Perhaps you’ve gotten a new job as a production assistant. Perhaps you’re still in school and have been given an opportunity as an intern, or you’ve recently been asked to help out with a friend’s production. You probably have some questions.
I’m writing this because I’d like to try to answer some of those questions in advance, and because I have hope.
4 comments:
This article feels like an important tool to have on hand and refer back to over the next several years. In my experience, and I believe in many young actors', I've gotten at least a healthy amount of experience with backstage etiquette, the sort of manners you carry when working on a play or musical. Growing up, I did not get any professional film or television experience, and thus I feel a bit unprepared for the environment I may encounter if I work on that sort of project. This "guide to on-set protocol" gives advice that is, admittedly, pretty basic, but it is wake up call for a professional in the business to be compelling young workers to follow these guidelines. I have bookmarked the article, and I plan on consulting it, just to make sure I don't ruin any opportunities. <54-102> 54-102 54102 Eric Wiegand
I really like the tone that the author of this article used. It was a bit curt, but I think it matched the situations that these guidelines are for. I don’t know much about how film shoots are run, but he made it sound like they are very strict and regimented, which I’m guessing they are, so I think that this almost harsh tone does a good job describing the situations that being on a movie set involves. I really like how he described the three types of listening, because I had never seen not listening described like that. Typically not listening is viewed as a bad thing, such as zoning off during a meeting, so it was cool to read about how it’s important to not listen and that there are situations in the professional world where not listening is the right type of listening. I don’t think I’m going to be working on the set of a movie one day, but if I do I’m definitely going to try to keep some of these tips in mind (although a lot of these can also be applied to theatre, and even the real world).
I love how this article is frank and realistic with the reader. Right away it spells it all out for you: film is not all fun and games, its hard work, its waiting, its everyone relying on each other constantly, and it will almost never be like what you expect it to be, but you simply have to be a professional about it. Although I was initially put off by the tone of this article a bit and how it assumes you should know basic filming information without necessarily ever having been on a film set before, the article actually makes some really great points not necessarily just about filmmaking but about operating as a professional in general. If its your job is to do something you should take it seriously, be engaged, use your intuition knowledge, common sense and skill to the best of your ability, because otherwise you’ve committed your time to a project and you’re not even honoring yourself and your own time. If you cant do that at the most basic level how are you supposed to work in an environment like film where everyone is relying on one another constantly to put their best foot forward and do what’s best for the film. Anything in life is hardly what you ever expect it to be, for better or for worse, but if you’re committing your time to it you should at least treat it like a professional.
Certainly, the guidelines outlined in this article are accurate even beyond film sets and location shoots. Certainly sounds a lot like what we hear about the theater world as well. Run a tight ship, keep it together, mind your business, keep your head down and do the best you can, etc etc. I certainly appreciated the author's description of the crew as one large team where everybody has a critical part to play. I also felt that the description of the "problem department" was also very accurate. So often on shows there is always "that guy" or "those guys" who are just the total screw-ups and can't get anything right. Sometimes that descriptor is accurate, and sometimes people just like a scapegoat.
Regardless, I feel that the overall jist of the article: that you should be a consummate professional, is a very important message to spread and one that I intend to keep with me as I move forward in my career.
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