Posts Tagged → production coordinator

Creating shared values with your film crew

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.

Episode 11 – Running a production office with Collier Meyer

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

In this episode we talk with Collier Meyer (@space_naps on instagram).
Collier is a POC/APOC from Texas, who graduated with a Bachelors in media Production from The University of Alabama. He started out working in Los Angeles as an assistant to the legendary Dustin Hoffman where he quickly learned the inns and outs of the film industry.  In 2015 Collier and his wife moved to New Orleans where Collier spent a majority of his time as a coordinator on commercials. Most recently Collier has transitioned to the scripted world working on shows such as  “Wounds”, “Queen & Slim”, and “Bill & Ted Face the Music”.
Services mentioned in this episode

How to create a clean, concise and readable call sheet email.

Creating a readable call sheet email is vital for any production to run smoothly and can sometimes be an art form in putting it together. Depending on the size/budget of your production will often dictate who sends out the call sheet email. For larger productions you may have a Coordinator or Production Secretary clicking “send” and on smaller projects the 2nd AD will be the one most likely getting out these essential “next day emails.” 

10 tips to remember when sending out call sheet emails:

1. Use a standardized subject heading

MOVIE NAME – CALL SHEET – DAY # – DATE

2. BCC the recipients

If you “show” email addresses in the TO FIELD or CC FIELD you are risking one person replying all to the GROUP and asking a dumb question that should be for the sender only. It is a good idea to build this list later in the day because it may change as you have to add or drop crew/cast members.

3. Send a separate email to CREW and CAST 

The CAST email can be simplified and have only pertinent information ie…they don’t need to know the location addresses if they are shuttled to set etc…

4. Avoid sending Call Sheet Emails to Background or certain Vendors where a separate detailed email will work in its place

Below is one example in which I would email a caterer by noon each day (separate from the call sheet email) in order to give them a heads up with the count for the next day. If I waited to email the caterer the call sheet there is a chance they may not have enough time to prepare enough food etc.

5. Consider having your crew members confirm the very first email on DAY 1

Its a good idea to do this just in case you have a wrong email address or the email goes to spam for some weird reason.

6. Consider writing a nice sentence thanking or encouraging the crew at the very top of the email.

7. List important information at the top that shows the very basics

 Consider bolding or highlighting certain text in colors to make the email readable.

Date:
Thursday Dec 6th, 2018

Call Time: 7AM
Courtesy Breakfast: 6:30AM
***please check the back of the call sheet for your individual call times***

8. List the locations in order of where people will park etc. 

Don’t list the first location first if people are showing up to crew parking. The chances that they will go to the wrong address is greater if you list it in the order of where the majority of people should park.

9. Make sure to leave a clean email signature and closing remarks

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions/concerns.

thanks,

John Smith
2nd Assistant Director, Batman Begins
(123) 222-3333

10. Attach any important documents 

Don’t forget to attach call sheet, sides, map, overheads and safety bulletins (when doing stunts or shooting in potential dangerous conditions)!