Posts Tagged → assistant director

7 gifts filmmakers will love

As the Holiday season approaches the question may arise of what should I buy that person I love that is a filmmaker?  Below I have outlined 10 of the best gifts that filmmakers will be excited about in their everyday life that they will cherish at work.

  1. Watches. The Apple Watch Ultra or the Apple Watch Series 8 will make great stocking stuffers for any filmmaker. These newer apple watches have better health sensors are more durable and heck the ultra watch looks like a real spy device from a Bond movie.
  2. Software. Scriptation is a digital subscription that allows filmmakers to mark up scripts, transfer notes and more. They are having a black Friday sale and this would be a great gift without breaking the bank. Normally you would pay $79.99 annually but with this link you can save $30.
    Visit http://scriptation.com/sale on an iOS device.
  3. Call Sheet Holder. You can’t go wrong with the traditional Gold Fold. This product has been a staple for Assistant Directors for years. Even though I like to use a tablet I still carry my leather Gold Fold because I’m less likely to break it or have it stolen when I’m walking around on set. This is the perfect device to carry call sheets, schedules, sides and write down important notes on the day.
  4. Books.  There are several great reads out there that will inspire and equip that filmmaker you know. Check out the following books:
    –Best Seat in the House: An Assistant Director Behind the Scenes of Feature Films
    –Running the Show: The Essential Guide to Being a First Assistant Director
    –How to Survive On Set: The Production Assistant’s Guidebook
  5. Tablets. The reMarkable and iPad are both great tablets for note taking, meetings and location/tech scouts. I love using the reMarkable for the majority of my notes while the iPad can come in handy when marking up overheads or looking at story boards for the next day’s scenes.
  6. Belt Bags. A Belt Bag might just be the missing device your filmmaker needs while on set. This everywhere bag from Lululemon can hold your phone, keys and you can carry around your waist or over your shoulder.
  7. Walkie Accessories. Who doesn’t need a walkie caddie, Tubeez, or FilmPro Elite Surveillance to spruce up their kit? Use the code BEST50 for everything 50% everything at https://onsetheadsets.com/shop/

How to make sides in 30 seconds or less

Yes its possible! You can make sides in 30 seconds or less.

Imagine it’s 9:30PM on a Thursday and you’ve had a long day on set as the 2nd AD. You are about to wrap and are trying to get the call sheet sent out as soon as wrap is called so that everyone can go to sleep with the info for tomorrow. The UPM has asked that digital sides be sent out with the call sheet so you know that if anything changes it will be paramount that these sides are made quickly by whoever does them. The 1st AD has just informed you that yes indeed they are pushing a scene and adding a pickup. The sides need to be made or re-done quickly.

7 Steps to making sides in 30 seconds or less

  1. Choose a software that can make digital sides. Two of my favorite platforms for this purpose are Croogloo and Setkeeper. Both platforms are incredible for script distro, watermarking, creating sides and more…
  2. Upload your script to the platform. Once you decide on a platform you will need to upload a CLEAN version of the script to either platform. I prefer to go into final draft, select all, clear asterisks and save the version as a clean version. Seeing asterisks on sides is oftentimes unnecessary and can make it difficult to read.
  3. Decide what scenes will be in the sides. Usually the sides are listed on the shooting schedule or one-liner, or the advance on the call sheet. Most times there will be a small change or addition that only the 1st AD and 2nd AD know about. Its best to always check with the 2nd AD before making the sides.
  4. Select the sides in the program. Login to your software and jump into the side making section. Once you are there you can choose the scenes you want to make and the order you want to list them in. I typically prefer to list them in script order because it can be confusing to look for scene 1 at the end of the sides.
  5. Decide what format you need the arrows and shading. Within these programs you can decide whether or not to gray out the previous scenes or what type of arrows to use. Graying out can be helpful, however if you have a tight budget it can make the toner waist a lot of ink.
  6. Attach the front of the Call Sheet. This can be helpful so you don’t have to do this later.
  7. Download the sides as a pdf. You will be given the option to put one or two to page. In general I like to download one to a page because I can print two to a page in printer settings (if using a mac) pretty easily. Once you have downloaded the sides you can either attach the front of the Call Sheet or print them as is and then attach the front when its ready. The easiest way to attach the front of the call sheet is to drag the pdf into pdf viewer and then click save.

Episode 33 – David Venghaus Jr. – Working as an AD on virtual productions

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

In this episode we talk with David H. Venghaus Jr. (@davidvenghaus on instagram) about his his experience working as an AD on films that encompass VFX, Virtual Production and new technology.

Dave is a veteran DGA 1st Assistant Director who has worked on countless movies. A few of the films that Dave has worked on include two of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, A Quiet Place Part II, Spider-Man: No Way Home and many more…

How to upload a Movie Magic Stripboard to Sethero

One program that I often recommend to Second Assistant Directors depending on the size and complexity of the show is Sethero. This program allows you to quickly make call sheets and even sends a text message to all the recipients (which can be really handy when they come out late at night).

When using Sethero. you have the option to enter every scene manually or mass export via excel. My suggestion is to do the mass export option. To do that it is best to wait till you are really close to filming and then follow this step-by-step video tutorial I created. Sethero has some basic tutorials…but I couldn’t find anything that would help me with transition my Movie Magic Data. I hope it helps!