes to work.
In the film industry one problem is the often short-term approach to working together. Whether its a commercial, music video, feature or pilot… Crew members are often forced to quickly adapt to new people and new ways of doing things in their approach to work. Sometimes this type of immersion works and sometimes personalities will clash. It’s not a bad thing to work with new people and discover new ways of doing things, however at the end of the day there can be challenges with new personalities when a culture is never established early on.
One thing that I am determined to do this year is to try and establish shared values early on whether with a dept of three or an entire crew. Your values may change based on the type/size of the project or the people involved.
Below I have listed a few of the values I aim to bring with me on the next project.
#1. Accomplish this week’s tasks like you were going to eat an elephant.
Don’t get overwhelmed. List the tasks you need to do and do everything one thing at a time.
#2. Imagine if this cast member was Tom Cruise….
If you were dealing with Tom Cruise would you point to the dressing room or trailer and say Tom its over there or would you walk with him and hold the door? Even if your actors are not famous or celebrities…how can you treat them in a way that makes them feel special.
#3. Pay people like they have $100 in the bank.
Whether or not people have $100 in the bank is not the issue. Imagine that that there is a crew member or extra that needs that paycheck to pay their rent or car payment or whatever…. Now sometimes there are delays in payments because of an ACH or payroll issue…but having this value among your accounting team is important to instill.
#4. Master the art of sending clear, concise and creative emails.
Take the time to craft emails so they look professional and are informative. Look for typos, errors and info that may not need to be included. Lengthy emails can be too cumbersome to be read and may be a waist of time.
#5. Focus on what is urgent important today that only you can do.
When you are faced with 100 tasks its vital that you and your team divide and conquer. You don’t want to spin your wheels doing everything when you have people on your team to focus on the tasks that they can specialize in.
#6. Relentlessly follow up with that unanswered question until it’s answered.
Occasionally there will be a question that someone poses via email/text etc. Don’t let it go unanswered. Get back to them and try and find the answer with an appropriate amount of time.
#7. Remember that someones lack of preparation on their part does not constitute an emergency on yours.
This famous saying is so important to remember because emergencies will come to us everyday…but we can’t always drop everything we are doing to attend to the emergency.
#8. Telling a great story sometimes mean you go over schedule or budget.
Yes I like staying on schedule and under budget, however at the end of the day no one will care if the project is lousy. Look for ways to tell a better story and be willing to adjust the schedule/budget in favor of the story.
#9. Create sacred space to share issues.
Whenever there are issues between crew members or cast its important to pull people aside and talk through the issues calmly. Avoid yelling in front of the entire crew or making a scene….this never ends well
****NOTE****
You can use one or more of these shared values at the beginning of your production. Feel free to make up your own and mix them together. Write them on a wall or whiteboard somewhere. Don’t feel like you have to lecture the entire crew with a set of shared values. Maybe share a few of them with someone in your dept or ask a team member what values they want to instill in the crew.
You know the feeling. It could be the weekend or the week before prep or the day before shooting. You are about to embark on a new mission that will push you, stretch you, exhaust you and lead you to learn new people and ways of doing things.
The Calm Before the Storm is the idea that you are preparing for battle. The next week or months will not be easy. They could be faced with a number of things….so it’s important to take advantage of this calmness.
It’s like preparing for a hurricane. You know it’s going to hit…you just don’t know how bad. Will it be a level 1 or level 5? Will there be flooding, loss of power or will it just be heavy rains for a time period? In preparing for a hurricane you would make sure to have enough food/water at reserve, potentially board up windows and check in on friends or family members.
While the Storm of production is often not as physically destructive as a hurricane/tornado or earth quake… the emotional stress and toll can sometimes feel like you have just been through one.
How do you prepare for the storm?
Anytime I know I may embark on a new project I like to make sure as much as my life is in order because I know the next two+ months will be solely focused on this project.
Obviously this list could be expanded to include a variety of things. The important thing to focus on is getting your shit together because it will be almost impossible to take care of personal things on day three of production.
Assistant Directors can often be mistaken as robots on a film set. They can come off as cold, heartless, and abrasive individuals that only care about making the day. Part of this is true and part of this feeling is a misconception in perception. I think the problem that lays at hand is often the AD is the only one on the film set that does truly care about time. This burden of time effects the entire crew, however most of them are blind to what that means. A 30 minute delay in makeup could mean that a scene is in danger of getting finished. If a scene is in danger of getting finished… the day could go over by 30 minutes costing the company overtime dollars and causing a crew to work longer than anyone actually wanted to.
What does an an Assistant Director actually think about?
Over the years working as a 1st AD and 2nd AD I have felt that my job was to think about time in a way that no one on set should have to. It’s a feeling that sometimes can create pressure, anxiety and stress. Many departments are worried about the aesthetic and rightly so. The AD thinks about how to save time with all departments. By saving time we can increase the number of setups for a scene or even allow for all scenes to actually be shot. Focusing on time actually can preserve the aesthetic because it’s being managed in a proper way.
Are ADs wired differently?
I think so. I think most ADs are a-type personalities that want to get things done and don’t have time for BS. Individuals that are naturally driven and want to do hard work should consider this career path. Most ADs I know are great genuine human beings who actually care a lot. The thing about ADs is sometimes they care too much about the way things are going and aren’t afraid to voice their opinion if something is unsafe or ridiculous.
What does an AD think about during prep?
During prep an AD is constantly thinking about the schedule. If 90% of the schedule problems can be solved in prep then life will be easy… They are tasked with juggling all the constraints of schedule restrictions that come from actors, locations and the vision of the Director. It’s like playing a game of chess non-stop for weeks at end.
What is the thought process at the beginning of the day?
ADs are generally concerned with getting that first shot off. Once the first shot is taken then they can breathe and so can everyone else. Until that happens it’s managing a sequence of events. They are in charge of holding a safety meeting, blocking, camera blocking, HMU process, Costume process, Dept Tweaks such as set dressing and lighting etc…
What does an AD think about in between shots/setups/scenes?
ADs have to be able to multi-task. There are many times that I’m having to simultaneously think about something for tomorrow’s schedule while focusing on today’s schedule while also considering the effects of next week’s schedule. It’s like managing a huge Tetris game that has a myriad of elements. If we move this scene here will it effect this actor’s avail or this location’s restrictions? We have to know a little bit about all the underlying constraints or we won’t be able to give intel to the higher ups. I often think that being an AD is like being a CIA operative. In a way you are on the ground where the action is happening and assessing a battle plan that you can report back to command.
What does an AD think about at the end of the day?
When most crew members are packing up gear and headed home….often the 1st AD and 2nd AD are reviewing tomorrow’s schedule and signing off on a call sheet. Tensions can increase when the day goes over causing a debate on the call time and turnaround issues for cast or certain crew members.
So how does the AD mind really work?
The AD mind is one that has to care about logistics and getting things done. They care about getting people home on time and getting all the shots at the same time. ADs should naturally want a great product and to keep everyone safe. Good ADs know when to push back and when to relent. When it’s a good time to actually go over or call grace and when it’s time to call wrap.
I’ve tried to be consistent at writing blog posts…but it never fails juggling one or more projects can just make side projects a tad difficult. Here’s to a good meme to jumping back in to this…
Prior to working in film/tv I used to work in the business / non-profit sector as a creative media producer. Part of working in the corporate world was filled with team meetings and trying to figure out how to improve the organization as a whole. One process that I actually enjoyed involved After Action Reports, which where utilized after an event or program was finished. It was a tool we used to analyze the success or failures of said event and provided ways to learn from our mistakes.
When you wrap a film or tv show do you ever wonder how things could go differently? What would you do so that the next project would go smoother? Below I have listed 10 questions to ask yourself at the end of each shoot is complete?
Whether or not you do an official AAR with your team, its a good practice to do by yourself or one or two other crew members.
Making a movie or TV series can often times feel overwhelming. You might have too little time or not enough money to solve all the myriad of problems that lie in front of you and your team.
One thing I like to do early on in production is to communicate ideas about work or the work process via metaphors. I love to use metaphors because they help turn the seemingly difficult problem into a visible solution that gets people thinking.
Below I have listed a few metaphors and how I use them.
Metaphor #1
Do you know how to eat an elephant?
Of course you are NOT really going to eat an elephant…that would be horrible. The metaphor is meant to evoke the sublime. Elephants are so huge it would be impossible to eat them, however if you did have to eat them you would eat them one bite at a time.
Occasionally I will explain this metaphor to my office staff when we are faced with 100 to-dos and I can see the look of of defeat on their faces. I try to explain that if you can focus on one thing at a time and slowly make your way through all that has to be done you will be successful!
I typically share this metaphor with Office PAs, Coordinators etc when working as a UPM/Line Producer.
Metaphor #2
Why should you not eat desert before the meal?
Of course we all know that eating desert before any meal is not a good idea. It’s something we have to educate children on when they are young. The metaphor does apply to filmmaking however and it is one of my favorite to use.
In the filmmaking metaphor the DESERT is often 1/8 of a page (CU of the man holding the phone). The MEAL is simply the meat of the day and hopefully a 3 page scene with dialogue. Now this does not always mean that starting with 1/8 of a page is a bad idea, however it can slow you down and be problematic if you do have a high page count and want Actors to be at their best.
Choosing to start with a big meaty scene first will not only give actors the energy they deserve, but allow you to focus on what’s really important.
I typically share this metaphor with Directors and DPs while working as a 1st AD.
Initially when the Covid-19 Pandemic hit the United States I was unsure how to properly manage all this unexpected free time. I have been unemployed before due to living the life of a freelancer. While I have learned a few things along the way I am still trying to refine my process for being productive. Whether there is a pandemic or not, the idea of being out of work for a week, month or many months can be a very real thing that freelancers will need to grapple with.
Below I have come up with 10 ideas to stay productive when out of work or in between gigs.
As of June 1st, 2020 the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee Task Force released a White Paper that was compiled by various companies, unions and guilds in the Film/TV Industry with the purpose of creating a safe workplace and re-starting the industry. Below you can download the file and see our thoughts.
Below you can join our Facebook Group to participate in questions/discussion on how best to implement these policies on your set.