Work

Okay, so a reader has asked a couple of times what Reg and I do in film. I originally had a VERY LONG detailed explanation of my job, and had it up for a few hours but then deleted it. It was just too much. Here is what we do in a nutshell:

Me: 3rd Assistant Director

Main responsibility: Co-ordinate the actors getting ready for work, hair, makeup, wardrobe wise. Ideally they need to be ready when set is ready to shoot. I basically stand in the middle of all of the trailers and direct people where and when to go to the various stages of getting ready. My bossiness comes in handy. Speaking of bossy, my boss is the first assistant director who runs the set, our collective boss is the Director. We are in the directors dept.

Other things I do: I run a remote production office for the entire cast and crew. It's a nice break from the stress of getting actors ready and potentially getting yelled at.

Why I love my job: It's always different. It is EXTREMELY challenging. The people I work with are literally like my extended family. I get to meet famous people sometimes, and have even gotten to know a few on a personal level.

Why my job gets on my nerves sometimes: I do not get paid overtime until AFTER 14 hours. (gives you an idea how long my day is). Dealing with some of the personalities of famous and not-so-famous people, and/or powerful players (ie: producers or directors). Not having any control over human beings and how fast they walk, get dressed, eat, or get in a van.

Regan's job: 1st Camera assistant or focus puller and sometimes camera operator

His main responsibility: He keeps everything in focus. If it is "soft" or out of focus, it is garbage and ends up on the floor. His job is one of the number one most stressful jobs on a film set. He does not look in the viewfinder, he does focus by measuring how far the object is or by now, because he is so incredible at his job, he can wing it pretty damn good. He is in charge of the entire camera department and all of the equipment. If something doesn't work, it's his problem. His boss is the Director of Photography, he is responsible for the lighting of the film and ultimately the look of the film.

Why he likes his job: hmmm... he doesn't really like it anymore. But he does get to hang around some half naked chicks sometimes. He also gets lots of chunks of time off between shows.

Why he hates his job: hmmmm... really, so many reasons, I'm exhausted even thinking about it.

He also is starting to get jobs camera operating, which is really his thing. He is very very good at it naturally, and the first time he operated on a real show, everyone was blown away with his ability. I was not shocked at all. I swear to you, Regan is an EXTREMELY talented person in regards to film. He GETS what the camera sees and how to tell a story with the camera. Until you hear someone like him describe what this means it is very hard to understand what I mean. It is not just point and shoot, the camera moves and focus help to tell the story. It's incredible. He is going to do VERY well, once he gets going operating and ultimately DP-ing. I'm so very proud of him.

And that's that!